Rambut kakak laki-laki saya pendek.

kakak means older sibling (it doesn’t say male or female).
laki-laki means male.

So kakak laki-laki literally is older sibling (who is) male, which corresponds to older brother in English. Indonesian often uses a general kinship word (kakak) and then adds a gender word (laki-laki for male, perempuan for female) if needed.

In Indonesian, possessive pronouns usually come after the noun, not before it.

• English: my older brother → possessive before the noun
• Indonesian: kakak laki-laki saya → literally older sibling male I

So the structure is:

• kakak laki-laki = older brother
• saya = I / me
• kakak laki-laki saya = older brother of me → my older brother

The same pattern:

• rumah saya = my house
• buku dia = his / her book
• teman kita = our friend

Breakdown:

• Rambut = hair
• kakak laki-laki saya = my older brother
• pendek = is short

So the structure is essentially:

[Hair] [older brother my] [short]
= My older brother’s hair is short.

Indonesian doesn’t need a separate word for is here. The pattern is:

• [Noun] [adjective] (subject + description)
  
  • Rambut … pendek = Hair … short
  • Dia tinggi = He / she (is) tall
  • Makanan ini enak = This food (is) tasty

In Indonesian, when you describe a noun with an adjective, you usually do not use a separate verb like is / am / are.

So:

• Rambut kakak laki-laki saya pendek.
  Literally: Hair my older brother short.
  Meaning: My older brother’s hair is short.

Other examples:

• Dia cantik. = She is beautiful.
• Mobil itu mahal. = That car is expensive.

A linking verb like adalah is used in different structures, typically noun = noun, not noun = adjective:

• Dia adalah dokter. = He / she is a doctor.

In Indonesian, adjectives normally come after the noun they describe.

• rambut pendek = short hair
• baju merah = red shirt
• rumah besar = big house

So in the sentence:

• Rambut kakak laki-laki saya pendek.
  The adjective pendek describes rambut kakak laki-laki saya (my older brother’s hair), and it comes at the end.

If you add degree words, they also come after the noun:

• rambut sangat pendek = very short hair
• rambut kakak laki-laki saya sangat pendek = my older brother’s hair is very short

Yes, you can, but the meaning changes slightly.

• kakak saya = my older sibling (gender not specified; could be older brother or older sister)
• kakak laki-laki saya = specifically my older brother
• kakak perempuan saya = specifically my older sister

If the gender is already clear from context, many Indonesians just say kakak saya.

No. There are several common options, depending on region and formality:

• kakak laki-laki – neutral, clear, standard
• kakak – can mean older brother or older sister, gender-neutral
• abang / bang – common in some regions / informal contexts for older brother or older male
• mas – used in Java and some other areas for an older male

In a textbook or neutral Indonesian, kakak laki-laki is a safe, clear choice for older brother.

Yes, but it changes both style and specificity:

• rambut kakakku pendek

  • kakak
    • -ku = my older sibling
  • More informal / natural in speech
  • Does not specify male; just “older sibling”

• rambut kakak laki-laki saya pendek

  • Explicitly older brother
  • Uses saya, which is more neutral / formal

All of these are grammatical:

• Rambut kakakku pendek.
• Rambut kakak laki-laki saya pendek.
• Rambut kakak saya pendek.

Choice depends on how formal you want to be and whether you need to specify gender.

Yes, in standard Indonesian it is written with a hyphen: laki-laki.

Meaning:

• laki-laki = male (as a gender), man
  
  • anak laki-laki = boy / son
  • orang laki-laki = a man
  • kakak laki-laki = older brother

Spoken Indonesian sometimes contracts it (e.g. cowok in informal speech), but laki-laki is the standard, neutral word.

Just change laki-laki (male) to perempuan (female):

• Rambut kakak perempuan saya pendek.
  
  • kakak perempuan = older sister
  • Full sentence: My older sister’s hair is short.

You could also say:

• Rambut kakak saya pendek.
  if it’s already clear from context that the kakak is female.

Indonesian usually does not change the noun form for plural; plural is shown by context or extra words.

You can say:

• Rambut kakak-kakak laki-laki saya pendek.
  
  • kakak-kakak = older siblings (plural)
  • Literally: The hair of my older brothers is short.

Often, people rely on context and add something like semua (all):

• Rambut semua kakak laki-laki saya pendek.
  = The hair of all my older brothers is short.

Remember: Indonesian doesn’t mark plural like English brothers vs brother; it uses repetition (kakak-kakak) or words like banyak (many), semua (all), or just context.

Yes, that is also natural and commonly used in speech:

• Kakak laki-laki saya rambutnya pendek.

Here, the focus shifts a bit:

• Kakak laki-laki saya = my older brother (topic)
• rambutnya pendek = his hair is short

So it feels more like “My older brother – his hair is short.”

Both sentences are correct:

• Rambut kakak laki-laki saya pendek.
  → focusing on the hair
• Kakak laki-laki saya rambutnya pendek.
  → starting from my older brother, then describing his hair.