Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Genre favoritku adalah drama keluarga, tetapi adik perempuanku lebih suka genre komedi dengan aktor lucu. - My favorite genre is family drama, but my younger sister prefers the comedy genre with funny actors.

-ku is informal / neutral, often used in speech, texting, and casual writing.
A more neutral–polite version would be:
- genre favorit saya
- adik perempuan saya

All of these are correct; choice depends mostly on how formal you want to sound and whether you’re using aku/-ku or saya in the rest of your speech.

Why is adalah used in genre favoritku adalah drama keluarga? Can it be omitted?

Adalah roughly corresponds to “is/are” when linking two noun phrases:

genre favoritku adalah drama keluarga
→ my favorite genre is family drama

You can often omit adalah, especially in spoken Indonesian:

Genre favoritku drama keluarga (still natural in many contexts)

Use adalah when:

You’re writing more formally.
You want to be very clear you’re making a definition or explanation.

So both are grammatical; with adalah sounds a bit more formal/written.

What’s the difference between tetapi and tapi in tetapi adik perempuanku…?

Both tetapi and tapi mean “but/however”.

tetapi: more formal / written style.
tapi: more informal / conversational.

In this sentence you could also say:

…drama keluarga, tapi adik perempuanku…

The meaning is the same; you just change the register.

Why is it genre komedi and drama keluarga instead of komedi genre or keluarga drama?

In Indonesian, the typical pattern is:

HEAD NOUN + MODIFIER

So:

genre komedi = comedy genre
- genre (head) + komedi (what kind of genre?)
drama keluarga = family drama
- drama (head) + keluarga (what kind of drama?)

English sometimes puts the modifier first (comedy genre, family drama),
but Indonesian almost always keeps the main noun first and the descriptor after it.

How does adik perempuan mean “younger sister”?

In Indonesian:

adik = younger sibling (gender not specified)
perempuan = female / woman

So:

adik perempuan = younger sister
adik laki-laki = younger brother

Similarly for older siblings:

kakak perempuan = older sister
kakak laki-laki = older brother

With -ku:

adik perempuanku = my younger sister.

What’s the function of lebih suka in adik perempuanku lebih suka genre komedi? Why not just suka?

suka = to like
lebih = more

Together, lebih suka means “like more / prefer”.

So:

adik perempuanku suka genre komedi
→ my younger sister likes the comedy genre
adik perempuanku lebih suka genre komedi
→ my younger sister prefers the comedy genre (compared to something else, here: family drama)

Because the sentence is contrasting two preferences, lebih suka (prefer) is the natural choice.

Can lebih suka be followed directly by a noun like genre komedi, or do I need a preposition?

Yes, lebih suka can be followed directly by a noun phrase:

lebih suka genre komedi
lebih suka kopi
lebih suka musik rock

No preposition (like kepada or pada) is needed in everyday Indonesian. Adding pada sounds very formal or stiff in this structure.

Why is there no word for “is” in adik perempuanku lebih suka genre komedi?

Indonesian usually does not use a copula (“is/are”) before verbs or adjectives.

English: My younger sister *is taller.*
Indonesian: Adik perempuanku lebih tinggi. (no “is”)

Similarly:

adik perempuanku lebih suka genre komedi
→ literally: my younger sister more-like comedy genre

You mainly see adalah used between two noun phrases, not before verbs or adjectives.

Could the sentence say dengan aktor yang lucu instead of dengan aktor lucu? What’s the difference?

Both are possible:

dengan aktor lucu
- Literally: with funny actors
- lucu directly modifies aktor like a simple adjective.
dengan aktor yang lucu
- Literally: with actors that are funny
- yang introduces a relative clause: actors who are funny.

Nuance:

aktor lucu is a bit more compact and general.
aktor yang lucu can sound a bit more specific/emphatic, like we’re highlighting the property that they are funny, but in casual speech the difference is small.

Both would be understood as “funny actors.”

Does aktor refer only to male actors in Indonesian, or can it be general?

In modern Indonesian:

aktor is often used generically for actors of any gender, especially in casual speech.
There is also aktris, which specifically means actress (female actor).

In the phrase aktor lucu, it most naturally means funny actors in general, not just men, unless the context clearly specifies gender.

Is there any difference in meaning between genre favoritku and genre kesukaanku?

Both can mean “my favorite genre”, but there is a slight nuance:

favorit is a loanword from English (favorite), very common and natural.
kesukaan comes from suka (to like) and literally means thing I like.

So:

genre favoritku
genre kesukaanku

Both are correct and widely understood. Favorit is a bit more straightforward for learners and very common in everyday speech.

Can I say saudara perempuanku instead of adik perempuanku?

You can, but it changes the meaning:

adik perempuanku = my younger sister (age relationship is clear)
saudara perempuanku literally = my female sibling
- This does not specify whether she’s older or younger.

In everyday Indonesian, people almost always specify adik or kakak, because age order is important culturally.

Where does the stress usually fall in favoritku and perempuanku when speaking?

Indonesian stress is relatively light and regular, but you’ll often hear:

favoritku → fa-vo-rit-ku (stress commonly on vo)
perempuanku → pe-rem-puan-ku

In fluent speech, -ku is usually unstressed and can sound quite short and attached to the previous syllable.