Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Menurut psikolog, anak bisa tetap rukun dengan kedua orang tua walau mereka cerai. - According to the psychologist, a child can still be harmonious with both parents even if they are divorced.

Menurut psikolog = according to (a/the) psychologist(s).
Pattern: menurut + noun/pronoun → menurut saya (according to me), menurut dokter (according to the doctor), etc.

Compared with:

kata psikolog / psikolog itu berkata = the psychologist said → focuses on what was said (speech).
psikolog bilang (informal) = the psychologist says/said.

So menurut is about someone’s opinion or assessment, not the speech act itself.

Does psikolog here mean “a psychologist” or “psychologists (in general)”?

Indonesian usually has no articles (a/the) and no plural -s, so psikolog is ambiguous and context-dependent. It can mean:

a psychologist
the psychologist (someone already known in context)
psychologists (in general)

In this sentence, because it sounds like a general statement about children, psikolog is most naturally understood as “psychologists (in general) say / according to psychologists…”.

Is the comma after psikolog necessary, and what does it show?

The comma in Menurut psikolog, anak bisa… marks a pause after an introductory phrase.

Grammatically, you can sometimes omit it in informal writing, but it is standard and recommended in good Indonesian.
It separates the “according to…” phrase from the main clause, similar to English: According to psychologists, children can…

So the comma is not about a special grammar rule; it simply shows the boundary between the introductory phrase and the main statement.

What exactly does anak mean here: “a child”, “the child”, or “children”?

Indonesian anak on its own does not mark number or definiteness. It can mean:

a child
the child
children (in general)

In a sentence like this, which gives a general statement, anak is best understood as “a child / children in general” (i.e., a child can still get along… = children can still get along…).

So it’s a generic, not one specific child.

Could we say seorang anak or anak-anak instead of just anak? What would change?

Yes, but the nuance changes:

seorang anak = one child / a single child
→ focuses on an individual case.
→ Menurut psikolog, seorang anak bisa tetap rukun… = According to psychologists, a child (one child) can still…
anak-anak = children (plural)
→ explicitly plural, more like “children” in general.
→ Menurut psikolog, anak-anak bisa tetap rukun…
Bare anak is more neutral and often used for a generic “child/children” in general statements. That’s why it sounds very natural here.

In bisa tetap rukun, what is the function of tetap, and where can it go in the sentence?

Tetap means “still / remain / continue to be”. It modifies the state rukun (being harmonious).

bisa tetap rukun ≈ can remain harmonious / can still get along.

Normal placement is:

bisa tetap rukun (modal bisa, then tetap, then adjective/verb)

You generally wouldn’t say bisa rukun tetap; that sounds wrong or at least very unnatural. Tetap typically comes before the quality or verb it modifies:

tetap tenang (remain calm)
tetap bekerja (keep working)
tetap rukun (stay harmonious)

What does rukun mean, and how is it different from words like akur, akrab, or baik?

Rukun means living in harmony, getting along well, without conflict. It’s often used for relationships in a family, neighborhood, or community.

hidup rukun = live in harmony
tetap rukun = stay on good terms

Compared with:

akur = get along / not fight, often between people who used to fight or could fight (e.g., siblings who finally akur).
akrab = close, intimate (emotionally close friendship, not just no conflict).
baik (about relationships) = “good”, but more general and vague.

Here, rukun is ideal because it focuses on peaceful, harmonious relations between the child and both parents after divorce.

What does kedua mean in kedua orang tua, and how is it different from just dua orang tua?

Kedua means “both”, while dua simply means “two”.

kedua orang tua = both parents
dua orang tua = two parents (grammatically OK, but sounds odd here because we normally talk about “both parents”, not just “two parents” as a random count).

In the fixed expression kedua orang tua, kedua is the natural and idiomatic choice to mean “both parents”.

Why is it kedua orang tua and not kedua orang tuanya? What does the -nya add?

The clitic -nya is a third-person marker that can mean “his/her/their/that”, or be used as a definite marker.

kedua orang tua (without -nya)
- can mean both parents (in general), or both parents of “the child” already mentioned in context.
kedua orang tuanya
- more explicitly means “his/her/their both parents” (i.e., the child’s own parents).
- It sounds more specific and personal.

In this sentence, kedua orang tua is already clearly linked to anak (the child), so adding -nya is not necessary but would also be grammatically correct:

…anak bisa tetap rukun dengan kedua orang tuanya… → emphasizes with his/her own parents.

Who does mereka refer to in walau mereka cerai?

Mereka is “they” and here it refers to kedua orang tua (both parents).

So we have:

anak = the child
kedua orang tua = the two parents
mereka = the parents (plural “they”), not the child

The meaning is: …with both parents, even though *they (the parents) are divorced.*

Why is it cerai and not bercerai? Are they different?

Both cerai and bercerai relate to divorce, but usage differs:

bercerai is the standard intransitive verb: to get divorced / to be divorced.
- Mereka bercerai tahun lalu. = They got divorced last year.
cerai is the base form; in everyday speech it’s often used like a predicate:
- Mereka cerai. = They are divorced / They got divorced.

In walau mereka cerai, cerai works like a predicate adjective/verb meaning “are divorced”.
You could also say walau mereka bercerai; that’s a bit more formal/explicit, but both are acceptable.

Why is there no word like sudah or a tense marker before cerai? How do we know it means “are divorced / have divorced”?

Indonesian normally does not mark tense (past/present/future) with verb endings like English does. Time is understood from:

context, or
optional aspect words like sudah (already), akan (will), etc.

In walau mereka cerai, we infer from real-world logic that divorce is a state that already happened. If you want to be very explicit:

walau mereka sudah bercerai = even though they have already divorced
walau mereka sudah cerai = even though they are already divorced

But the shorter walau mereka cerai is very natural and understood as “even though they are divorced / have divorced” without extra markers.

What does walau mean, and how is it different from meskipun or walaupun?

Walau is a conjunction meaning “although / even though”.

walau mereka cerai = even though they are divorced

It is very close in meaning to:

meskipun
walaupun

Differences:

walau is a bit shorter and often more informal.
walaupun and meskipun sound slightly more formal/complete, but all three are widely used, even in writing.

In this sentence, you could replace walau with meskipun or walaupun without changing the core meaning:

…walaupun mereka cerai.
…meskipun mereka cerai.

Can walau mereka cerai be moved to the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. Indonesian allows quite flexible word order for subordinate clauses like this. You can say:

Walau mereka cerai, menurut psikolog, anak bisa tetap rukun dengan kedua orang tua.

Walau mereka cerai, anak bisa tetap rukun dengan kedua orang tua, menurut psikolog.

All of these are grammatically correct. Changing the order mainly affects emphasis:

Starting with Walau mereka cerai emphasizes “even though they’re divorced” first.
Starting with Menurut psikolog emphasizes that this is an opinion of psychologists.