Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Kalau sedang pilek, minumlah air hangat dan jangan lupa vitamin. - When you have a cold, drink warm water and don’t forget vitamins.

“If you have a cold…” (a condition: if this situation happens, then do this)
In casual speech, people use kalau a lot where English might choose if or when, and the context tells you which nuance is stronger.

Why is there no word for “you” in the sentence?

Indonesian often drops the subject (like “you”) when it’s clear from context, especially in instructions, advice, or general statements.

English: If you have a cold, drink warm water and don’t forget vitamins.
Indonesian: Kalau sedang pilek, minumlah air hangat dan jangan lupa vitamin.

The hidden subject is understood as:

(Kamu / Anda) minumlah air hangat…
(You, drink warm water…)

This is very natural. Adding kamu or Anda would sound more explicit and sometimes more personal:

Kalau kamu sedang pilek, minumlah air hangat… (more personal, informal)
Kalau Anda sedang pilek, minumlah air hangat… (more formal/polite)

But they’re not necessary.

What does sedang mean? Can I leave it out?

Sedang marks an ongoing action or state, similar to English “be doing / be in the middle of”.

sedang pilek ≈ “(currently) having a cold”

So:

Kalau sedang pilek ≈ “If (you are) having a cold / If you’re in the middle of a cold”

You can drop sedang:

Kalau pilek, minumlah air hangat…

This still means “If you have a cold…” and is perfectly natural.

With sedang: slightly emphasizes the current, ongoing state.
Without sedang: more general, but in practice they’re very close here.

In speech, many people would simply say kalau pilek.

What exactly does pilek mean? Is it “cold” like the weather?

Pilek is a health term, not about temperature. It refers to:

A runny or stuffy nose, usually from:
- a common cold
- mild flu-like symptoms
- allergies (in everyday speech people might still say pilek)

Typical idea: “I’m sniffly / I have a runny nose / I have a cold.”

Examples:

Saya lagi pilek. = I have a cold / I’m sniffly.
Anaknya pilek dari kemarin. = The child has had a cold since yesterday.

It is not used for “cold weather”. For that you’d use:

dingin = cold (temperature)
- Cuacanya dingin. = The weather is cold.

What is minumlah? How is it different from just minum?

The base verb is minum = “to drink”.

Minumlah is minum + -lah. The suffix -lah here:

turns it into a polite or gentle imperative
adds a feeling like “please…” or a soft “do …”
often appears in written or formal instructions, advice, or slogans

So:

Minum air hangat. = Drink warm water.
(a plain command; neutral)
Minumlah air hangat. = Drink warm water (please / do drink warm water).
(more polite, advising, or “recommended” tone)

In spoken casual Indonesian, people usually say minum air hangat without -lah.

What does air hangat mean exactly? Is it “warm” or “hot” water?

air = water
hangat = warm, pleasantly warm

So air hangat = warm water, usually:

warmer than room temperature
but not boiling-hot

Compare:

air dingin = cold water
air hangat = warm water
air panas = hot water, often close to boiling or very hot

Health or traditional advice often uses air hangat (warm water) rather than air panas (which might be too hot to drink safely).

Why is there no preposition before air hangat after minumlah?

In Indonesian, many verbs directly take an object without a preposition, like in English with normal transitive verbs.

minum air hangat
- minum = drink (verb)
- air hangat = warm water (direct object)

This is similar to English:

“drink water”, not “drink to water”

So, you simply say minum + [thing]:

minum kopi = drink coffee
minum obat = take medicine (literally: drink medicine)
minum jus jeruk = drink orange juice

No preposition is needed.

What does jangan lupa literally mean, and how is it used?

jangan = don’t (negative imperative)
lupa = forget

So jangan lupa = “don’t forget”.

In sentences, it’s used just like English “don’t forget (to) …”:

Jangan lupa vitamin.
Literally: “Don’t forget vitamins.”
Meaning: “Don’t forget to take your vitamins.”
Jangan lupa makan. = Don’t forget to eat.
Jangan lupa bawa payung. = Don’t forget to bring an umbrella.

Very common in everyday speech for reminders and soft instructions.

Why is it just vitamin and not vitaminnya or “your vitamins”?

Indonesian often omits possessive markers when the meaning is obvious.

vitamin here is general: “vitamins (in general)” or “your vitamins”, depending on context.

If you want to be more explicit, you could say:

jangan lupa vitaminnya = don’t forget the vitamins / your vitamins
jangan lupa minum vitamin = don’t forget to take vitamins
jangan lupa minum vitaminnya = don’t forget to take your vitamins

All are natural. The short jangan lupa vitamin is a compressed, colloquial form that people understand instantly.

Is dan (“and”) necessary here? Could this be two sentences?

Dan = and, joining two instructions:

minumlah air hangat (drink warm water)
jangan lupa vitamin (don’t forget vitamins)

So:

Kalau sedang pilek, minumlah air hangat dan jangan lupa vitamin.

= “If you have a cold, drink warm water and don’t forget vitamins.”

You could also split it:

Kalau sedang pilek, minumlah air hangat. Jangan lupa vitamin.

This is also correct and natural.

Using dan simply ties the two pieces of advice into one combined recommendation.

Can I use jika or ketika instead of kalau?

Yes, but the tone changes slightly.

jika
- More formal / written than kalau.
- Very common in instructions, official texts, etc.
- Here:
  - Jika sedang pilek, minumlah air hangat dan jangan lupa vitamin.
    Sounds a bit more formal or “book-style”, but perfectly correct.
ketika
- Means “when (at the time that)”, usually about a specific time, not a conditional “if”.
- More literal “at the moment when you are having a cold”.
- Ketika sedang pilek, minumlah air hangat…
  Grammatically fine, but in everyday advice kalau/jika feel more natural, because we’re talking about a condition (“if you have a cold”), not a specific event timeline.

Most natural choices here:

Kalau sedang pilek… (neutral, common, spoken)
Jika sedang pilek… (a bit more formal/written)

Could I say kalau lagi pilek instead of kalau sedang pilek?

Yes. Lagi is a more colloquial way to express an ongoing action/state, similar to sedang, especially in spoken Indonesian.

Kalau sedang pilek…
- Slightly more neutral/formal.
Kalau lagi pilek…
- More casual, everyday speech.

Both mean roughly “If (you are) having a cold…” or “When you’re having a cold…”.

Examples:

Saya sedang makan. (neutral) = I am eating.
Saya lagi makan. (casual) = I’m eating right now.

So yes, kalau lagi pilek is very natural in conversation.

Can the order be changed to put kalau sedang pilek at the end?

Yes. The “if” clause can come at the beginning or the end, just like in English.

Current version:

Kalau sedang pilek, minumlah air hangat dan jangan lupa vitamin.
= If you have a cold, drink warm water and don’t forget vitamins.

Alternative word order:

Minumlah air hangat dan jangan lupa vitamin kalau sedang pilek.
= Drink warm water and don’t forget vitamins if you have a cold.

Both are correct.
Starting with kalau… is very common in advice or instructions, because it sets the condition first.

How might this sentence look in very informal everyday speech?

In casual conversation, people might:

drop sedang
drop -lah
possibly add aja (just)
use lagi instead of sedang

Some natural informal variants:

Kalau pilek, minum air hangat, jangan lupa vitamin.
Kalau lagi pilek, minum air hangat, jangan lupa vitamin ya.
- ya softens it: like “okay?” / “yeah?”
Kalau pilek, minum air hangat aja, jangan lupa vitamin.

All carry the same core meaning as the original, but sound more like relaxed spoken Indonesian.