Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Dokter menyarankan saya minum vitamin setiap pagi supaya tidak mudah sakit. - The doctor advises me to take vitamins every morning so I don’t get sick easily.

Pattern with a person as object + verb:
- Dokter menyarankan saya minum vitamin.
  Literally: The doctor advised me to drink/take vitamins.
  Structure:
  - menyarankan (verb)
  - saya (direct object: the person)
  - minum vitamin (what that person should do)
Pattern with “agar/supaya” + clause:
- Dokter menyarankan agar saya minum vitamin.
- Dokter menyarankan supaya saya minum vitamin.
Pattern with “kepada” (to) + person:
- Dokter menyarankan kepada saya untuk minum vitamin.
  Literally: The doctor advised to me to take vitamins.

All are grammatically possible, but:

The original menyarankan saya minum vitamin is natural and efficient.
Adding kepada is more wordy and a bit more formal; it’s fine but not necessary here.
Using agar/supaya is very common in written and spoken Indonesian when you want a full clause after menyarankan.

Why do Indonesians say minum vitamin (“drink vitamin”) instead of “take vitamins” or makan vitamin (“eat vitamin”)?

In Indonesian, minum literally means to drink, but it’s also the standard verb used for taking most medicines and supplements, even if they are pills:

minum obat = take medicine
minum antibiotik = take antibiotics
minum vitamin = take vitamins

So minum vitamin is the normal, idiomatic way to say take vitamins.

What about makan vitamin?

makan vitamin is heard in casual speech, especially if the vitamin is chewable or gummy, but minum vitamin sounds more standard and is what you’ll usually see in writing or hear from doctors.

Why is vitamin singular in Indonesian when English uses plural “vitamins”?

Indonesian usually doesn’t mark plural with -s like English. Instead:

A bare noun like vitamin can mean vitamin or vitamins, depending on context.
minum vitamin setiap pagi is naturally understood as “take vitamins every morning.”

If you really want to emphasize plurality, you can say:

vitamin-vitamin (reduplication for plural, more formal/neutral)
berbagai macam vitamin = various kinds of vitamins
banyak vitamin = many vitamins

But in everyday speech, just vitamin is enough.

Why is there no word for “the” or “a” like in English (“the doctor”, “a vitamin”)?

Indonesian has no articles like a/an/the. Nouns stand alone:

dokter can mean a doctor or the doctor.
vitamin can mean a vitamin, the vitamin, or vitamins.

Context tells you which one is meant.
In the sentence:

Dokter = the doctor (the specific one you went to)
vitamin = vitamins (in general)

You don’t need extra words to mark definiteness (the) or indefiniteness (a/an).

What’s the difference between supaya, agar, and untuk? Could I replace supaya here?

In the sentence:

supaya tidak mudah sakit = so (that) I don’t get sick easily.

General functions:

supaya / agar
- Both mean so that / in order that and are followed by a full clause (subject + verb/adjective).
- supaya is slightly more informal; agar is a bit more formal or written.
- You can say:
  - …supaya saya tidak mudah sakit.
  - …agar saya tidak mudah sakit.
untuk
- Means for / to as a purpose marker, usually followed by a verb or noun, not a full clause.
- E.g. Dokter menyarankan saya minum vitamin setiap pagi untuk menjaga kesehatan.
  (…to maintain health.)

In this exact sentence, you can safely replace supaya with agar without changing the meaning much:

…supaya tidak mudah sakit.
…agar tidak mudah sakit.

But untuk tidak mudah sakit sounds less natural; with untuk, Indonesians usually rephrase the second part, e.g. untuk menjaga kesehatan.

Why is it tidak and not bukan in tidak mudah sakit?

In Indonesian:

tidak negates verbs and adjectives.
bukan negates nouns and pronouns, or corrects identity.

Here:

mudah is an adjective (“easy/easily” in this usage).
So you must use tidak:
tidak mudah sakit = not easily sick / not easily get sick.

Examples for contrast:

Dia tidak sakit. = He/She is not sick. (sakit = adjective)
Dia bukan dokter. = He/She is not a doctor. (dokter = noun)

What does mudah sakit literally mean, and how natural is this expression?

Literally:

mudah = easy / easily
sakit = sick / ill

So mudah sakit literally is easily sick, which we’d phrase in English as gets sick easily / prone to illness.

The whole part:

supaya tidak mudah sakit = so that (I/you/they) don’t get sick easily.

This is a very natural and common expression. Similar patterns:

mudah lelah = easily tired
mudah marah = easily angry
mudah lupa = easily forget(ful)

How do I know the tense of menyarankan here? Is it past (“advised”) or present (“advises”)?

Indonesian verbs generally don’t change form for tense. menyarankan just shows the action (advise/recommend), not when it happens.

Dokter menyarankan saya minum vitamin… could mean:

The doctor advised me to take vitamins… (past)
The doctor is advising me to take vitamins… (now)
The doctor advises me to take vitamins… (habitually)

To make time clear, Indonesians add time expressions:

tadi dokter menyarankan… = earlier today, the doctor advised…
kemarin dokter menyarankan… = yesterday…
biasanya dokter menyarankan… = usually the doctor advises…

Without a time word, context decides the tense.

Why is saya used and not aku? Can I say Dokter menyarankan aku…?

Both saya and aku mean I / me, but they differ in formality and relationship:

saya
- More formal and polite.
- Used with people who are not very close, in professional situations, with older people, etc.
- Perfect when speaking about or to a doctor.
aku
- More informal and intimate.
- Used with close friends, family, or in casual conversation.

In this sentence, talking about what your doctor advised, saya is more appropriate and natural.

You can grammatically say:

Dokter menyarankan aku minum vitamin…

But it sounds more casual and less polite, and many speakers would still prefer saya in anything involving a doctor.

What is the role of setiap in setiap pagi, and is tiap pagi also correct?

setiap means every.
setiap pagi = every morning.

You can also say:

tiap pagi = also every morning, just a bit more informal / shorter.

Both are correct:

…minum vitamin setiap pagi… (neutral)
…minum vitamin tiap pagi… (slightly more casual)

Can I drop some words and still be correct, for example: Dokter menyarankan minum vitamin setiap pagi?

Yes, Indonesian often drops pronouns when they’re clear from context.

Some natural variations:

Dokter menyarankan saya minum vitamin setiap pagi.
(original; explicit “me”)
Dokter menyarankan minum vitamin setiap pagi.
- Implied subject = “I/you” depending on context.
- Sounds like: The doctor recommended taking vitamins every morning.
Dokter menyarankan untuk minum vitamin setiap pagi.
- Adds untuk; still natural.
- Slightly more formal or written.

Just be aware:

If it’s important to show who should take the vitamins (you, your child, your parents, etc.), it’s better to keep saya, anak saya, ibu saya, etc.