Adik perempuan saya pilek hari ini.

My younger sister has a cold today.

Breakdown of Adik perempuan saya pilek hari ini.

• adalah: to be
• hari ini: today
• saya: my
• adik perempuan: the younger sister
• pilek: to have a cold

Questions & Answers about Adik perempuan saya pilek hari ini.

What is the literal, word‑for‑word breakdown of Adik perempuan saya pilek hari ini?

Word by word:

• adik = younger sibling (younger than the speaker; gender‑neutral)
• perempuan = female / woman
• adik perempuan = younger sister (literally: younger sibling (who is) female)
• saya = I / me; after a noun it usually means my
• adik perempuan saya = my younger sister
• pilek = to have a cold / to have a runny nose
• hari = day
• ini = this
• hari ini = today

Very literal order: “Younger‑sibling female my cold today.”
Natural English: “My younger sister has a cold today.”

Why is there no verb like “to be” or “to have” in this sentence?

Indonesian often omits verbs that English requires:

• There is no separate “to be” before adjectives or nouns:

  • Adik perempuan saya pilek.
    Literally: my younger sister cold → “My younger sister is sick with a cold.”

• Many states (conditions) are just expressed by an adjective or stative verb:

  • pilek already means “to be having a cold / runny nose”, so you don’t add a verb like “have”.

So where English needs “is / has”, Indonesian commonly just places the subject next to the describing word:

• Subjek + kata sifat/kondisi
  Adik perempuan saya (subject) + pilek (condition)

Is pilek a noun (“a cold”) or an adjective/verb (“having a cold”)?

Functionally, pilek covers both ideas:

• As a condition: Dia pilek.
  → “He/She has a cold / is suffering from a cold.”

• Grammatically, Indonesian doesn’t always separate adjectives and stative verbs the way English does. pilek behaves like:

  • an adjective: describing someone’s state
  • a stative verb: expressing “to be in a cold‑having state”

You don’t usually say punya pilek for “have a cold”; you simply say pilek after the subject:

• Saya pilek hari ini. → “I have a cold today.”

What exactly does adik perempuan mean, and how is it different from just adik?

• adik = younger sibling (could be a boy or a girl)
• perempuan = female / woman
• adik perempuan = younger sibling who is female → younger sister

Differences:

• If you say adik alone, gender is unknown or not important:
  • Adik saya pilek. → “My younger sibling has a cold.”
• adik perempuan makes the gender clear:
  • Adik perempuan saya pilek. → “My younger sister has a cold.”

For a younger brother, you can say:

• adik laki‑laki = younger brother (literally: younger sibling male)

Can I just say adik saya instead of adik perempuan saya?

Yes, you can:

• Adik saya pilek hari ini.
  → “My younger sibling has a cold today.”

What changes is specificity of gender:

• adik saya: gender not specified; context may still make it clear.
• adik perempuan saya: explicitly younger sister.

In many real conversations, people say adik saya and rely on context. If you need to be explicit (for clarity or in writing), adik perempuan saya is clearer.

Why is saya after adik perempuan, instead of before like “my younger sister” in English?

Indonesian noun‑phrase order is usually:

[Thing owned] + [owner]

So:

• adik perempuan (younger sister) + saya (I/me)
  → adik perempuan saya = my younger sister

Other examples:

• rumah saya = my house
• buku mereka = their book
• mobil kamu = your car

You don’t normally say saya adik perempuan to mean “my younger sister”; that would sound wrong or mean something different.

If I have more than one younger sister, does this sentence refer to one or all of them? How do I show singular/plural?

Indonesian usually does not mark singular vs plural unless needed:

• Adik perempuan saya pilek hari ini.
  • Could mean:
    • “My younger sister has a cold today.” (one)
    • or “My younger sisters have colds today.” (more than one)
  • The exact meaning is usually clear from context.

To make it explicit:

• One younger sister

  • Seorang adik perempuan saya pilek hari ini.
    (one younger sister of mine has a cold today)
  • Or specify which:
    • Adik perempuan saya yang bungsu pilek hari ini.
      (My youngest younger sister has a cold today.)

• All/Several younger sisters

  • Adik‑adik perempuan saya pilek hari ini.
    (my younger sisters have colds today)
    • Reduplication (adik‑adik) often signals plural.
  • Or: Semua adik perempuan saya pilek hari ini.
    (all my younger sisters are down with a cold today)

Does pilek mean any kind of sickness, or something more specific? Is it like “flu”?

pilek is relatively specific:

• Typically: runny nose / stuffy nose, often with a mild cold.
• Not as strong as flu (flu / influenza), which suggests higher fever, body aches, etc.
• It does not mean “sick” in general.

Rough guide:

• pilek = have a cold / runny nose
• flu = flu (more serious illness)
• sakit = sick / in pain (very general)
• masuk angin (common expression) = feeling unwell, bloated, chilled, kind of “caught a chill” (culture‑specific concept)

So Adik perempuan saya pilek hari ini is about a cold/runny nose, not general illness or definite flu.

Can I change the word order, like “Hari ini adik perempuan saya pilek”? Is that correct and natural?

Yes, several word orders are possible and natural:

1. Adik perempuan saya pilek hari ini.
   Neutral; subject first, time at the end.

2. Hari ini adik perempuan saya pilek.
   Also natural; puts extra emphasis on “today”.

3. Adik perempuan saya hari ini pilek.
   Still grammatically acceptable, but slightly less common; sounds like you’re inserting “today” as a side comment.

Most natural choices:

• Adik perempuan saya pilek hari ini.
• Hari ini adik perempuan saya pilek.

They mean the same; the difference is just what you highlight first (subject vs time).

Do I need sedang or something similar to show it’s happening “right now”? What happens if I add it?

You don’t need any extra word; Indonesian often leaves aspect (ongoing/completed) to context.

• Adik perempuan saya pilek hari ini.
  → “My younger sister has a cold today.”
  (understood as a current state)

Adding sedang (in the process of) is usually for actions, not so much for states like pilek.
For many speakers:

• Adik perempuan saya sedang pilek hari ini.
  is understandable, but sounds a bit redundant or colloquial, because pilek itself is a currently‑true condition.

In most cases, just pilek is enough; you don’t need a progressive marker like English “is having…”.

What’s the difference between hari ini and sekarang here? Could I say sekarang instead of hari ini?

• hari ini = today (this day as a whole)
• sekarang = now (this moment / right now)

Your sentence:

• Adik perempuan saya pilek hari ini.
  → focuses on today as the time period.

You can say:

• Adik perempuan saya pilek sekarang.
  → “My younger sister has a cold right now.”

Nuance:

• hari ini: her condition for today (maybe all day or at least for this day).
• sekarang: emphasizes the present moment; could sound a bit more immediate.

Both are correct; choose based on whether you want to stress today or right now.

Is there any formality or politeness nuance in using saya here? Could I use aku instead?

Yes, there is a nuance:

• saya
  • Neutral/formal politeness
  • Safe for talking to strangers, older people, in writing, or in polite situations.
• aku
  • Informal/intimate
  • Used with close friends, family, or people of similar age/status in casual contexts.

In this sentence:

• Adik perempuan saya pilek hari ini.
  → polite/neutral.

In a casual setting (e.g. talking to a close friend), you might say:

• Adik perempuan aku pilek hari ini.

Both are grammatically correct; choice depends on how formal you want to sound and who you are talking to.