Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Kisah itu membuat saya merasa dekat dengan nenek meskipun kami jarang bertemu. - That tale makes me feel close to Grandma even though we rarely meet.

cerita = the neutral, everyday word for story (any kind of story).
kisah = a bit more literary or emotional, often used for touching stories, life stories, religious stories, or stories with a lesson.

In this sentence you could also say Cerita itu membuat saya merasa dekat…, which would be perfectly correct. Kisah just gives a slightly more narrative/poetic flavor.

What is the function of itu in kisah itu, and why does it come after the noun?

Itu is a demonstrative meaning that.

kisah itu literally = that story.
In Indonesian, the basic pattern is:

noun + itu = that [noun]
noun + ini = this [noun]

So:

kisah itu = that story
kisah ini = this story

You normally put itu/ini after the noun, not before it like in English.

How does membuat saya merasa work grammatically?

The pattern is:

membuat + [person] + [complement]

Here:

membuat = to make, to cause
saya = me
merasa dekat dengan nenek = feel close to (my) grandmother

So kisah itu membuat saya merasa… = that story makes me feel…

Other common examples:

Berita itu membuat saya sedih. = That news makes me sad.
Dia membuat saya marah. = He/She makes me angry.

The verb merasa = to feel, so membuat saya merasa X is literally make me feel X.

Why do we say merasa dekat instead of just dekat?

dekat = close/near (an adjective or adverb)
merasa dekat = to feel close

After membuat saya, you can either:

go straight to an adjective: membuat saya sedih (make me sad), or
use a verb phrase: membuat saya merasa dekat (make me feel close).

The nuance:

membuat saya dekat dengan nenek suggests it actually makes the relationship close (changes the situation).
membuat saya merasa dekat dengan nenek focuses on my feeling, even if the relationship in reality has not changed.

So merasa keeps the idea clearly in the emotional, subjective realm.

What does dekat dengan nenek literally mean, and why is dengan used?

dekat dengan nenek literally = close with/to grandmother.

dekat = close, near
dengan = with / to (here it links who you are close to)
nenek = grandmother

In Indonesian, emotional closeness is normally expressed with dekat dengan [someone]:

Saya dekat dengan kakak saya. = I’m close to my older sibling.

Using dengan here is natural; pada would not be used in this emotional sense. In casual speech you may also hear dekat sama nenek.

Why is it just nenek and not nenek saya to mean my grandmother?

In Indonesian, kinship terms like nenek (grandma), ibu (mother), ayah (father), kakak (older sibling) are often used without a possessive pronoun when it is obvious from context whose relative it is.

So nenek here is understood as my grandmother.

You can say nenek saya if you want to be completely explicit or to contrast with someone else’s grandmother, but in a sentence like this, nenek alone is very natural and commonly used.

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

meskipun means although or even though.

In this sentence:

meskipun kami jarang bertemu = although we rarely meet.

Comparisons:

meskipun and walaupun: practically interchangeable in most cases. You could say walaupun kami jarang bertemu with no real change in meaning.
Short forms: meski / walau are also common, especially in writing or slightly more literary style.
padahal: also translated as whereas / even though, but it often carries a stronger nuance of “but actually / contrary to what you’d expect”, sometimes with a sense of mild criticism or surprise.
Using padahal here would sound a bit more like: we rarely meet, which is surprising/contradictory in this context.

For a neutral although, meskipun or walaupun is best.

Can the meskipun clause go at the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. You can say:

Meskipun kami jarang bertemu, kisah itu membuat saya merasa dekat dengan nenek.

This is completely correct and natural.

Points to note:

When the meskipun clause comes first, you usually put a comma after it.
Changing the order does not change the basic meaning; it just slightly changes the emphasis. Starting with Meskipun kami jarang bertemu highlights the contrast first.

What does jarang mean exactly, and why is it before bertemu?

jarang means rarely / seldom.

Word order:

In Indonesian, adverbs of frequency usually come before the verb:
- selalu datang = always come
- sering pergi = often go
- jarang bertemu = rarely meet

So kami jarang bertemu = we rarely meet.
You would not normally say kami bertemu jarang in standard Indonesian.

What is the nuance of bertemu compared to ketemu or berjumpa?

All three can mean to meet, but they differ in register:

bertemu: standard, neutral, slightly formal. Good for writing and polite speech.
ketemu: informal/colloquial form often used in spoken Indonesian.
berjumpa: polite and rather formal/literary; often used in respectful contexts.

In this sentence, bertemu is a good neutral choice. You might also hear:

kami jarang ketemu in casual conversation.

Why is kami used instead of kita?

Indonesian distinguishes between two kinds of we:

kami = we (excluding the listener)
kita = we (including the listener)

Here, kami refers to me and my grandmother, not including the person you are talking to. So kami jarang bertemu = my grandmother and I rarely meet.

If you used kita here, it would sound like you, me, and grandmother rarely meet, which is not what the sentence means.

Can any pronouns be dropped to make the sentence shorter?

Indonesian can sometimes drop pronouns when context is very clear, but in this specific sentence:

You cannot drop saya after membuat.
Kisah itu membuat merasa dekat… is ungrammatical because membuat then has no object (make who?).
The kami in meskipun kami jarang bertemu could be dropped in very context-heavy, informal speech:
- …meskipun jarang bertemu. But on its own, this is less clear (who rarely meets?), so in careful or neutral Indonesian it’s better to keep kami.

For learners, the safest and most natural form is the full original sentence with all pronouns present.