Breakdown of Menurut dokter, infeksi virus biasanya sembuh sendiri dengan istirahat yang cukup.
Questions & Answers about Menurut dokter, infeksi virus biasanya sembuh sendiri dengan istirahat yang cukup.
Menurut literally means “according to / in the opinion of”.
So Menurut dokter = According to the doctor.
It sounds a bit formal/neutral and is common in writing, news, and explanations.
More casual alternatives:
- Kata dokter – “the doctor says / said” (more spoken, informal–neutral)
- Dokter bilang … – also casual spoken style
All three can introduce what the doctor says or believes, but menurut focuses on someone’s opinion or assessment, not on the act of speaking.
Indonesian has no articles like “a / an / the”.
The bare noun dokter can mean:
- a doctor
- the doctor
- doctors (in general)
Context decides.
In this sentence, Menurut dokter is naturally understood as “According to the doctor” (a specific doctor the speaker and listener know about, e.g. the one who examined you).
It can mean either, depending on context. Indonesian nouns usually don’t change form for plural.
- infeksi virus
– a viral infection
– viral infections (in general)
Because the sentence says biasanya (usually) and sounds like a general medical statement, it is most naturally understood as “viral infections (in general)”, not just one single infection.
In Indonesian, the main noun comes first, and the modifier comes after it.
- infeksi = infection (main noun)
- virus = viral / caused by a virus (modifier here)
So infeksi virus = virus infection / viral infection.
You normally cannot say virus infeksi to mean this; that word order is wrong in Indonesian.
Biasanya means “usually / generally / as a rule”.
In this sentence:
- infeksi virus biasanya sembuh sendiri …
= viral infections usually get better on their own …
Common positions:
- Before the verb: infeksi virus biasanya sembuh sendiri (most natural)
- At the start: Biasanya, infeksi virus sembuh sendiri … (also fine, a bit more “topic-comment” style)
Putting biasanya right after sembuh (sembuh biasanya sendiri) would sound wrong; it normally goes before the verb or at the beginning of the clause.
- sembuh = to recover / to get better (from an illness)
- sendiri = by oneself / on one’s own
So sembuh sendiri literally = “recover by itself / themselves”.
Idiomatic meaning: “get better on its own without special treatment”.
It doesn’t strictly guarantee no medicine, just that the body can recover without serious medical intervention (e.g. surgery, strong drugs). It’s very common in health/medical explanations.
Not necessarily. Sembuh sendiri emphasizes that the illness will resolve without special or aggressive treatment.
Often, doctors will say something like:
- Infeksi virus biasanya sembuh sendiri, cukup istirahat dan minum banyak air.
(Viral infections usually get better on their own; just rest and drink plenty of water.)
You might still use simple medicine (e.g. for pain or fever), but the underlying infection will go away without targeted treatment (like antibiotics, which don’t work on viruses anyway).
Dengan most often means “with”, but here it has a sense close to “with / by / through”:
- dengan istirahat yang cukup
= with enough rest / by getting enough rest
It shows the means or condition that helps the recovery happen.
In istirahat yang cukup:
- istirahat = rest
- cukup = enough
- yang links the noun to its description
Literally, it’s like “rest that is enough”.
Structure:
- noun + yang + adjective
= rest that is enough → enough rest
You could also say cukup istirahat, but istirahat yang cukup is very natural, especially in explanations or more careful speech.
Both can be understood as “enough rest”, but there’s a nuance:
- istirahat yang cukup
– slightly more formal/neutral
– often used in advice, writing, or explanations - cukup istirahat
– feels a bit more like “get enough rest” / “rest enough” in casual talk
In this specific medical-style sentence, istirahat yang cukup fits very well and sounds natural and slightly more careful.
In dengan istirahat yang cukup, istirahat functions as a noun: rest.
Indonesian often uses the same root as both a noun and a verb:
- Saya perlu istirahat. – I need rest. (noun)
- Saya mau istirahat. – I want to rest. (verb-like use)
There is also a clearly verbal form beristirahat = to rest, which sounds slightly more formal or careful:
- Anda harus beristirahat yang cukup. – You must get enough rest.
Menurut dokter, infeksi virus biasanya sembuh sendiri dengan istirahat yang cukup.
This is neutral to mildly formal and is perfectly natural in:
- doctors’ explanations
- written health information
- news or educational content
More casual versions could be:
- Kata dokter, infeksi virus biasanya sembuh sendiri kalau kita cukup istirahat.
- Dokter bilang, infeksi virus itu biasanya sembuh sendiri asal istirahatnya cukup.
These sound more like everyday spoken Indonesian.
Yes, Indonesian word order is fairly flexible, as long as the relationships stay clear. For example:
- Menurut dokter, dengan istirahat yang cukup, infeksi virus biasanya sembuh sendiri.
- Dengan istirahat yang cukup, infeksi virus biasanya sembuh sendiri, menurut dokter.
All are grammatical. The original order is the most straightforward; moving phrases to the front mainly changes emphasis or rhythm, not the basic meaning.