Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Infeksi bakteri itu bisa sembuh setelah terapi dan obat yang tepat. - That bacterial infection can heal after the right therapy and medicine.

Itu is a demonstrative that most literally means “that”, but in many cases it works more like “the” in English, marking something as specific/known.

In Infeksi bakteri itu:

It can mean “that bacterial infection” (previously mentioned or contextually clear), or
Very often it just means “the bacterial infection”, with itu functioning as a sort of definite marker (“this specific one we’re talking about”).

Without itu:

Infeksi bakteri bisa sembuh… = “A bacterial infection can recover…” (more general statement).
With itu:
Infeksi bakteri itu bisa sembuh… = “That / the bacterial infection can recover…” (a specific case).

What is the structure of infeksi bakteri itu? Which word modifies which?

The structure is:

infeksi = infection (head noun)
bakteri = bacterial / of bacteria (noun used as a modifier)
itu = that / the (demonstrative, refers to the whole phrase)

So infeksi bakteri itu literally = “that bacterial infection”.

You can think of it as:

[infeksi bakteri] itu = that [bacterial infection]

Bakteri is a noun, but Indonesian very often uses a noun directly in front of another noun to modify it (similar to English “chicken soup”, “car key”).

Could I also say itu infeksi bakteri instead of infeksi bakteri itu?

Yes, but the meaning and function change:

Infeksi bakteri itu…
- This is a noun phrase as subject: “That bacterial infection …”
- Neutral, normal way to start a sentence like in your example.
Itu infeksi bakteri.
- This is more like “That is a bacterial infection.”
- Itu acts as a pronoun (“that”), and infeksi bakteri is a predicate explaining what itu is.

So:

Infeksi bakteri itu bisa sembuh… = “That bacterial infection can heal…” (describing it)
Itu infeksi bakteri. = “That is a bacterial infection.” (identifying something)

They’re not interchangeable in this sentence; you need infeksi bakteri itu here.

What’s the nuance of bisa sembuh? Why not just sembuh without bisa?

sembuh = to recover / to heal (intransitive verb):
- Infeksi bakteri itu sembuh. = “The bacterial infection recovered” / “The infection healed.” (a statement of fact, already happened or generally true depending on context).
bisa sembuh = can recover / is able to recover / is curable:
- Infeksi bakteri itu bisa sembuh… = “The bacterial infection can recover…”
- This adds possibility/ability, often implying that under certain conditions (here: after the right therapy and medication), the infection is curable.

So bisa changes the meaning from “it heals” to “it is able to heal / can be cured”.

What’s the difference between bisa sembuh and bisa disembuhkan?

bisa sembuh
- Active/intransitive form. Literally: “can recover / can heal (by itself).”
- Focus is on the infection itself getting better, not explicitly on an external agent.
- Infeksi bakteri itu bisa sembuh setelah terapi dan obat yang tepat.
  = “That bacterial infection can get better after the right therapy and medication.”
bisa disembuhkan
- Passive form. Literally: “can be cured.”
- Focus is on the fact that someone (doctors, treatment) can cure it.
- Infeksi bakteri itu bisa disembuhkan dengan terapi dan obat yang tepat.
  = “That bacterial infection can be cured with the right therapy and medication.”

Both are correct; bisa sembuh sounds a bit more patient-focused (“it will get better”), while bisa disembuhkan is more treatment/doctor-focused (“it is curable”).

What’s the difference between bisa and dapat in this sentence?

In this context, bisa and dapat are very close:

Infeksi bakteri itu bisa sembuh…
Infeksi bakteri itu dapat sembuh…

Both mean “can / is able to recover”.

Nuance:

bisa:
- Very common in everyday Indonesian.
- Neutral in most contexts, slightly more informal in very formal writing.
dapat:
- Feels a bit more formal / written, e.g. in medical articles, official documents.

In speech, bisa is more frequent. In a medical brochure or academic text, dapat is common.

What does setelah mean here, and is it different from sesudah?

Setelah means “after” (time relationship).

…bisa sembuh setelah terapi dan obat yang tepat.
= “…can recover after the right therapy and medication.”

Setelah and sesudah are basically synonyms:

setelah = after
sesudah = after

In modern Indonesian:

setelah is slightly more common, especially in writing.
sesudah is perfectly correct, maybe a bit more old-fashioned or formal in some contexts, but both are widely used.

You could say:

Infeksi bakteri itu bisa sembuh setelah terapi dan obat yang tepat.
Infeksi bakteri itu bisa sembuh sesudah terapi dan obat yang tepat.

No real change in meaning.

Does yang tepat modify both terapi and obat, or only obat?

Grammatically, yang tepat is closest to obat, so the most literal reading is:

terapi = therapy (no modifier)
obat yang tepat = the right medication

So: “after therapy and the right medication.”

However, in natural interpretation, Indonesian listeners often understand “terapi dan obat yang tepat” as:

“the right therapy and (the right) medication”

Context usually suggests both should be appropriate.

If you want to be 100% explicit that both must be right, you can say:

…setelah terapi yang tepat dan obat yang tepat.
…setelah mendapatkan terapi yang tepat dan obat yang tepat.

If you really only mean the medication must be right (and therapy can be any), the original word order is already consistent with that.

What exactly does tepat mean here? Is it the same as benar (“correct”)?

Tepat here means “appropriate / suitable / proper / right (for this case)”.

terapi yang tepat = appropriate therapy
obat yang tepat = the right medication (for that infection)

Tepat focuses on suitability / appropriateness for the situation.

Benar means “correct / true / not wrong” in a more general or factual sense.

Jawaban kamu benar. = Your answer is correct.
Dia menggunakan istilah yang tepat. = He used the appropriate term.

In medical contexts, yang tepat (appropriate) is far more natural than yang benar.
“Obat yang benar” sounds odd; you almost always say “obat yang tepat”.

Why is there no word for “will” or a tense marker? How do we know the time here?

Indonesian normally doesn’t mark tense (past / present / future) on the verb. Time is understood from:

Time expressions (e.g. kemarin, besok, nanti), or
Context.

In Infeksi bakteri itu bisa sembuh setelah terapi dan obat yang tepat. the default reading is:

General possibility / future:
- “That bacterial infection can (will be able to) recover after the right therapy and medication.”

If you want to make it clearly future, you can add nanti or akan:

Infeksi bakteri itu akan bisa sembuh setelah terapi dan obat yang tepat.
Nanti infeksi bakteri itu bisa sembuh setelah terapi dan obat yang tepat.

But usually it’s not necessary; context (talking about a current patient, planned treatment) makes it clear.

Is the sentence formal, informal, or neutral? How would it look in more formal Indonesian?

The sentence is neutral and perfectly acceptable in normal speech and writing.

For a more formal / medical style, you might see:

Infeksi bakteri tersebut dapat sembuh setelah mendapatkan terapi dan obat yang tepat.
- tersebut instead of itu (more formal)
- dapat instead of bisa (more formal)
- mendapatkan terapi instead of just terapi (explicit “receiving therapy”)

But your original:

Infeksi bakteri itu bisa sembuh setelah terapi dan obat yang tepat.

is natural and correct in everyday use, patient information, or general explanation.