Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Di klinik, perawat menjelaskan bahwa pasien cukup datang lagi minggu depan untuk kontrol, tanpa harus tes darah ulang. - At the clinic, the nurse explains that the patient only needs to come again next week for a check-up, without having to do another blood test.

Perawat menjelaskan di klinik bahwa ...
but the given version sounds more natural and emphasizes the setting first, which is very common in Indonesian.

Why is there no word for the in perawat and pasien? How do I know it means the nurse and the patient?

Indonesian does not have articles like a / an / the. Nouns like perawat (nurse) and pasien (patient) are neutral; context tells you whether to translate them as a or the.

perawat menjelaskan can be a nurse explained or the nurse explained, depending on what makes sense in the situation.
pasien can be a patient, the patient, or even the patients in another context.

Here, because we are talking about a specific nurse and a specific patient in a clinic, natural English uses the nurse and the patient, even though Indonesian just says perawat and pasien.

What does menjelaskan mean exactly, and how is it different from mengatakan or berkata?

Menjelaskan comes from the root jelas (clear) and means to explain (to make something clear).

perawat menjelaskan = the nurse explained.

Contrast:

mengatakan = to say / to state
berkata = to say / to speak

So:

Perawat mengatakan bahwa... = The nurse said that...
Perawat menjelaskan bahwa... = The nurse explained that...

Menjelaskan implies giving clarification or more detailed information, not just stating something.

What is the role of bahwa in menjelaskan bahwa pasien cukup datang lagi...? Can I omit it?

Bahwa is a conjunction meaning that, introducing a reported clause:

perawat menjelaskan bahwa ... = the nurse explained that ...

So the whole clause after bahwa is what was explained.

In spoken and informal Indonesian, bahwa is often dropped:

Perawat menjelaskan pasien cukup datang lagi minggu depan...

This is still understood, but in more formal or careful speech and writing, bahwa is preferred because it makes the structure clearer.

What does cukup mean in pasien cukup datang lagi minggu depan? Is it enough or just / only?

Cukup has a few related meanings, depending on context:

Enough / sufficient
- Uangnya cukup. = The money is enough.
Quite / fairly (as an intensifier)
- Film itu cukup bagus. = That movie is quite good.

In this sentence:

pasien cukup datang lagi minggu depan literally:
for the patient, it is sufficient just to come again next week

The most natural English is something like:

the patient just needs to come again next week
it’s enough if the patient comes again next week

So here cukup = it is enough / only needs to.

You could roughly rephrase it in Indonesian as:

Pasien hanya perlu datang lagi minggu depan.

Why is it datang lagi minggu depan and not minggu depan datang lagi? Is the word order flexible?

Both orders are possible; Indonesian word order with time expressions is fairly flexible.

datang lagi minggu depan
minggu depan datang lagi

Both can mean come again next week.

The version in the sentence:

cukup datang lagi minggu depan

puts the focus more naturally on the action datang lagi first, then specifies when (minggu depan). It flows smoothly as a predicate:

cukup [datang lagi] [minggu depan]

Putting minggu depan first is also correct and might be used for emphasis on next week, e.g.:

Minggu depan pasien cukup datang lagi untuk kontrol.
Next week the patient just needs to come again for a check-up.

What does untuk kontrol mean, and is kontrol really Indonesian?

Untuk means for / in order to.

Kontrol in medical contexts is a borrowed word (from Dutch/English) that means something like check-up / follow-up visit / routine control.

So:

untuk kontrol = for a check-up / for a follow-up visit.

In a more “pure” Indonesian style, you might also hear:

untuk periksa (for a check)
untuk pemeriksaan (for an examination)

But kontrol is very commonly used in everyday medical situations in Indonesia.

What does tanpa harus mean, and how does it work in tanpa harus tes darah ulang?

Tanpa means without.
Harus means must / have to.

Together:

tanpa harus ... = without having to ... / without needing to ...

So:

tanpa harus tes darah ulang = without having to repeat the blood test

Literally: without must blood test again, but functionally:

tanpa harus introduces something that is not required.

Why is there no verb like melakukan in tanpa harus tes darah ulang? Should it be tanpa harus melakukan tes darah ulang?

The fully explicit form would be:

tanpa harus melakukan tes darah ulang
= without having to do a repeat blood test

However, in Indonesian it is very common to drop melakukan (to do) and let the noun phrase act as the “verb-like” part, especially with actions like tes darah, operasi, kontrol, etc.

So:

tanpa harus tes darah ulang is natural and idiomatic.
tanpa harus melakukan tes darah ulang is also correct, just a bit longer and slightly more formal.

Both are acceptable; the given sentence uses the more concise style.

What is the nuance difference between lagi and ulang in this sentence?

Both lagi and ulang can relate to the idea of again, but they are used differently.

lagi = again, more, another time; also means still in other contexts.
- datang lagi = come again.
ulang = repeat / repeated / again, often with a nuance of repetition or redoing.
- tes darah ulang = repeat blood test.

In the sentence:

datang lagi: the patient comes again (another visit).
tes darah ulang: the blood test is repeated.

We wouldn’t normally say tes darah lagi ulang together; ulang already carries the repeat meaning in this context.

Why isn’t there a pronoun like dia before cukup datang lagi? How do we know who is doing the action?

In the clause:

bahwa pasien cukup datang lagi minggu depan...

Pasien is the subject of cukup datang lagi. Indonesian does not require an extra pronoun like dia there.

So:

bahwa pasien cukup datang lagi...
literally: that the patient (subject) just needs to come again...

Adding dia would be ungrammatical or redundant here:

✗ bahwa pasien dia cukup datang lagi (incorrect)

If you wanted to refer to the patient by pronoun only, you’d normally replace pasien:

bahwa dia cukup datang lagi minggu depan
= that he/she just needs to come again next week.

How do we know the sentence is in the past (the nurse explained), since there are no tense markers?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense (past, present, future). Menjelaskan can mean explains, is explaining, explained, depending on context.

We infer the time from:

Context of storytelling.
Time expressions such as minggu depan (next week), which indicate the explanation was about a future action relative to the speaking time in the story.

In natural English, this becomes:

At the clinic, the nurse explained that the patient just needed to come again next week...

But in Indonesian, there is no change in verb form; the listener understands it as past from the overall situation.

Is kontrol here specifically “control” like in English, or does it always mean “check-up” in Indonesian?

In medical Indonesian, kontrol almost always means a check-up / follow-up visit.

Saya harus kontrol ke dokter.
= I have to go for a check-up to the doctor.

Outside medical contexts, kontrol can mean control (as a noun or verb-like noun), but in everyday speech, if someone says kontrol ke dokter / klinik / rumah sakit, it’s understood as a medical check-up or follow-up.

In this sentence, untuk kontrol clearly means for a follow-up / check-up, not to control something.

What is the overall formality level of this sentence? Would it sound natural in everyday conversation?

The sentence is in neutral to slightly formal Indonesian:

Use of bahwa, menjelaskan, and the full structure tanpa harus tes darah ulang gives it a somewhat careful, standard feel.

In everyday spoken Indonesian, especially in casual settings, people might shorten or simplify it, for example:

Di klinik, perawat bilang pasien cukup datang lagi minggu depan buat kontrol, nggak usah tes darah lagi.

But the original sentence is perfectly natural for:

Medical professionals talking to each other.
Written notes or explanations.
Polite speech at a clinic.