Anak itu tersedak sedikit saat mengunyah biskuit, tetapi ibunya segera menolongnya.

In Indonesian, demonstratives like ini (this) and itu (that/the) usually come after the noun.

• anak itu = that child / the child
• biskuit itu = that biscuit

So anak itu is the normal Indonesian word order, even though English puts that before the noun.

Tersedak means to choke or to get something stuck in the throat while eating/drinking.

The prefix ter- often gives the idea of:

• something happening accidentally
• something happening without intention
• a resulting state

So tersedak suggests that the choking happened unintentionally. In this sentence, it means the child choked a little while chewing the biscuit.

Sedikit means a little, slightly, or a bit.

In this sentence, tersedak sedikit means:

• choked a little
• choked slightly

It softens the situation and suggests it was not a severe choking episode.

Indonesian often omits pronouns when the subject is already clear from context.

Here, the subject of mengunyah is understood to be anak itu, so saying dia is unnecessary.

• saat mengunyah biskuit = while chewing a biscuit
• literally, the subject is implied: while (the child was) chewing a biscuit

Adding dia would still be understandable, but omitting it sounds very natural.

Mengunyah comes from the root kunyah, which relates to chewing.

With the meN- prefix, it becomes an active verb:

• kunyah = chew / chewing
• mengunyah = to chew / chewing

This is a very common verb form in Indonesian. The prefix meN- often forms active verbs.

Tetapi means but.

Yes, it is related to tapi:

• tetapi = more formal or neutral
• tapi = more casual, common in speech

Both are very common, and both mean but. In a written sentence like this, tetapi sounds slightly more polished.

Ibunya is ibu + -nya.

• ibu = mother
• ibunya = his/her mother, the mother, or sometimes the child's mother, depending on context

In this sentence, ibunya naturally means his/her mother, referring to the child mentioned earlier.

The suffix -nya can mark:

• possession: his/her
• definiteness: the

So here it works very naturally as his/her mother.

Menolongnya = menolong + -nya

• menolong = to help
• menolongnya = to help him/her

Here, -nya refers to anak itu (the child), not to the mother.

So:

• ibunya segera menolongnya = his/her mother immediately helped him/her

Indonesian -nya does not show gender, so it can mean:

• him
• her
• sometimes it, depending on context

We do not know from this sentence alone.

Indonesian pronouns and suffixes like -nya do not normally mark gender. So:

• ibunya = his mother or her mother
• menolongnya = helped him or her

English forces you to choose his/her and him/her, but Indonesian often leaves that unspecified unless the context makes it clear.

Segera means immediately, right away, or promptly.

It is similar to langsung, but there is a slight nuance:

• segera focuses on quickness/promptness
• langsung often emphasizes directly / without delay / straight away

In many everyday contexts, they are close in meaning. Here, segera menolongnya means the mother helped the child immediately.

Indonesian does not usually use a verb like to be in the same way English does for continuous tenses.

English says:

• was chewing

Indonesian simply says:

• mengunyah

Time and aspect are often understood from context. The word saat (when/while) already helps show that this was happening at that moment.

So saat mengunyah biskuit naturally means while chewing a biscuit or when he/she was chewing a biscuit.

Yes.

In Indonesian, itu can sometimes be translated as:

• that
• the

So anak itu may mean:

• that child
• the child

Which translation sounds best depends on context. In a standalone sentence like this, the child is often the most natural English translation.