Kalau saya berbohong kepada Ibu, saya pasti menyesal setelahnya.

Kalau most often means if in everyday Indonesian.

In this sentence, Kalau saya berbohong kepada Ibu... introduces a condition:

• If I lie to you/Mother...

Depending on context, kalau can sometimes feel like when in English, but here the conditional meaning if is the natural one.

A few notes:

• kalau is very common in spoken and written Indonesian
• jika also means if, but sounds more formal
• In casual speech, people also say kalau very frequently where English would clearly use if

So here, think of kalau as a normal, natural way to say if.

The comma separates the condition clause from the main clause:

• Kalau saya berbohong kepada Ibu, = if I lie to you/Mother
• saya pasti menyesal setelahnya. = I will definitely regret it afterwards

This is similar to English:

• If I lie to you, I will definitely regret it afterwards.

In Indonesian, punctuation is sometimes a little flexible in casual writing, but this comma is perfectly normal and helps make the sentence easier to read.

Bohong means a lie or lying/false depending on context.

Berbohong is the verb to lie.

So:

• bohong = lie / false / a lie
• berbohong = to tell lies / to lie

The prefix ber- often forms verbs, especially intransitive ones. Here it turns bohong into the action to lie.

Examples:

• Itu bohong. = That is a lie. / That’s false.
• Dia berbohong. = He/She is lying.

In everyday speech, Indonesians do sometimes use bohong like a verb too, but berbohong is a clear and standard form.

Yes, but the structure and nuance change.

Compare:

• berbohong kepada Ibu = to lie to Mother/you/Ma’am
• membohongi Ibu = to deceive/trick Mother/you/Ma’am, or lie to her directly

The sentence you were given uses berbohong kepada Ibu, which focuses on the act of lying, with Ibu as the person the lie is directed toward.

Membohongi is more transitive and can sound a little stronger or more direct:

• Saya membohongi Ibu = I lied to/deceived you

So both are possible, but berbohong kepada is a very natural choice here.

Kepada is the standard preposition for to when the target is a person, especially in formal or neutral Indonesian.

So:

• berbohong kepada Ibu = lie to Mother / lie to you / lie to Ma’am

Why not the others?

• ke usually means movement toward a place

  • ke sekolah = to school
    So ke Ibu would sound wrong here.

• pada can sometimes be used in formal language, but kepada is more natural for a person in this kind of sentence.

In casual speech, many speakers would also say:

• bohong sama Ibu
• berbohong sama Ibu

But kepada sounds more standard and a bit more formal.

It could be either, depending on context.

Ibu can mean:

• mother / mom
• Mrs.
• ma’am
• a respectful way to address an adult woman

The capital letter matters too:

• ibu = mother, a mother, or the general word
• Ibu = often a title, name-like form of address, or a respectful direct reference

So in this sentence, Ibu could mean:

• Mother
• you, ma’am
• Mrs. ...

Without more context, more than one interpretation is possible.

It is capitalized because it is being used like a title or a direct respectful form of address, almost like a name.

Compare:

• Saya berbicara kepada ibu saya. = I spoke to my mother.
  Here ibu is just a common noun.

• Saya berbicara kepada Ibu. = I spoke to you, Ma’am. / I spoke to Mother.
  Here Ibu is used as a respectful title or direct reference.

This is similar to English capitalization in some cases:

• my mother
• Mother (when used like a name)

Indonesian often keeps pronouns where English might also repeat them.

The sentence has two clauses:

• Kalau saya berbohong kepada Ibu
• saya pasti menyesal setelahnya

Repeating saya makes the second clause clear and complete:

• If I lie to you, I will definitely regret it afterwards.

Could it be omitted? In some contexts, Indonesian can drop things that are understood, but here repeating saya is the normal and clear choice.

So this repetition is not strange—it is very natural.

Pasti means certainly, definitely, or for sure.

So:

• saya pasti menyesal = I will definitely regret it / I would definitely regret it

It adds a strong sense of certainty.

Examples:

• Dia pasti datang. = He/She will definitely come.
• Itu pasti salah. = That is definitely wrong.

In this sentence, pasti shows that the speaker is sure regret will follow.

Indonesian usually does not mark future tense the way English does.

English often needs:

• If I lie to you, I will regret it.

Indonesian can simply say:

• Kalau saya berbohong kepada Ibu, saya pasti menyesal setelahnya.

The future meaning comes from:

• the conditional structure (kalau)
• the context
• the logic of the sentence

If needed, Indonesian can add words like:

• akan = will
• nanti = later

For example:

• Kalau saya berbohong kepada Ibu, saya pasti akan menyesal setelahnya.

But akan is not necessary here.

It can cover both ideas, depending on context.

Menyesal means:

• to regret
• to feel sorry about something one did

In this sentence, menyesal is best understood as regret it or feel remorse afterwards.

Examples:

• Saya menyesal. = I regret it. / I’m sorry about it.
• Dia menyesal telah pergi. = He/She regrets having left.

So menyesal often expresses a deeper feeling of regret, not just a quick apology.

Setelahnya means after that, afterwards, or later on after it.

It comes from:

• setelah = after
• -nya = a suffix that here points back to something already mentioned

So in this sentence, setelahnya refers back to the act of lying:

• after that
• afterwards
• after lying

It does not need to repeat the whole event. Indonesian often uses -nya this way to refer to something understood from context.

Here, -nya refers back to the situation just mentioned—basically, the act of lying or the time after that event.

So:

• setelah = after
• setelahnya = after that / afterwards

This -nya does not always mean his/her/its in a literal possessive sense. It often functions more loosely in Indonesian to mean something like:

• the one already mentioned
• that thing
• it

In this sentence, setelahnya is a very natural way to avoid repeating the whole idea.

It sounds neutral to somewhat formal/polite.

That feeling comes from:

• saya rather than aku
• kepada rather than sama
• Ibu as a respectful term
• berbohong rather than a more colloquial phrasing

A more casual version might be:

• Kalau aku bohong sama Ibu, aku pasti nyesel sesudahnya.

That said, the original sentence is still very natural. It is not overly stiff; it just sounds polite and standard.

Yes. Indonesian allows both orders.

Your sentence is:

• Kalau saya berbohong kepada Ibu, saya pasti menyesal setelahnya.

You could also say:

• Saya pasti menyesal setelahnya kalau saya berbohong kepada Ibu.

Both are grammatical.

The version with kalau first is often clearer and more natural when introducing the condition. It is also very similar to English If..., then... structure.

Yes, Indonesians would understand and use it, but in very everyday conversation they might choose a more casual wording.

Common casual alternatives:

• Kalau saya bohong sama Ibu, saya pasti menyesal setelahnya.
• Kalau aku bohong sama Ibu, aku pasti nyesel nanti.

Differences:

• saya → more polite/formal
• aku → more casual
• kepada → more formal/standard
• sama → more conversational
• menyesal → standard
• nyesel → casual spoken form

So the original sentence is good Indonesian; it just leans polite and standard.

By itself, it sounds hypothetical.

• Kalau saya berbohong kepada Ibu... = If I lie / If I were to lie...

It presents a condition, not necessarily a real event that already happened.

However, Indonesian does not mark hypothetical meaning in exactly the same way English does. So depending on context, it could also be understood more generally:

• Whenever I lie to you, I definitely regret it afterwards
• If I lie to you, I’ll definitely regret it afterwards

Usually, without more context, the safest interpretation is a normal conditional: if this happens, then that will happen.

Yes, absolutely.

You could say:

• Kalau saya berbohong kepada Ibu, saya pasti menyesal setelah itu.

This means almost the same thing:

• after that
• afterwards

The difference is small:

• setelahnya feels a bit more compact and tied to the previous event
• setelah itu is very common and explicit

Both are natural. Learners will often find setelah itu easier at first.