Dia bilang iri itu wajar, asal kita tidak berhenti belajar dan tidak menjadi curang.

Bilang means to say / to tell. In everyday Indonesian, it is very common and natural in speech.

• Dia bilang ... = He/She said ...
• It is more colloquial than mengatakan or berkata.
• In conversation, bilang sounds very normal.

So this sentence is natural spoken-style Indonesian, not stiff or overly formal.

In Indonesian, bahwa can introduce a clause, similar to that in English, but it is often omitted, especially in casual or neutral speech.

So both of these are possible:

• Dia bilang iri itu wajar.
• Dia bilang bahwa iri itu wajar.

The version without bahwa is very common and sounds more natural in everyday language.

Not exactly.

• iri usually means envy: wanting what someone else has
• cemburu usually means jealous in a relationship or emotional sense

So:

• Saya iri padanya = I envy him/her
• Saya cemburu = I am jealous

A learner should also know that iri can sometimes overlap with jealous, but its core idea is usually envy, not romantic jealousy.

Here, itu helps turn iri into the topic of the sentence.

So iri itu wajar is like saying:

• Envy is normal
• Being envious is normal
• As for envy, it is normal

This itu often appears when Indonesian is making a general statement about something:

• Takut itu manusiawi. = Fear is human/natural.
• Salah itu biasa. = Making mistakes is normal.
• Iri itu wajar. = Envy is normal.

It is not exactly the same as the English word that here. It is more of a topic marker-like element in this structure.

Wajar means normal, natural, reasonable, or understandable, depending on context.

In this sentence, wajar means something like:

• normal
• understandable
• not surprising

Examples:

• Kalau dia sedih, itu wajar. = If he/she is sad, that is understandable.
• Merasa gugup itu wajar. = Feeling nervous is normal.

So iri itu wajar means envy is seen as a normal human feeling, not automatically something wrong.

Here, asal means as long as, provided that, or so long as.

It introduces a condition:

• ... asal kita tidak berhenti belajar ...
• ... as long as we do not stop learning ...

This is a very common use of asal.

Be careful: asal can also mean origin in other contexts, but that is not the meaning here.

Examples:

• Kamu boleh pergi, asal kamu hati-hati. = You may go, as long as you are careful.
• Tidak apa-apa gagal, asal kamu mencoba lagi. = It is okay to fail, as long as you try again.

Kita is the inclusive we, meaning we including the listener.
Kami is the exclusive we, meaning we but not you.

Here, kita is used because the statement is general and includes everyone, including the person being spoken to:

• asal kita tidak berhenti belajar ... = as long as we do not stop learning

This sounds like a shared moral point or general advice.

If it used kami, it would sound like the speaker is talking only about their own group, excluding the listener, which would not fit the meaning well here.

Because Indonesian usually negates each verb or predicate separately.

So:

• tidak berhenti belajar
• dan tidak menjadi curang

This is the clearest and most natural structure.

While English can sometimes say do not stop learning and become dishonest, Indonesian usually prefers repeating tidak to avoid ambiguity.

Without the second tidak, the sentence could sound unclear, as if only the first action is negated.

Berhenti means to stop, and belajar means to learn / study.

Together:

• berhenti belajar = to stop learning

This is a common Indonesian pattern:

• mulai bekerja = start working
• coba tidur = try to sleep
• berhenti bicara = stop talking

So tidak berhenti belajar simply means not to stop learning or to keep learning.

Because menjadi means to become, so menjadi curang means to become dishonest / to turn dishonest / to act unfairly.

This suggests a change in behavior or character:

• envy is normal
• but it should not lead us to becoming unfair or dishonest

You could say tidak curang in another sentence, but that would mean not dishonest / not cheating as a state.
Here, tidak menjadi curang emphasizes not turning into that kind of person or behavior.

Curang means dishonest, unfair, or cheating, depending on context.

Examples:

• Dia curang saat ujian. = He/She cheated on the exam.
• Permainannya curang. = The game is unfair.
• Jangan curang. = Don’t cheat.

In this sentence, curang is moral behavior: envy may be natural, but it should not make us act unfairly or dishonestly.

Yes, it helps show that asal kita tidak berhenti belajar dan tidak menjadi curang is a condition attached to the first part.

So the sentence is divided like this:

• Dia bilang iri itu wajar,
• asal kita tidak berhenti belajar dan tidak menjadi curang.

The comma makes the structure easier to read and understand. In informal writing, people may sometimes omit commas, but here the comma is helpful and natural.

Yes. A more formal version could be:

• Dia mengatakan bahwa rasa iri itu wajar, asalkan kita tidak berhenti belajar dan tidak menjadi curang.

Changes:

• bilang → mengatakan for a more formal tone
• optional bahwa
• asal → asalkan, which often sounds a bit more formal or explicit
• rasa iri can sound slightly more polished than just iri

But the original sentence is very natural and completely correct in everyday Indonesian.