Kalau luka di kaki sudah dibersihkan, baru Ibu mengoleskan salep dan membalutnya dengan perban.

In this sentence, kalau is often best understood as when, once, or after rather than a strong English-style if.

So:

• Kalau luka di kaki sudah dibersihkan
  = When/once the wound on the leg has been cleaned

In Indonesian, kalau can introduce a condition, but in everyday speech it is also often used for a situation that is expected to happen. So here it sounds natural as a step in a sequence:

1. the wound is cleaned
2. then Mother applies ointment
3. then she bandages it

If you wanted a more explicitly time-based word, setelah could also work in many contexts.

They are not the same, even though they look similar.

1. di kaki

Here, di is a preposition meaning in, on, at.

• di kaki = on the leg

As a preposition, it is written separately from the following word.

2. dibersihkan

Here, di- is a prefix used to form the passive voice.

• dibersihkan = is cleaned / has been cleaned

As a prefix, it is written attached to the verb.

So a very useful rule is:

• di + place/location → written separately
  
  • di rumah, di meja, di kaki
• di- + verb → written together
  
  • dibersihkan, dibalut, ditulis

Sudah dibersihkan means has already been cleaned or has been cleaned.

Breakdown:

• sudah = already
• dibersihkan = cleaned / has been cleaned

So together:

• luka di kaki sudah dibersihkan
  = the wound on the leg has already been cleaned

The word sudah shows that the action is complete. It often gives a sense similar to English already or the completion idea in has been.

The passive is used because the sentence focuses on the wound, not on the person doing the cleaning.

• luka di kaki sudah dibersihkan
  literally: the wound on the leg has been cleaned

This is very natural in Indonesian. Indonesian uses passive constructions quite often, especially when:

• the result matters more than the doer
• the doer is unknown
• the doer is obvious or unimportant

If you made it active, it might look more like:

• Kalau Ibu sudah membersihkan luka di kaki...
  = When Mother has cleaned the wound on the leg...

That is possible, but it shifts the focus more toward Ibu as the actor.

Here, baru does not mean new. It means something like:

• then
• only then
• after that

So:

• ..., baru Ibu mengoleskan salep ...
  = ..., then Mother applies ointment ... = ..., only after that does Mother apply ointment ...

This use of baru marks the next step and often suggests the second action should happen only after the first one is completed.

Compare:

• baju baru = new clothes
• baru makan = just ate / recently ate
• baru Ibu mengoleskan salep = only then Mother applies ointment

So the meaning of baru depends a lot on context.

Ibu literally means mother, but it can also be a respectful form of address for an adult woman, similar to Mrs., ma’am, or Madam, depending on context.

In this sentence, capitalizing Ibu suggests it is being used like a name or title, probably meaning:

• Mother / Mom

So:

• baru Ibu mengoleskan salep
  = then Mother applies ointment

If it were lowercase, ibu, it could still mean mother, but capitalization often helps show that it refers to a specific person in the family.

Mengoleskan comes from the root oles and uses the suffix -kan.

• mengoleskan salep = to apply/spread ointment
• mengoles salep can also occur in some contexts, but mengoleskan is very common when you are applying something onto something else

The suffix -kan often gives a sense like:

• applying/putting something onto a target
• causing something to be put somewhere

So here:

• mengoleskan salep = apply ointment

A learner does not need to master every detail of -kan immediately, but it is useful to notice that many Indonesian verbs with -kan are very natural in this kind of medical or practical action.

The -nya here means it and refers back to the thing being bandaged.

So:

• membalutnya = bandage it / wrap it

In context, it refers to the wound, or possibly the injured area of the leg. Indonesian often uses -nya like a third-person object pronoun when the referent is already clear.

Breakdown:

• membalut = to bandage / wrap
• membalutnya = to bandage it

This is very common in Indonesian, where -nya can mean:

• his/her/its
• or him/her/it

depending on context.

Dengan means with, and here it introduces the instrument used to do the action.

• dengan perban = with a bandage

So:

• membalutnya dengan perban
  = bandage it with a bandage/bandage wrap

Even though English might sound a little repetitive with bandage it with a bandage, this is perfectly natural in Indonesian because:

• membalut = to wrap/bandage
• perban = bandage

The phrase tells you exactly what is used.

Yes, it is normal.

The structure is:

• Kalau ... , baru Ibu mengoleskan salep ...

This means:

• When/once X has happened, then Mother applies ointment...

The word baru comes before the subject Ibu to show the sequence clearly: only then does that action happen.

This is a common pattern in Indonesian:

• Kalau sudah selesai, baru saya makan.
  = Once it’s finished, then I eat.
• Kalau sudah dingin, baru diminum.
  = Once it’s cool, then it is drunk.

So baru + subject + verb is a useful pattern to learn.

Yes, in many situations you could, but the nuance changes slightly.

With kalau

• Kalau luka di kaki sudah dibersihkan, baru Ibu ...
• Sounds like: when/once the wound has been cleaned, then...
• This is common in everyday speech.

With setelah

• Setelah luka di kaki dibersihkan, Ibu ...
• More directly means: after the wound on the leg is cleaned, Mother...

So:

• kalau can feel a bit more like a condition or expected step
• setelah is more clearly a time sequence: after

Both can work, but kalau ... baru ... is a very natural Indonesian pattern for describing the correct order of actions.

Luka di kaki means a wound on the leg.

Breakdown:

• luka = wound
• di kaki = on the leg

So the noun comes first, and then its location is added.

• luka di kaki = a wound on the leg
• luka di tangan = a wound on the hand
• luka di kepala = a wound on the head

If you said kaki luka, that would more likely sound like the leg is injured/wounded, which is a different structure and meaning.

So luka di kaki is the natural way to specify the location of the wound.