Dokter bilang memar di lengan itu tidak berbahaya, tetapi pergelangan tangan saya masih bengkak.

Indonesian often leaves out articles that English requires. So dokter can mean the doctor, a doctor, or just doctor, depending on context.

In this sentence, it is naturally understood as the doctor because the situation already makes it clear which doctor is being talked about.

• Dokter bilang ... = The doctor said ...

You could say seorang dokter if you specifically wanted to introduce a doctor, but it is not necessary here.

Bilang is a very common everyday word meaning to say or to tell. It is less formal than mengatakan and very natural in conversation.

Roughly:

• bilang = casual, everyday
• berkata = to speak / to say, a bit more formal or literary
• mengatakan = to state / to say, more formal and often used in writing

So:

• Dokter bilang ... sounds natural in speech.
• Dokter mengatakan ... would also be correct, but more formal.

Memar can function like bruise in English: it can describe the condition and also refer to the bruise itself.

In this sentence, memar is most naturally understood as a noun:

• memar di lengan itu = the bruise on the arm / that bruise on the arm

Indonesian often allows words to be flexible like this, so learners will often see one word doing work that English splits into noun/adjective categories.

Most naturally, di lengan itu means on that arm or on the arm depending on context.

So:

• memar di lengan itu = the bruise on that arm / that bruise on the arm

In real usage, itu often helps point to something already known in the conversation. It can feel a little like that or sometimes like the, depending on context.

A learner should know that Indonesian noun phrases can be a bit flexible, so the exact English translation depends on the situation more than on strict grammar labels.

In Indonesian, demonstratives like ini and itu usually come after the noun:

• lengan itu = that arm
• dokter itu = that doctor
• rumah itu = that house

This is different from English, where this and that come before the noun.

So seeing itu after lengan is completely normal Indonesian word order.

Use tidak to negate adjectives and verbs. Use bukan mainly to negate nouns or noun phrases.

Here, berbahaya means dangerous, which is an adjective, so:

• tidak berbahaya = not dangerous

Compare:

• Dia tidak sakit. = He/She is not sick.
• Itu bukan dokter. = That is not a doctor.

So bukan berbahaya would sound wrong here.

Berbahaya means dangerous.

It comes from:

• bahaya = danger
• berbahaya = having danger, so dangerous

The prefix ber- often creates words that describe having or possessing something, though its uses are broader than that. In this case, it helps form the adjective dangerous.

Tetapi and tapi both mean but.

• tetapi = more standard or formal
• tapi = shorter, more conversational

So this sentence could also be:

• Dokter bilang ..., tapi pergelangan tangan saya masih bengkak.

Both are correct. Tetapi just sounds a bit more careful or polished.

Pergelangan tangan is the standard Indonesian word for wrist.

Literally:

• pergelangan = joint / pivoting part
• tangan = hand / arm, depending on context

So pergelangan tangan is the joint area of the hand/arm, which in English we call the wrist.

This is very common in Indonesian: body-part terms may be built as phrases rather than single words.

Because Indonesian divides these body areas a bit differently from English.

• lengan = arm
• tangan = hand, but in compounds it can also help name parts connected with the hand/arm area
• pergelangan tangan = wrist

So there is no contradiction. The sentence first talks about the arm (lengan) and then specifically about the wrist (pergelangan tangan).

Both are possible, but they have different style levels.

• pergelangan tangan saya = neutral, standard, common
• pergelangan tanganku = also correct, a bit more personal or informal in tone

Using saya sounds natural and slightly more neutral or polite. Since the sentence begins with Dokter bilang, which is everyday but not overly slangy, saya fits well.

Indonesian usually does not need a copula like is/am/are in sentences with adjectives.

So:

• Pergelangan tangan saya masih bengkak literally looks like my wrist still swollen
• Natural English: My wrist is still swollen

This is very normal in Indonesian:

• Dia sakit = He/She is sick
• Rumah itu besar = That house is big

No separate word for is is needed.

Masih means still.

It shows that the condition continues:

• masih bengkak = still swollen

Without masih:

• pergelangan tangan saya bengkak = my wrist is swollen

With masih, the speaker implies that the swelling has not gone away yet.

It can work like both swelling and swollen, depending on how it is used. In this sentence it clearly means swollen:

• pergelangan tangan saya masih bengkak = my wrist is still swollen

This is another example of Indonesian words often being less rigidly separated into noun/adjective categories than in English.

The current word order is the most natural:

• Dokter bilang memar di lengan itu tidak berbahaya, tetapi pergelangan tangan saya masih bengkak.

Indonesian word order is often fairly flexible, but changing it can affect emphasis or make it sound less natural.

For example, you could say:

• Dokter bilang bahwa memar di lengan itu tidak berbahaya ...

Adding bahwa makes it slightly more explicit: The doctor said that ...

But the original version is smoother and more conversational.

Because Indonesian often omits bahwa (that) when introducing a clause after verbs like say.

So both are possible:

• Dokter bilang memar di lengan itu tidak berbahaya.
• Dokter bilang bahwa memar di lengan itu tidak berbahaya.

The version without bahwa is very common and natural, especially in speech.

Yes, it could be omitted, but the meaning would become a little less specific.

• memar di lengan itu = that bruise on the arm / the bruise on that arm
• memar di lengan = a bruise on the arm / bruising on the arm

Keeping itu helps point to something specific that speaker and listener both know about. Without it, the phrase feels more general.