Kalau melon itu sudah dipotong, baru saya masukkan ke wadah makan untuk besok.

Yes, kalau often means if, but in real Indonesian it can also mean something closer to when, once, or after depending on context.

In this sentence:

Kalau melon itu sudah dipotong, baru saya masukkan ke wadah makan untuk besok.

kalau introduces the condition or situation first:

• if/once the melon has been cut

Because the sentence also has baru, the overall meaning is more like:

• Once the melon is cut, then I put it into a food container for tomorrow
• or Only after the melon is cut do I put it into a container for tomorrow

So kalau is not always a strict hypothetical if like in English.

Literally, melon itu is that melon.

But in many Indonesian sentences, itu is also used more loosely to mark something as already known, specific, or already mentioned. So depending on context, melon itu can feel like:

• that melon
• the melon
• the melon we’re talking about

So a learner should not always translate itu very mechanically as English that.

Because dipotong is passive.

• memotong = to cut something
• dipotong = to be cut / cut by someone

So:

• melon itu sudah dipotong = the melon has already been cut / the melon is already cut

This structure is very common in Indonesian when the thing affected is the focus, and the person doing the action is unknown, unimportant, or obvious from context.

Using sudah memotong would not work here, because memotong needs a subject that does the cutting, like:

• Saya sudah memotong melon itu = I already cut that melon

Sudah often means already, but more generally it marks that something is completed or has happened.

So:

• dipotong = cut / be cut
• sudah dipotong = already cut / has been cut

In this sentence, sudah shows that the cutting must be completed before the next action happens.

That is why the sentence feels like:

• Once it has been cut...
• After it is already cut...

Here baru means something like:

• then
• only then
• only after that

This is a very common Indonesian pattern:

• Kalau ..., baru ...
• If/once ..., then only ...

So:

Kalau melon itu sudah dipotong, baru saya masukkan ... means:

• Only after the melon is cut do I put it in...

This baru is not the adjective new.

Compare:

• baju baru = new clothes
• baru saya masukkan = only then I put it in

Good question. The full standard verb is memasukkan, which means to put something into.

• masuk = to go in, enter
• memasukkan = to put/insert something in

So:

• Saya masuk ke rumah = I go into the house
• Saya memasukkan melon ke wadah = I put the melon into the container

In everyday Indonesian, especially after pronouns like saya, aku, dia, people often drop the meN- prefix in speech and informal writing. So:

• saya memasukkan → saya masukkan

That is why saya masukkan here means:

• I put it in

It is not the same as saya masuk, which would mean I go in.

By itself, masukkan! can indeed be an imperative:

• Masukkan ke tas! = Put it in the bag!

But in this sentence, because it follows saya, it is understood as a verb meaning I put it in:

• baru saya masukkan = then I put it in

So context tells you this is not a command.

The object is understood from the earlier part of the sentence: melon itu.

Indonesian often leaves out repeated objects when they are already clear from context.

So even though the sentence says:

• baru saya masukkan ke wadah makan

the understood meaning is:

• baru saya masukkan melon itu ke wadah makan
• then I put the melon into the food container

In English, we might naturally say then I put it into the container.

Ke usually means to or into for direction or destination.

So:

• ke wadah makan = into/to a food container

In this sentence, it marks where the melon is being put.

A rough breakdown:

• masukkan ke wadah makan = put it into a food container

If you want to be a bit more explicit, Indonesian can also say:

• ke dalam wadah makan = into the food container

But ke wadah makan is perfectly understandable.

Wadah means container. Makan means eat/food-related, depending on context.

So wadah makan means a container used for food, such as:

• a food container
• a lunch container
• a storage container for food

Depending on context, English translations might vary:

• food container
• lunch box
• meal container

It does not necessarily refer to one specific kind of container unless the situation makes that clear.

In practice, it most likely means for tomorrow in a general sense: the melon is being put into the container so it will be ready for tomorrow.

So the idea is:

• I put it into a food container for tomorrow

Grammatically, Indonesian can sometimes leave this a little open, and English also does something similar. The most natural interpretation is that the prepared melon is intended for tomorrow.

If you wanted to make it more explicit, Indonesian could say things like:

• untuk dimakan besok = to be eaten tomorrow
• buat besok = for tomorrow

Yes, it is understandable and fairly natural, especially in everyday speech. But there are a few points a learner may notice.

A more fully standard version might be:

• Kalau melon itu sudah dipotong, baru saya memasukkannya ke wadah makan untuk besok.

That version keeps the full verb memasukkan and includes -nya for the object.

In casual Indonesian, though, people very often shorten things:

• saya masukkan
• object omitted if obvious

So the original sentence sounds like normal spoken or informal written Indonesian.

Because the first part is a dependent clause giving the condition or time frame:

• Kalau melon itu sudah dipotong = If/once the melon has been cut

Then the main clause comes after it:

• baru saya masukkan ke wadah makan untuk besok = then I put it into a food container for tomorrow

The comma helps separate those two parts, much like in English:

• If the melon has been cut, then I put it into a container for tomorrow.

Yes, that is essentially the idea.

Because of kalau ... sudah ... baru ..., the sentence expresses sequence:

1. the melon gets cut
2. only then does the speaker put it into the container

So natural English renderings include:

• Once the melon is cut, I put it into a food container for tomorrow.
• After the melon has been cut, then I put it into a container for tomorrow.
• I only put the melon into the container for tomorrow after it’s been cut.

Yes. Depending on the nuance, you might also hear:

• Jika = more formal if
• Bila = formal/literary if
• Setelah = after
• Begitu / begitu sudah in some spoken patterns = once/as soon as

For example:

• Setelah melon itu dipotong, saya masukkan ke wadah makan untuk besok.

That version is a bit more directly after the melon is cut, I put it into the container for tomorrow.

But kalau ... baru ... is a very common and natural conversational pattern.