Adik laki-laki saya kadang bawel, tetapi dia tidak teledor kalau urusan kunci rumah.

In Indonesian, adik by itself means younger sibling. It does not tell you whether the sibling is male or female.

• adik = younger sibling
• adik laki-laki = younger brother
• adik perempuan = younger sister

So laki-laki is added to make the gender clear.

Adik laki-laki specifically means younger brother.

Saudara laki-laki means male sibling / brother, but it does not tell you whether he is older or younger. It also sounds more formal and less everyday.

In normal conversation, Indonesians usually prefer:

• kakak laki-laki = older brother
• adik laki-laki = younger brother

So in this sentence, adik laki-laki is the most natural choice if the speaker means a younger brother.

In Indonesian, possession often works like this:

noun + possessor

So:

• adik laki-laki saya = my younger brother
• literally: younger brother my

This is very normal Indonesian word order.

Other examples:

• rumah saya = my house
• teman saya = my friend
• kunci rumah = house key

Kadang means sometimes.
Kadang-kadang also means sometimes.

In many contexts, they are interchangeable. Kadang-kadang can feel a little more complete or slightly more standard, while kadang is shorter and very common in speech and writing.

So:

• Adik laki-laki saya kadang bawel = My younger brother is sometimes naggy/fussy/talkative.

Both of these would work:

• kadang bawel
• kadang-kadang bawel

Bawel is a very common Indonesian word, but it has a nuance. It usually means someone is:

• talking too much
• nagging
• fussy
• complaining a lot
• sometimes annoyingly chatty

So it is not always the neutral English talkative. It often has a slightly negative feeling.

Depending on context, bawel could be translated as:

• naggy
• mouthy
• fussy
• always talking
• keeps going on and on

Here it probably means the younger brother can be a bit annoying or noisy in how he talks.

Yes. Tetapi and tapi both mean but.

• tetapi = more formal / more standard in writing
• tapi = more casual and very common in speech

So this sentence uses the more formal-looking option:

• ..., tetapi dia tidak teledor ...

In everyday conversation, many speakers would naturally say:

• ..., tapi dia tidak teledor ...

Both are correct.

Indonesian often can omit the subject if it is clear from context, but keeping dia makes the sentence clearer and smoother.

So:

• Adik laki-laki saya kadang bawel, tetapi dia tidak teledor ... is very natural.

You might also hear:

• Adik laki-laki saya kadang bawel, tetapi tidak teledor ...

That version is possible, but adding dia clearly marks the second clause and avoids any ambiguity.

Also, dia means he or she. Indonesian does not usually distinguish gender in third-person singular pronouns.

Teledor means careless, negligent, or sloppy, especially about things that require attention.

It is often used for people who:

• forget things
• lose things
• are not careful
• make avoidable mistakes

So tidak teledor means:

• not careless
• careful
• not sloppy

In this sentence, it suggests that although the younger brother may be bawel, he is careful when it comes to house keys.

Yes, this is a phrase learners often notice because it is somewhat idiomatic.

Here:

• kalau = if / when / when it comes to
• urusan = matter, business, issue, affair

So kalau urusan kunci rumah means something like:

• when it comes to house keys
• as far as house keys are concerned
• in matters involving the house keys

This use of urusan is very common in Indonesian to mean the topic/issue of X.

Examples:

• Kalau urusan uang, dia hati-hati. = When it comes to money, he’s careful.
• Kalau urusan makanan, dia pemilih. = When it comes to food, he’s picky.

So the phrase is very natural.

Indonesian noun phrases usually put the main noun first, followed by the word that describes or limits it.

So:

• kunci rumah = house key
  • main noun: kunci = key
  • modifier: rumah = house

This is the normal pattern:

• pintu rumah = house door
• atap rumah = house roof
• teman sekolah = school friend

Kunci dari rumah would usually mean a key from the house, which is a different idea. It sounds like the key came from the house, not necessarily that it is the house key.

So kunci rumah is the correct natural phrase here.

Here it means when it comes to.

Although kalau often means if, it can also introduce a topic or situation. In this sentence, it is not really a condition in the English if sense.

Compare:

• Kalau hujan, saya di rumah. = If it rains, I stay home.
• Kalau urusan kunci rumah, dia tidak teledor. = When it comes to house keys, he isn’t careless.

So this is a broader, idiomatic use of kalau.

Not really if you want the same natural meaning.

Tentang kunci rumah means about house keys, which is more neutral and just refers to the topic.

But kalau urusan kunci rumah has the sense of:

• in the matter of house keys
• when dealing with house keys
• as far as house keys are concerned

It emphasizes a specific area where the person behaves in a certain way. So kalau urusan ... is more idiomatic and more suitable here.

It is mostly neutral everyday Indonesian.

A few notes:

• saya is polite/neutral for I / my
• tetapi is a bit more formal than tapi
• bawel is a common everyday word and somewhat informal in tone
• teledor is standard and common

So overall, the sentence sounds natural and normal, with a slightly neat or written feel because of tetapi.

If you made it more casual, it might become:

• Adik laki-laki saya kadang bawel, tapi dia nggak teledor kalau urusan kunci rumah.

That version is more spoken and informal.

Some parts can change, but the original order is very natural.

Original:

• Adik laki-laki saya kadang bawel, tetapi dia tidak teledor kalau urusan kunci rumah.

Possible variation:

• Kalau urusan kunci rumah, adik laki-laki saya tidak teledor, meskipun kadang bawel.

That shifts the emphasis to house keys first.

But you generally would not want to break up adik laki-laki saya or kunci rumah, because those are fixed noun phrases in this sentence.

So yes, Indonesian has some flexibility, but the original version is smooth and natural.

Yes, it is appropriate here because tetapi connects two full clauses:

• Adik laki-laki saya kadang bawel
• dia tidak teledor kalau urusan kunci rumah

Using a comma before tetapi is normal in careful writing, much like using a comma before but in English when joining two independent clauses.

In casual writing, punctuation may be looser, but the comma here is standard and helpful.