Kalau ongkos bus naik, saya lebih suka berjalan kaki ke kantor.

Here kalau means if.

So:

• Kalau ongkos bus naik = If the bus fare goes up

A learner often sees both kalau and jika translated as if. The difference is mostly about register:

• kalau = very common in everyday conversation
• jika = a bit more formal or written

In normal spoken Indonesian, kalau is extremely common and natural.

Yes, naik has several related meanings, and that can be confusing.

In this sentence, naik means to increase / rise.

So:

• ongkos bus naik = bus fare rises / bus fare goes up

Common meanings of naik include:

• to go up physically
  
  • naik tangga = go up the stairs
• to get on / ride a vehicle
  
  • naik bus = take the bus / ride the bus
• to increase
  
  • harga naik = prices go up
  • gaji naik = salary increases

So the exact meaning depends on context.

Ongkos usually refers to cost, fare, or expense, especially for transport or practical expenses.

In this sentence:

• ongkos bus = bus fare / the cost of taking the bus

Comparison:

• ongkos = fare, expense, cost
• harga = price
• tarif = rate, tariff, fare; often sounds a bit more official

Examples:

• ongkos bus = bus fare
• harga buku = price of a book
• tarif parkir = parking rate

In everyday speech, ongkos bus sounds natural.

Indonesian often uses a simple noun + noun structure where the first noun is understood through the second.

So:

• ongkos bus literally = cost/fare of bus
• natural English translation = bus fare

This pattern is very common:

• harga rumah = house price
• pintu mobil = car door
• jadwal kerja = work schedule

You do not normally say bus ongkos for this meaning.

Ongkosnya bus would also be unusual here. The suffix -nya usually adds a sense like the fare, its fare, or a known/specific fare, but it is not needed in this sentence.

Indonesian does not have articles like a, an, and the.

So a phrase like:

• ongkos bus can mean bus fare, the bus fare, or a bus fare

And:

• ke kantor can mean to the office

The exact meaning comes from context.

This is very normal in Indonesian. English requires articles, but Indonesian usually does not.

Yes, more or less.

• suka = like
• lebih = more

So:

• lebih suka = prefer / like more

In the sentence:

• saya lebih suka berjalan kaki ke kantor
  = I prefer to walk to the office

A useful way to think about it is:

• suka = like
• lebih suka = prefer

Examples:

• Saya suka kopi. = I like coffee.
• Saya lebih suka teh. = I prefer tea.

Good question. Lebih suka can appear with or without daripada, depending on how the comparison is expressed.

In this sentence, the comparison is understood from the context:

• If bus fares go up, I prefer walking to the office.

You could also make the comparison more explicit:

• Kalau ongkos bus naik, saya lebih suka berjalan kaki ke kantor daripada naik bus.
  = If the bus fare goes up, I prefer walking to the office rather than taking the bus.

So:

• lebih suka + verb/noun can stand on its own
• daripada is added when you want to clearly state rather than what

Berjalan kaki means to walk or more literally to go on foot.

Breakdown:

• berjalan = walk / move / proceed
• kaki = foot / feet

Together:

• berjalan kaki = walk, go on foot

Why not just jalan?

Because jalan by itself can mean several things:

• road/street
• walk
• go
• run/function

So berjalan kaki is clearer and more explicitly means to walk on foot.

In casual speech, Indonesians may say jalan kaki very often:

• Saya jalan kaki ke kantor. = I walk to the office.

That is also natural.

The prefix ber- often forms an intransitive verb, meaning a verb that does not directly take an object.

Here:

• jalan = road / way / walk
• berjalan = to walk / to move / to proceed

In berjalan kaki, it helps form the verb meaning to walk.

Some other examples of ber-:

• berbicara = to speak
• bekerja = to work
• berenang = to swim

You do not always need to analyze every ber- form literally, but it is useful to recognize it as a common verb-forming prefix.

Because ke means to and di means in / at.

So:

• ke kantor = to the office
• di kantor = at/in the office

In this sentence, the speaker is moving toward the office:

• berjalan kaki ke kantor = walk to the office

If you said di kantor, it would describe location instead of destination.

It can express either, depending on context.

Kalau-clauses in Indonesian are often quite flexible. This sentence could mean:

• If bus fares go up (in the future), I’d rather walk to the office.
• Whenever bus fares go up, I prefer walking to the office.

Without more context, it is a general conditional statement.

Indonesian often leaves tense unstated, so the listener understands the time from the situation.

Because Indonesian usually does not have a direct equivalent for every English modal in this kind of sentence.

English often uses would in conditionals:

• If the bus fare goes up, I would prefer to walk to the office.

Indonesian can simply say:

• Kalau ongkos bus naik, saya lebih suka berjalan kaki ke kantor.

The conditional meaning is already clear from kalau and the overall context.

If the speaker wanted, they could add extra words for nuance, but they are not necessary here.

Yes, this is a good thing to notice.

Compare:

• ongkos bus naik = the bus fare goes up
• naik bus = take the bus / ride the bus

Same word, different structure:

1. naik after a noun like ongkos
   
   • often means increase
2. naik before a vehicle noun
   
   • often means ride / get on
   • naik bus, naik kereta, naik pesawat

Context tells you which meaning is intended.

Yes. That is very natural, especially in everyday speech.

Compare:

• Saya lebih suka berjalan kaki ke kantor.
  Slightly more complete or formal
• Saya lebih suka jalan kaki ke kantor.
  Very natural, common spoken style

Both mean the same thing here: I prefer to walk to the office.

The given word order is very natural:

• Kalau ongkos bus naik, saya lebih suka berjalan kaki ke kantor.

But Indonesian word order can sometimes be adjusted for emphasis.

For example, you might also hear:

• Saya lebih suka berjalan kaki ke kantor kalau ongkos bus naik.

This still means basically the same thing:
I prefer to walk to the office if bus fares go up.

The version with kalau first is often clearer because it sets up the condition immediately.

Sometimes Indonesian omits subjects when they are obvious from context, but in this sentence saya is very natural and helpful.

• Kalau ongkos bus naik, saya lebih suka berjalan kaki ke kantor.

If you removed saya, the sentence could sound incomplete unless the subject was already very clear from previous conversation.

So for learners, keeping saya here is the safest and most natural choice.

It is mostly neutral everyday Indonesian.

Parts of the sentence feel standard and clear:

• kalau = everyday
• saya = polite/neutral I
• lebih suka = neutral
• berjalan kaki = standard and clear

If you wanted a more casual spoken version, you might hear something like:

• Kalau ongkos bus naik, aku mending jalan kaki ke kantor.

That sounds more informal because:

• aku is more casual than saya
• mending is a conversational way to say better / would rather

The original sentence is a good standard model for learners.