Learn Hardcore Japanese: tamani otouto to kenka wo simasu ga, sugu nakanaorisimasu. - Sometimes I fight with my younger brother, but we quickly make up.

たまに: rarely but sometimes, low frequency
- e.g. “I don’t do it much, but occasionally I do.”
ときどき: “sometimes / occasionally”, medium frequency
- more neutral: “from time to time”

So:

たまに弟とけんかをします。
⇒ I occasionally (not very often) fight with my younger brother.

If you changed it to ときどき, it would sound like the fights happen a bit more often or more regularly.

Where is “I” in the Japanese sentence? Why isn’t it written?

Japanese often omits the subject when it’s clear from context.

In English we say:

“I sometimes fight with my younger brother, but we make up quickly.”

In Japanese the I is understood but not said:

(私は) たまに弟とけんかをしますが、すぐ仲直りします。

Here, 私は (“as for me / I”) is simply dropped.
This is very natural and standard in Japanese conversation and writing when the subject is obvious.

Why is the particle と used after 弟?

弟と here means “with my younger brother”.

For verbs of interaction (talking, meeting, fighting, playing, etc.), Japanese often uses Xと:

友だちと話します。= I talk with my friend.
彼と会います。= I meet (with) him.
妹と遊びます。= I play with my little sister.
弟とけんかします。= I fight with my younger brother.

So 弟と literally marks the other person involved in the quarrel.

Why do we say けんかをします? Is けんか a verb?

けんか is originally a noun meaning “a quarrel / a fight”.

In Japanese, many nouns can combine with する “to do” to make a verb. These are often called verbal nouns (サ変名詞):

勉強する
→ 勉強する = to study
練習する
→ 練習する = to practice
けんかする
→ けんかする = to quarrel / to fight

When you turn such a noun into a verb with する, you can:

Use を: けんかをする
Or drop を: けんかする

Both are correct. So:

弟とけんかをします
弟とけんかします

These basically mean the same thing: “I (sometimes) fight/quarrel with my younger brother.”
The を here is the usual object marker, but with these “noun + する” verbs, it is often optional.

Why is there a が in the middle of the sentence? Isn’t が usually the subject marker?

が has several uses. Here it is not the subject marker; it is working as a conjunction meaning:

“but / although / however”

So:

たまに弟とけんかをしますが、すぐ仲直りします。
= I sometimes fight with my younger brother, but we make up quickly.

As a conjunction, が is similar to けど / けれど / けれども:

たまに弟とけんかをしますけど、すぐ仲直りします。

Using が here sounds a bit more neutral or slightly more formal than けど.

What exactly is 仲直り and why is it followed by します?

仲直り (なかなおり) is a noun meaning:

“reconciliation”
“making up (after a quarrel)”

Like けんか, it is also a verbal noun and can combine with する to make a verb:

仲直りする
→ 仲直りする = to make up / to reconcile

So:

すぐ仲直りします。
= We quickly make up.
(literally: “quickly do reconciliation.”)

Again, 仲直りをします is also grammatically possible, but with this word, people very often omit を and just say 仲直りする / 仲直りします.

Why is there no を after 仲直り (why not 仲直りをします)?

With many noun + する expressions, を is optional:

勉強(を)する
練習(を)する
けんか(を)する
仲直り(を)する

In practice:

Some are more natural with を (e.g. 勉強をする is more common in careful speech).
Some are very common without を, and 仲直りする is one of them.

So:

すぐ仲直りします。 ✅ (very natural)
すぐ仲直りをします。 ✅ (grammatically OK, but sounds a bit stiffer or less common)

In everyday conversation, すぐ仲直りします is what you’ll usually hear.

The verbs are in the polite present/future form (します / します). Does that mean it’s about the future, or is it habitual?

Japanese non-past (～する / ～します) covers:

present actions
future actions
habitual / repeated actions
general truths

Here it describes a habitual pattern:

たまに弟とけんかをしますが、すぐ仲直りします。
= “I sometimes fight with my younger brother, but (whenever that happens) we make up quickly.”

So it means this is something that generally happens, not just once and not necessarily in the future only.

Could the word order be 弟とたまにけんかをしますが… instead? Is たまに fixed at the beginning?

たまに is an adverb, and adverbs in Japanese have fairly flexible positions. All of these are natural:

たまに弟とけんかをしますが、すぐ仲直りします。
弟とたまにけんかをしますが、すぐ仲直りします。
弟とけんかをたまにしますが、すぐ仲直りします。

Nuance:

Putting たまに at the very beginning slightly emphasizes “as for frequency, it’s only sometimes”.
Putting it later puts a bit more focus on “with my brother” or “quarreling”, but the difference is small in casual speech.

The original position (at the start) is very natural and common.

Why is it just 弟, not 弟さん? Is that rude?

弟 by itself usually means “my younger brother” (the speaker’s own).

When talking about your own family, Japanese commonly omit さん:
- 母, 父, 兄, 弟, 妹, etc.
When talking about someone else’s younger brother (to be polite), you add さん or use another respectful expression:
- 田中さんの弟さん = Mr. Tanaka’s younger brother

In this sentence, the speaker is clearly referring to their own brother, so 弟 (without さん) is natural and not rude at all.

What does すぐ mean here, and can I say すぐに仲直りします instead?

すぐ here means “right away / immediately / soon after”.

すぐ仲直りします。
= We make up right away.

You can absolutely say:

すぐに仲直りします。

に emphasizes the adverbial role a bit more, but in modern Japanese:

すぐ仲直りします
すぐに仲直りします

are both very natural, and the difference in nuance is very small in everyday conversation.