"My older brother is twenty years old."

Translation: Abang saya dua puluh tahun.

[anno35]

I think that elsewhere 'kakak' has been acceptable as 'older sibling' why isn't that the case here?

[INDAHNESIA]

hmm my thoughts also .. but upon research i discovered...

"Abang" is older brother .... kakak is older sibling

[tabris12]

Kakak = older sibling
Kakak laki-laki = older brother
Kakak perempuan = older sister
Abang = older brother (for male only)

[Allverdizade]

kenapa tidak bisa mengatakan "umur abang saya dua puluh tahun"?

[joeldipops]

That seems grammatical to me, but the emphasis is in a different place.

[IlseDens]

Why was "umur" required in the previous sentence, but is it wrong to use it here??

[Kauakolo]

itʻs now accepted

[WoShiYQ]

I tried "Abang saya umur dua puluh tahun" and it says that it is wrong

[TJR696322]

Abang is correct but formal. In daily conversation kakak is used. From the context it is clear if it is female or male. In Indonesia the context is the most important. That is also why translating only one sentence is difficult as it can have many meanings.

[Kauakolo]

In another sentence, they offered "[person] umurnya sepuluh tahun." Would "Abang saya umurnya dua puluh tahun" work here?

[TJR696322]

Technically not; nya is referring to her/his (or the third person).
Ibu saya umur lima puluh tahun.
Ibu mas Rudi umurnya lima puluh empat tahun.
However this is not commonly used this way. Nya is used for possession (tasnya (his/her bag), mobilnya (her/his car)) or in combination with "di" and the third person.

[Kauakolo]

"Having" years is a way to tell age in many other languages, such as Spanish (tengo 20 años) and Hawaii (20 ona makahiki), but I understand why that pattern might fall out of use. Good to hear what common usage is like - you get a lingot!

[Kauakolo]

huzzah it wasnʻt accepted before but it is now

[Hans_Se]

Should be accepted, try to report it ...

And both are used in daily conversation

[Cor665827]

Kakak should be accepted too

[Autsralian]

I thought Coco was for older brother. That is what my Indonesian wife calls our son.

And Meme for our younger daughter.

[joeldipops]

Likely a regional variation or regional language. What part of Indonesia is she from?

[Autsralian]

She is from Surabaya.

I asked her about it and she told me it was Mandarin. Her family are Indonesian but have some Chinese heritage so I guess this is something that carried over.

Probably not suitable for this forum after all!

[Brandon936466]

All context and depends where you are (island) as you will refer to most new males you meet with some form of family address to show respect.

Abang is used in Sumatra and many parts of east kalimantan to address another male around your age or older, (pak is used for senior citizens).

the word 'Mass' is used in the same way throughout Java (i didnt hear abang once in a month in java travelling i don't believe, only kakak laki laki for older siblings and mass for addressing)

depending where you travel (main islands) will depend on which one you use in addressing other males or talking about family and which one is used more frequently used, all are known so really it doesn't matter if you use abang or kakak laki laki they wont care in indonesia, each island just has a preference of their own. same can be said with Wanita (woman), perempuan (woman/female) and gadis (girl) depends where you are in the country to which one will be used more frequently, so know all and adapt depending upon on what you hear in each part of the country.

As soon as i got off the ferry from Java to Sumatra i had to change from permissi Mass to permissi abang when addressing males.

[TJR696322]

Mas is written with one s. In eastern Java "mas" can indeed be used, but they also use "cak" there to address a young man. Everywhere in Java when you see the man in obviously older then you, or if someone with a high position (orang tinggi) and same age/younger then you, then use "pak". Pak can be used safely everywhere in Indonesia and "bu" for a woman.

[joeldipops]

Well safety is relative. My wife, in her 30s, was taken aback the first time someone called her bu, and still doesn't like it.

[TJR696322]

Hahaha, yes I understand. My Javanese wife is older then yours and she also does not like it when people cal her bu. In the hospital they call her nyonya and does not like that either. She is only happy with mbak.

[thokonet]

Why is this wrong: "Abang saya umur dua puluh tahun"? is it perhaps too colloquial?
My older brother is twenty two = abang saya duapuluh tahun - no mention of old / age / umur

[Vince......]

I said
Abangku ADALAH dua puluh tahun, and it says it's wrong. Why?

[TJR696322]

Preceding nouns, "adalah" menas "to be". This temple is a tourism object. = Candi ini adalah obyek wisata. However it is optional, so it can be skipped. Candi ini obyek wisata. In a formal way you can write: Abang saya adalah dua puluh tahun. The "abangku" is unformal and then a formal use of adalah does not fit in bahasa Indonesia.