Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Saya ingin rumah yang bersih sehingga lingkungan terasa nyaman. - I want a clean house so that the environment feels comfortable.

ingin = to want / to wish / to desire
- Slightly more formal or neutral.
- Common in writing, polite speech, or when you’re being a bit more careful.
mau = to want
- Very common in everyday spoken Indonesian.
- Sounds more casual and conversational.

In your sentence, you can say:

Saya mau rumah yang bersih sehingga lingkungan terasa nyaman.

This is perfectly natural in everyday conversation.
The original with ingin just sounds a little more neutral/formal or “careful,” but not stiff.

Why is it rumah yang bersih and not bersih rumah or just rumah bersih?

Indonesian adjectives usually come after the noun:

rumah bersih = a clean house

So bersih rumah is incorrect in standard Indonesian.

As for rumah yang bersih vs rumah bersih:

rumah bersih
- Simple description: “a house that is clean / a clean house (right now).”
- Very common.
rumah yang bersih
- Adds a slight nuance of “a house that is clean” as a specific quality you want or are selecting for.
- Often feels a bit more specific or descriptive, similar to a relative clause: “the kind of house that is clean.”

Both are grammatically correct, but rumah yang bersih fits well here because it sounds like you’re describing the type of house you want, not just commenting on the current state of a particular house.

What exactly does yang do in rumah yang bersih? Does it translate as “that/which”?

Yang is a marker that introduces a descriptive clause (often like a relative clause in English).

In rumah yang bersih:

rumah = house
yang = introduces a description of the house
bersih = clean

So literally: “house that (is) clean”.

In English you often don’t say “that” here and just say “a clean house,” so yang often has no direct word in the English translation. Its main function is grammatical:

It connects a noun (rumah) with a description (bersih or a longer phrase).
It can introduce short adjectives (rumah yang bersih) or longer clauses (rumah yang saya beli kemarin = “the house that I bought yesterday”).

In this sentence, yang is optional, but it adds that “house-that-is-clean” feeling, like a more defined quality or requirement.

What does lingkungan mean here? Is it “environment”, “neighborhood”, or something else?

Lingkungan can mean:

environment, surroundings
neighborhood
the general area/atmosphere around you

In this sentence, lingkungan terasa nyaman is quite broad. It suggests that:

the surroundings of the house (maybe both inside and around it),
or the general living environment

feel comfortable.

It doesn’t only mean the physical house itself; it’s more like “the overall environment we live in”, including the atmosphere, maybe neighbors, cleanliness around the house, etc. Context decides how broad it is, but here it’s the general living environment.

How is sehingga used? Is it like “so that” or just “so”? Can I use jadi, supaya, or agar instead?

Sehingga expresses a result: so / as a result / consequently.

In your sentence:

Saya ingin rumah yang bersih sehingga lingkungan terasa nyaman.
→ “I want a clean house, so that / so the environment feels comfortable.”

More precisely:

sehingga = focuses on the result of something.
It’s more formal/neutral than jadi.

Comparison:

sehingga – result, often used in writing or more careful speech.
jadi – very common in spoken Indonesian, also means “so, therefore”:
- Saya ingin rumah yang bersih, jadi lingkungan terasa nyaman. (casual speech)
supaya / agar – express purpose / intention more than result:
- Saya ingin rumah yang bersih supaya lingkungan terasa nyaman.
  → “I want a clean house so that the environment will feel comfortable.”
- These highlight the goal more than the outcome.

In everyday speech, sehingga, jadi, or supaya could all appear in similar sentences, but:

sehingga = neutral, result
supaya/agar = purpose
jadi = casual, often used in conversation

Why is it lingkungan terasa nyaman instead of just lingkungan nyaman?

Both are possible, but they have different nuances:

lingkungan nyaman
- Simple statement: “the environment is comfortable.”
- Neutral description.
lingkungan terasa nyaman
- Literally: “the environment feels comfortable.”
- Emphasizes the subjective feeling or perceived comfort, not just a factual state.
- Suggests “it feels comfortable to be in that environment.”

So in this sentence, terasa highlights the experience of comfort, which fits well with talking about the atmosphere around a clean house.

What’s the difference between terasa and merasa?

They both relate to “feeling,” but they’re used differently:

terasa
- Literally: “to be felt / to feel (to someone).”
- The thing that has a feeling is the subject:
  - Lingkungan terasa nyaman.
    → “The environment feels comfortable.”
  - Udara di sini terasa dingin.
    → “The air here feels cold.”
- Often used with inanimate subjects (air, room, weather, atmosphere).
merasa
- Means: “to feel” (someone feels something).
- The person is the subject:
  - Saya merasa nyaman di sini.
    → “I feel comfortable here.”
  - Dia merasa sedih.
    → “He/She feels sad.”

So:

lingkungan terasa nyaman = “The environment feels comfortable.”
Saya merasa nyaman di lingkungan ini. = “I feel comfortable in this environment.”

Is bersih an adjective or a verb here? How do I say “to clean the house”?

In rumah yang bersih, bersih is an adjective: clean.

Indonesian doesn’t always separate adjectives and verbs as strictly as English, but here:

rumah yang bersih = “a house that is clean / a clean house.”

To say “to clean the house”, you would normally use:

membersihkan rumah = to clean the house
Or colloquial: bersih-bersih rumah = to do cleaning around the house / housecleaning

So:

bersih (adjective) → clean
membersihkan (verb) → to clean (something)

Can I leave out Saya and just say Ingin rumah yang bersih sehingga lingkungan terasa nyaman?

Yes, in many contexts you can drop Saya because the subject is understood from context.

Ingin rumah yang bersih sehingga lingkungan terasa nyaman.

This would still be understood as “(I) want a clean house so that the environment feels comfortable,” especially in informal speech or writing like messages, notes, or when it’s already clear you’re talking about yourself.

However:

Including Saya makes the sentence clearer and more complete, especially:
- in formal writing,
- when the subject might be ambiguous,
- or when you’re starting a new topic.

So it’s grammatically fine to drop Saya, but keep it if you need clarity or formality.

Is this sentence formal, casual, or neutral? How would people say this in everyday conversation?

The sentence is neutral, leaning slightly toward formal because of ingin and sehingga:

Saya – polite, neutral “I.”
ingin – neutral to slightly formal “want.”
sehingga – more common in writing or careful speech than in casual talk.

In everyday conversation, people might say:

Aku mau rumah yang bersih supaya lingkungan terasa nyaman.
- Aku instead of Saya (more informal “I”).
- mau instead of ingin (more casual “want”).
- supaya instead of sehingga (sounds more like “so that,” often used in speech).

All versions are correct; choice depends on how polite or casual you want to sound.

Why isn’t there a word for “is” in this sentence, like “lingkungan is comfortable”?

Indonesian usually doesn’t use a separate “to be” verb before adjectives.

lingkungan nyaman = “the environment is comfortable.”
rumah bersih = “the house is clean.”

So:

English: The environment is comfortable.
Indonesian: Lingkungan nyaman. (no equivalent of “is”)

In your sentence:

lingkungan terasa nyaman – literally “the environment feels comfortable”
- terasa already carries the verb-like meaning “feels,” so there’s no need for “is.”

Indonesian only uses adalah or ialah (a sort of “is/are”) mainly:

before nouns, not adjectives, e.g.
- Dia adalah dokter. = “He/She is a doctor.”
in more formal styles.

But for adjective predicates like nyaman, the “to be” is simply omitted.