Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Guru mengajarkan cara mengambil napas pelan-pelan agar badan rileks dan stres berkurang. - The teacher teaches how to take a breath slowly so that the body relaxes and stress decreases.

mengajar = to teach (in general)
- Guru mengajar di sekolah.
  The teacher teaches at school.
mengajari = to teach someone something (focus is on the person being taught)
- Guru mengajari murid matematika.
  The teacher teaches the students math.
mengajarkan = to teach something to someone (focus is on the thing being taught)
- Guru mengajarkan matematika kepada murid.
  The teacher teaches math to the students.

In the sentence:

Guru mengajarkan cara mengambil napas pelan-pelan...

the thing being taught is cara mengambil napas pelan-pelan (the way to breathe slowly), so mengajarkan is natural because it puts focus on that content.

Why do we say mengajarkan cara mengambil napas instead of just mengajarkan mengambil napas?

Using cara makes it clear that what is being taught is a method / technique, not just the action itself.

mengajarkan cara mengambil napas
= teach the method of breathing (how to do it)

If you said:

Guru mengajarkan mengambil napas pelan-pelan.

it is understandable, but it sounds less natural and a bit incomplete, because mengajarkan usually takes a clear object (what is being taught). cara mengambil napas is a natural, noun-like phrase (“the way of breathing”).

So cara functions like “the way to…” or “how to…” in English.

What is the difference between napas and bernapas?

napas (noun) = breath
- ambil napas = take a breath
- tahan napas = hold your breath
bernapas (verb) = to breathe
- Saya sulit bernapas. = I have trouble breathing.

In the sentence:

cara mengambil napas pelan-pelan

the phrase literally means “the way to take breath slowly”, which in natural English is “how to breathe slowly”. Indonesian often uses mengambil napas where English uses the verb “to breathe”.

I sometimes see napas written as nafas. Which one is correct?

Napas is the standard, modern spelling (according to KBBI, the official dictionary).

Nafas is older/alternative spelling influenced by Arabic. You’ll still see nafas in religious or poetic contexts, song lyrics, or informal writing.

In everyday modern Indonesian, especially in writing, napas is preferred.

What does pelan-pelan mean, and why is it repeated?

pelan by itself means slow.

Reduplication (pelan-pelan) often:

makes it sound more natural as an adverb (“slowly”),
softens the tone / makes it more colloquial,
can add an idea of “gradually” or “gently”.

So:

pelan = slow
pelan-pelan = slowly / softly / gently

Other options with a similar meaning:

perlahan-lahan (slightly more formal)
pelan saja (just slow(ly))

In the sentence, napas pelan-pelan ≈ “slow, gentle breathing” or “breathing slowly”.

What does agar mean here? Could we use supaya or untuk instead?

agar introduces the purpose or intended result, like “so that / in order that”.

...agar badan rileks dan stres berkurang.
...so that the body relaxes and stress decreases.

You could almost always replace agar with supaya; they are very similar:

agar – slightly more formal/neutral
supaya – very common in speech, also fine in writing

agar and supaya are usually interchangeable here:

agar badan rileks
supaya badan rileks

untuk is trickier. It means “for / in order to”, but normally followed by a verb:

untuk merilekskan badan (to relax the body)
untuk mengurangi stres (to reduce stress)

So you wouldn’t normally say:

✗ untuk badan rileks dan stres berkurang (sounds off)

You’d need to change the structure if you use untuk.

Why is badan used instead of tubuh? Do they mean the same thing?

Both can mean “body”, but there are nuances:

badan
- body (physical body)
- also used in expressions for physical condition:
  - badan capek = body feels tired
  - badan pegal-pegal = body is achy
- also means “organization/agency”: badan pemerintah (government agency)
tubuh
- more strictly “body” as a physical object
- often sounds a bit more formal or literary

In everyday speech about how your body feels, badan is more common than tubuh.

So agar badan rileks sounds very natural in spoken and written Indonesian.

What does rileks mean, and how is it different from words like santai or tenang?

rileks is borrowed from English relax(ed), adapted to Indonesian pronunciation and spelling.

badan rileks = the body is relaxed
Saya ingin rileks. = I want to relax.

Comparison:

rileks – relaxed (physically or mentally), often about muscles, pose, atmosphere
santai – relaxed / laid-back, but more about attitude or situation
- Gaya hidup santai = a laid-back lifestyle
tenang – calm, not agitated
- pikirannya tenang = his/her mind is calm

In this sentence, badan rileks suggests the body is physically relaxed thanks to slow breathing.

Why is it stres berkurang and not something like mengurangi stres?

berkurang is an intransitive verb meaning “to decrease / to be reduced”.
- stres berkurang = stress decreases / stress is reduced

Here, stres is the subject and it “decreases by itself” as a result of the breathing.

If you say:

mengurangi stres = to reduce stress (actively)

you usually have an agent:

Latihan napas pelan-pelan dapat mengurangi stres.
Slow breathing exercises can reduce stress.

So:

agar stres berkurang = so that stress decreases (as an outcome)
untuk mengurangi stres = to reduce stress (purpose of an action)

Both are fine, but the grammar and nuance differ.

Why is there no “to be” verb, like menjadi, in badan rileks and stres berkurang?

Indonesian often omits “to be” (like is/are) when linking a noun/pronoun to an adjective.

badan rileks
literally: body relaxed
meaning: the body is relaxed

You can add menjadi (to become) for emphasis on change:

agar badan menjadi rileks = so that the body becomes relaxed

But it’s not necessary, and the shorter badan rileks is very natural.

For stres berkurang, berkurang is already a verb (to decrease), so you don’t need a separate “to be” at all.

Could we say Guru mengajarkan bagaimana cara mengambil napas pelan-pelan? Is bagaimana necessary?

You can hear:

Guru mengajarkan bagaimana cara mengambil napas pelan-pelan...

but it’s a bit wordy and somewhat redundant, because:

bagaimana = how
cara = way/method

bagaimana cara literally = how the way, so you’re doubling the idea.

Natural options:

Guru mengajarkan cara mengambil napas pelan-pelan... ✅
Guru mengajarkan bagaimana mengambil napas pelan-pelan... ✅

Using both (bagaimana cara) is common in speech, but in careful writing, people often choose one or the other.

Is this sentence formal or informal? Would it be used in everyday conversation?

The sentence is neutral and fits both spoken and written Indonesian:

Guru mengajarkan cara mengambil napas pelan-pelan agar badan rileks dan stres berkurang.

Vocabulary is standard and easy.
Structure is clear and not overly formal.

In everyday speech, people might shorten or slightly relax it:

Guru ngajarin cara ngambil napas pelan-pelan biar badan rileks dan stres berkurang.
(very colloquial: ngajarin, ngambil, biar instead of mengajarkan, mengambil, agar)

But the original sentence is perfectly natural in a classroom, a textbook, or a casual explanation.