Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Saya merasa rileks setelah meditasi singkat.

saya: more neutral and polite; used in formal situations, with strangers, in writing, and in mixed company.
aku: more informal and intimate; used with close friends, family, or in songs/poetry.

In Saya merasa rileks setelah meditasi singkat, saya is a safe, neutral choice. You could say Aku merasa rileks... in a casual context, but for learners, saya is usually the default.

Do I always need merasa before an emotion, or can I just say Saya rileks?

You don’t always need merasa.

Saya merasa rileks = I feel relaxed (literally: I feel relaxed).
Saya rileks = I am relaxed / I’m relaxed.

Both are correct. The nuance:

merasa + adjective explicitly highlights the feeling or sensation.
Without merasa, it’s more like stating your current state.

In everyday speech, Indonesians often drop merasa with emotions and states:

Saya capek (I am tired)
Saya senang (I am happy)

Your sentence with merasa sounds perfectly natural and slightly more explicit about the feeling.

What does rileks mean exactly, and is it a borrowed word from English relaxed?

Yes, rileks is borrowed from English relax/relaxed, adapted to Indonesian spelling and pronunciation.

Meaning: calm, not tense, at ease, relaxed.

It’s common and natural in modern Indonesian, especially in:

everyday conversation
informal writing (messages, social media)
many formal contexts too

However, you also have more “native” or traditional options with similar meanings:

tenang – calm
santai – laid‑back, chill
lega – relieved
nyaman – comfortable

Depending on the nuance, you might say:

Saya merasa tenang setelah meditasi singkat.
(I feel calm after a short meditation.)
Saya merasa santai setelah meditasi singkat.
(I feel chill/relaxed after a short meditation.)

Is the word order meditasi singkat always noun + adjective in Indonesian?

Yes. In Indonesian, adjectives normally come after the noun:

meditasi singkat = short meditation (literally: meditation short)
rumah besar = big house
buku baru = new book
kopi panas = hot coffee

So you don’t say singkat meditasi. The standard pattern is:

noun + adjective

There are some special fixed expressions and other structures, but for regular noun–adjective phrases, keep the adjective after the noun.

How do we know the tense? Could this sentence mean “I felt relaxed” instead of “I feel relaxed”?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. merasa is the same for past, present, and future. The time is understood from context or from time words like kemarin (yesterday), besok (tomorrow), sekarang (now), etc.

Saya merasa rileks setelah meditasi singkat could be translated as:

I feel relaxed after a short meditation. (present/general habit)
I felt relaxed after a short meditation. (past)
Even I will feel relaxed after a short meditation. (future), if the context makes that clear.

If you want to make the past clearer, you can add a time word:

Kemarin saya merasa rileks setelah meditasi singkat.
Yesterday I felt relaxed after a short meditation.

What’s the difference between setelah and sesudah? Could I say sesudah here?

setelah and sesudah are very similar and often interchangeable; both mean after.

Saya merasa rileks setelah meditasi singkat.
Saya merasa rileks sesudah meditasi singkat.

Both are correct and natural.

Nuance (quite small in modern usage):

setelah sounds slightly more formal/literary to some speakers.
sesudah is very common in speech and writing.

For everyday purposes, treat them as synonyms. Many learners just pick one (often setelah) and stick with it at first.

Is meditasi a verb or a noun here? Do I need bermeditasi instead?

In meditasi singkat, meditasi is a noun: meditation.

meditasi singkat = a short meditation.

If you want to emphasize the activity of meditating, you can use the verb form bermeditasi:

Saya merasa rileks setelah bermeditasi sebentar.
I feel relaxed after meditating for a short while.

So:

meditasi singkat → a short meditation (noun phrase)
bermeditasi sebentar → to meditate for a short while (verb phrase)

Both are natural; the original sentence is fine as is.

Could I leave out Saya and just say Merasa rileks setelah meditasi singkat?

You can drop Saya in Indonesian, but you must be careful:

Merasa rileks setelah meditasi singkat.
Grammatically possible, but it sounds like a fragment. You’d usually see this in:
- notes
- diary/journal entries
- titles or bullet points
- very casual messages, where the subject is obvious.

In a complete sentence, especially as a learner, it’s better to keep Saya:

Saya merasa rileks setelah meditasi singkat.

Indonesian does allow dropping the subject when it’s completely clear from context, but beginners should keep pronouns until they’re more comfortable.

Is rileks formal enough, or should I use a different word in formal writing?

rileks is widely used and generally acceptable, but in very formal or literary contexts some writers prefer more “Indonesian” words like:

tenang (calm)
nyaman (comfortable)
santai (relaxed/chill – still quite informal)

For example, more formal options:

Saya merasa tenang setelah meditasi singkat.
Saya merasa lebih nyaman setelah meditasi singkat.

In everyday speech, normal essays, and most work emails, rileks is fine. For academic or very formal writing, tenang or nyaman might be a bit more neutral.

How do you pronounce rileks and meditasi?

Pronunciation (roughly, using English-like sounds):

rileks: ree-LEX
- ri like ree
- leks like lex in lexicon
  Stress usually on the second syllable: ri-leks
meditasi: meh-dee-TAH-see
- me like meh
- di like dee
- ta like tah (short a as in father)
- si like see
  Stress commonly on ta: meh-dee-TAH-see

Indonesian vowels are generally pure and short (not diphthongs), and each syllable is clearly pronounced.