Saya berusaha mengenal diri saya lewat buku harian.

I try to get to know myself through a diary.

Breakdown of Saya berusaha mengenal diri saya lewat buku harian.

• sebuah: a
• buku: the book
• saya: I
• harian: daily
• lewat: through
• berusaha: to try
• mengenal: to get to know
• diri: the self

Questions & Answers about Saya berusaha mengenal diri saya lewat buku harian.

What is the nuance of berusaha in this sentence, and how is it different from mencoba or ingin?

Berusaha literally means “to make an effort / to strive.” It suggests:

• sustained effort
• something that might be difficult
• a process, not just a one‑time attempt

Comparisons:

• Saya berusaha mengenal diri saya...
  → I’m making an effort / striving to get to know myself (ongoing, serious, deliberate).

• Saya mencoba mengenal diri saya...
  → I’m trying to get to know myself (can sound a bit lighter, more like “giving it a try”).

• Saya ingin mengenal diri saya...
  → I want to get to know myself (focus on desire, not effort).

So berusaha emphasizes the effort, not just the desire (ingin) or the act of trying once (mencoba).

Why is mengenal used instead of just kenal?

Kenal is the base form meaning “to know (a person)” or “to be acquainted with.”

Mengenal is the meN- verb form, which often makes the verb:

• more active / transitive
• feel more formal or complete

In this context:

• mengenal diri saya = “to get to know myself” / “to know myself (better)”

Kenal diri saya is not grammatically wrong in all contexts, but here it would sound incomplete or less natural. With mental or gradual processes like “getting to know,” mengenal is much more idiomatic.

So:

• ✅ Saya berusaha mengenal diri saya... (natural)
• ❌ Saya berusaha kenal diri saya... (sounds off/unfinished in standard Indonesian)

What exactly does diri mean here, and why not just say mengenal saya?

Diri literally means “self.” The pattern diri + pronoun is used for reflexive meaning (myself, yourself, etc.):

• diri saya = myself
• diri kamu = yourself
• diri mereka = themselves

Mengenal diri saya = “to know myself” (self-reflection).

If you said mengenal saya, it usually means:

• “to know me” as in someone else getting to know me.

Compare:

• Saya berusaha mengenal diri saya.
  → I am trying to know myself (inner self, personality, identity).

• Orang lain bisa mengenal saya lewat buku harian.
  → Other people can get to know me through my diary.

So diri saya is needed to show it’s reflexive (myself), not just “me” as an object of someone else’s knowing.

What is the difference between diri saya and diri sendiri?

Both refer to “myself,” but there’s a nuance:

• diri saya = myself (neutral, a bit more formal)
• diri sendiri = myself (literally “own self”; adds emphasis)

Examples:

• Saya berusaha mengenal diri saya.
  → I’m trying to know myself (neutral).

• Saya berusaha mengenal diri sendiri.
  → I’m trying to know my own self / really know myself (slightly more emphatic).

In casual speech, diri sendiri is very common and often interchangeable with diri saya when the subject is saya, because it’s clear whose self we’re talking about.

You can also combine them for strong emphasis:

• Saya berusaha mengenal diri saya sendiri.
  → I’m really trying to get to know my own self.

That sounds more intense or emotionally loaded.

Why is saya repeated in Saya berusaha mengenal diri saya? Can I omit the second saya?

The repetition is not mandatory; it’s a stylistic choice.

• Saya berusaha mengenal diri saya...
  → Fully explicit; sounds careful and clear.

You have alternatives:

1. Saya berusaha mengenal diri sendiri...

   • Very common and natural in everyday speech.
   • The subject saya
     • diri sendiri is enough to show it’s “myself.”

2. Saya berusaha mengenal diri saya sendiri...

   • Adds emphasis on “my own self.”

So yes, you can omit the second saya and say:

• Saya berusaha mengenal diri sendiri lewat buku harian.

That is perfectly natural.

What is the function of lewat here, and how does it differ from melalui or dengan?

Lewat literally means “through” or “via.” In this sentence it introduces the medium or means:

• lewat buku harian = through / via my diary

Comparison:

• lewat

  • Very common in speech and writing.
  • Slightly informal-neutral.
  • Used for physical routes (lewat jalan ini – through this road) and abstract means (lewat musik, lewat buku).

• melalui

  • More formal than lewat.
  • Similar meaning (“through”).
  • You could say: Saya berusaha mengenal diri saya melalui buku harian.
    This sounds more formal/academic.

• dengan

  • Means “with / by (using).”
  • Focuses more on the tool or method, not on “passing through” a medium.
  • Saya berusaha mengenal diri saya dengan menulis buku harian.
    → by writing a diary (emphasis on the act of writing).

In the original sentence, lewat nicely captures the idea of “using the diary as a medium through which I get to know myself.”

Could I move lewat buku harian to another position in the sentence?

Yes, Indonesian word order is quite flexible, as long as the meaning stays clear.

All of these are possible:

• Saya berusaha mengenal diri saya lewat buku harian. (most natural)
• Saya, lewat buku harian, berusaha mengenal diri saya. (more literary, with commas in writing)
• Lewat buku harian, saya berusaha mengenal diri saya. (fronting the phrase for emphasis on “through the diary”)

What you should usually avoid is splitting the verb phrase in a clumsy way:

• ❌ Saya berusaha lewat buku harian mengenal diri saya.
  This is not strictly wrong, but it sounds awkward in everyday Indonesian.

Most natural: keep berusaha mengenal diri saya together and put lewat buku harian at the end or at the beginning.

What does buku harian literally mean, and are there other ways to say “diary” in Indonesian?

Literally:

• buku = book
• harian = daily / related to day-by-day

So buku harian = “daily book” → diary.

Common alternatives:

• diary (same spelling as English, but pronounced in an Indonesian way)

  • Often used in speech and in bookstores as a product name.

• catatan harian = daily notes / daily journal

  • Emphasizes the entries or notes, not the physical book.

• jurnal = journal

  • Can mean personal journal, but also academic journal; context is needed.

In your sentence, buku harian is the standard, neutral term for a personal diary.

How do we know what tense this sentence is in, since there’s no word for “am / was / will”?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. Berusaha is the same for past, present, and future. The tense is understood from context or from time expressions.

Saya berusaha mengenal diri saya lewat buku harian can mean:

• I am trying to get to know myself through a diary. (present)
• I was trying to get to know myself through a diary. (past)
• I will be trying to get to know myself through a diary. (future, less common without a time word)

To make it explicit, you add time words:

• Sekarang saya berusaha mengenal diri saya lewat buku harian.
  → Now I’m trying...

• Dulu saya berusaha mengenal diri saya lewat buku harian.
  → In the past I tried...

• Nanti saya akan berusaha mengenal diri saya lewat buku harian.
  → Later I will try...

So the base sentence is tenseless; context decides.

How formal or informal is using saya here, and could I use aku instead?

Saya is the neutral–polite first person pronoun. It’s appropriate for:

• talking to strangers
• semi-formal situations
• writing (essays, articles, etc.)

So the original sentence is neutral and polite:

• Saya berusaha mengenal diri saya lewat buku harian.

In more casual contexts, especially with friends, you could say:

• Aku berusaha mengenal diriku lewat buku harian.

Notes:

• If you use aku, you usually also change the reflexive to diriku rather than diri saya.
• Mixing aku with diri saya sounds odd:
  
  • ❌ Aku berusaha mengenal diri saya... (mixed style)

So keep it consistent:

• Formal/neutral: Saya ... diri saya
• Informal: Aku ... diriku

Can I say Saya berusaha untuk mengenal diri saya...? When do we use untuk here?

Yes, Saya berusaha untuk mengenal diri saya lewat buku harian is grammatically correct.

Differences:

• Saya berusaha mengenal diri saya...

  • More direct, smoother, very common.

• Saya berusaha untuk mengenal diri saya...

  • Slightly more formal or “structured.”
  • Feels a bit like “I make an effort in order to know myself...”

In many cases, berusaha + verb is perfectly fine without untuk. Adding untuk often:

• makes the sentence sound more formal
• adds a small sense of purpose (“in order to”)

So your safest natural choice in everyday Indonesian is berusaha mengenal, without untuk.

Are there simpler or more casual ways to express the same idea?

Yes. Depending on tone, you could say, for example:

• Saya mencoba lebih mengenal diri saya lewat buku harian.
  → I’m trying to better know myself through a diary.

• Aku mau lebih kenal diriku lewat buku harian. (very casual)
  → I want to get to know myself better through a diary.

• Saya ingin memahami diri saya lewat buku harian.
  → I want to understand myself through a diary. (memahami = to understand)

The original sentence is already quite natural and clear; these are just stylistic variations with slightly different nuances (effort vs desire vs understanding).