Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Saya mencoba jujur tentang perasaan saya kepada teman dekat. - I try to be honest about my feelings to a close friend.

Saya mencoba jujur ...
Sounds natural and fairly neutral. Here mencoba is followed directly by an adjective (jujur). The fuller idea is like “mencoba (untuk menjadi) jujur” – “try (to be) honest”.
Saya mencoba untuk jujur ...
Also correct. The untuk makes the structure more explicit: try to be honest. It can feel a bit more careful or explicit, but not necessarily more formal.

In everyday speech and writing, Indonesians very often drop “untuk” when it’s clear from context, so “mencoba jujur” is completely natural.

Is “jujur” an adjective or an adverb here? Why don’t we say “secara jujur”?

In Indonesian, “jujur” is basically an adjective (“honest”), but adjectives can also function like adverbs without changing form.

So:

Saya mencoba jujur ...
Literally: “I try (to be) honest ...”
Functionally, it also means “I try to speak honestly ...”

“Secara jujur” (“honestly”) is also possible:

Saya mencoba berbicara secara jujur ...

But compared to “jujur”:

“jujur” is shorter and more natural in most cases.
“secara jujur” can sound a bit heavier or more bookish if used too much.

So “mencoba jujur” is the more natural everyday choice.

Why do we use “tentang” with “perasaan saya”? Could we say “soal perasaan saya” or “mengenai perasaan saya” instead?

All of these are possible, but they differ in tone:

tentang perasaan saya – neutral, standard; very common in both spoken and written Indonesian.
mengenai perasaan saya – slightly more formal or “written” in feel.
soal perasaan saya – more informal/colloquial; common in casual speech.

So:

Saya mencoba jujur tentang perasaan saya ... – standard, neutral.
Saya mencoba jujur mengenai perasaan saya ... – a bit more formal.
Saya mencoba jujur soal perasaan saya ... – feels more casual.

In most learning contexts, “tentang” is the safest and most neutral choice.

Why do we say “perasaan saya” and not just “perasaan”? Can I omit “saya”?

You can omit “saya”, but the meaning changes slightly:

perasaan saya – my feelings
perasaan (by itself) – feelings (not clearly whose; could be “the feelings in general” or already clear from context)

In your sentence:

Saya mencoba jujur tentang perasaan saya ...
Emphasizes that you are talking honestly about your own feelings.

If you say:

Saya mencoba jujur tentang perasaan kepada teman dekat.

This sounds incomplete or odd, because “perasaan” usually needs a possessor or more context. So in this sentence, keeping “saya” is more natural.

What is the difference between “perasaan saya” and “perasaanku”?

Both mean “my feelings”, but the style and pronoun system differ:

perasaan saya
- Uses saya (formal/neutral “I, me”).
- Neutral and polite; fine in almost any situation.
- Your example sentence uses this style.
perasaanku
- Uses the clitic -ku (from aku, informal “I, me”).
- More informal/intimate; common among friends, in chats, etc.
- Feels more personal or emotional in many contexts.

So:

Saya mencoba jujur tentang perasaan saya ... – neutral/polite.
Aku mencoba jujur tentang perasaanku ... – casual, intimate, friendly tone.

You generally shouldn’t mix saya and -ku in one sentence; keep the style consistent.

Why do we use “kepada” instead of “ke” or “pada” with “teman dekat”?

The prepositions have different typical uses:

ke – mostly for movement to a place
- Saya pergi ke sekolah. – I go to school.
kepada – for “to” a person or living being (recipient/target)
- Saya berbicara kepada guru. – I talk to the teacher.
pada – more general “at, on, in, to”, often more formal; used in many fixed expressions.

With people as the recipient of communication or feelings, “kepada” is the most natural:

... perasaan saya kepada teman dekat. – my feelings to/toward a close friend.

“ke teman dekat” would sound odd here.
“pada teman dekat” is not wrong, but “kepada” is the standard choice for “to someone” in this sense.

Should it be “kepada teman dekat saya” instead of “kepada teman dekat”?

Both are possible, but they express slightly different ideas:

kepada teman dekat saya – to my close friend (clearly your own friend).
kepada teman dekat – to a close friend (more general; could be any close friend, not explicitly marked as “mine”, though that may be understood from context).

If you are specifically talking about your close friend, many native speakers would naturally say:

Saya mencoba jujur tentang perasaan saya kepada teman dekat saya.

Your original sentence without “saya” after teman dekat is still understandable, but in isolation most learners will find “teman dekat saya” clearer and more typical.

Why is it “teman dekat” and not “dekat teman”? Where do adjectives go in Indonesian?

In Indonesian, adjectives almost always come after the noun:

teman dekat – close friend
rumah besar – big house
kota kecil – small town

So:

teman (noun) + dekat (adjective) = teman dekat (“close friend”).

“dekat teman” would mean something like “near a friend” (with dekat acting more like a preposition/adverb: “near”), not “close friend”.

So the correct pattern for “close friend” is noun + adjective → teman dekat.

Can I replace “mencoba” with “berusaha” or “ingin”? What’s the difference?

You can, but they have different nuances:

mencoba – “try” (make an attempt)
- Saya mencoba jujur ... – I’m trying to be honest.
berusaha – “make an effort, strive”
- Saya berusaha jujur ... – I’m making an effort to be honest.
  Often sounds a bit stronger or more serious than mencoba.
ingin – “want”
- Saya ingin jujur ... – I want to be honest.
  Expresses desire, not necessarily effort.

All of these are grammatically fine, but mencoba and berusaha emphasize effort, while ingin emphasizes desire.

Can I drop “Saya” and just say “Mencoba jujur tentang perasaan saya kepada teman dekat”?

In most complete written sentences, you keep the subject:

Saya mencoba jujur tentang perasaan saya kepada teman dekat.

Dropping “Saya”:

Mencoba jujur tentang perasaan saya kepada teman dekat.

This can be acceptable in very informal contexts (notes, messages, captions) or as a fragment (e.g. in a diary entry, or after the subject is already very clear). It then feels like an incomplete sentence or a headline.

For learners, it’s better to keep the subject in full sentences until you are very comfortable with Indonesian style and context.