Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Saya merasa perlu lebih banyak waktu untuk relaksasi setelah mendengar berita tentang iklim. - I feel I need more time for relaxation after hearing the news about the climate.

Saya perlu lebih banyak waktu...
= I need more time... (a straightforward statement of need)
Saya merasa perlu lebih banyak waktu...
= I feel (that I) need more time... (more subjective, emphasizes your personal feeling or perception)

So merasa perlu together is very close to English to feel the need (to do something). It softens the statement and makes it sound a bit more personal and less blunt.

Can I drop merasa and just say Saya perlu lebih banyak waktu untuk relaksasi...? Does it change the meaning?

You can absolutely say that, and it is grammatically correct.

Saya perlu lebih banyak waktu untuk relaksasi...
Sounds a bit more direct and objective: I need more time for relaxation.
Saya merasa perlu lebih banyak waktu untuk relaksasi...
Adds nuance: it’s your personal feeling or judgment about your need.

In many everyday contexts, Indonesians would be fine with the shorter Saya perlu... unless they specifically want to emphasize it as a feeling or opinion.

In English we say I feel that I need.... Why is there no that after merasa? Could I say Saya merasa bahwa saya perlu...?

Indonesian often omits a word equivalent to English that when introducing a clause.

In full, you could say:

Saya merasa bahwa saya perlu lebih banyak waktu...

Here:

bahwa ≈ that (a conjunction introducing a statement)
saya perlu lebih banyak waktu... is the clause being introduced.

But in natural Indonesian, this is usually shortened:

Saya merasa perlu lebih banyak waktu...

The subject saya in the second clause is understood from context, and bahwa is often dropped in speech unless you want to sound more formal or very explicit. So:

Formal / emphatic: Saya merasa bahwa saya perlu...
Neutral/natural: Saya merasa perlu...

Why do we say lebih banyak waktu? What’s the role of lebih and banyak together?

Both words contribute different meanings:

lebih = more in the sense of greater degree/quantity than before
banyak = many / much

Together:

lebih banyak waktu = more time (a greater amount of time than before / than currently available)

Some related options and nuances:

lebih banyak waktu – a larger amount of time
lebih lama – longer (duration), focusing more on how long something lasts
lebih banyak waktu luang – more free time

Examples:

Saya butuh lebih banyak waktu. – I need more time.
Saya butuh waktu yang lebih lama. – I need a longer time (duration).

In your sentence, lebih banyak waktu is the standard way to say more time (quantity).

What does untuk do in waktu untuk relaksasi? Could we leave it out?

Untuk usually means for or to (do something) and indicates purpose.

waktu untuk relaksasi = time for relaxation / time to relax

Structures with untuk:

noun + untuk + noun:
waktu untuk relaksasi – time for relaxation
noun + untuk + verb:
waktu untuk bersantai – time to relax

In this sentence, you cannot drop untuk:

✗ waktu relaksasi would sound more like relaxation time as a fixed label, and even then untuk is more natural here.
✓ waktu untuk relaksasi clearly marks relaksasi as the purpose of the time.

So untuk is needed to express for / for the purpose of.

Is relaksasi the most natural word here? Would Indonesians say relaksasi, bersantai, or istirahat?

Relaksasi is correct and understood, but it can feel a bit formal or technical (e.g., in health, wellness, or psychology contexts).

Common alternatives:

bersantai – to relax / to chill
...lebih banyak waktu untuk bersantai...
= more time to relax / chill
istirahat – to rest / take a break
...lebih banyak waktu untuk istirahat...
= more time to rest

Nuances:

relaksasi: can sound like relaxation as an activity or technique (e.g. meditation, breathing exercises).
bersantai: everyday casual relaxing, doing enjoyable low-stress things.
istirahat: resting because you’re tired, stressed, sick, or overworked.

All three are possible; bersantai or istirahat might sound more colloquial in daily speech, depending on what exactly you mean.

What’s the difference between mendengar and mendengarkan? Could I say setelah mendengarkan berita instead?

Both are related to dengar (to hear), but there is a nuance:

mendengar – to hear; also often used for to listen in everyday speech.
mendengarkan – to listen to (more active, paying attention).

In practice:

Saya mendengar berita itu. – I heard that news.
Saya mendengarkan berita itu. – I listened to that news (with attention).

In your sentence:

setelah mendengar berita... is perfectly natural; it can mean after hearing or after (having) listened to.
setelah mendengarkan berita... emphasizes the act of listening more consciously, which is also fine.

Both are grammatically correct; mendengar is more common and neutral here.

Can we move setelah mendengar berita tentang iklim to the beginning of the sentence? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, you can change the order without changing the core meaning:

Original:
Saya merasa perlu lebih banyak waktu untuk relaksasi setelah mendengar berita tentang iklim.
Alternative word order:
Setelah mendengar berita tentang iklim, saya merasa perlu lebih banyak waktu untuk relaksasi.

Both mean the same thing. Differences:

Starting with Setelah mendengar... puts more emphasis on the time/condition (the fact that it was after hearing the news).
Keeping Saya at the beginning sounds very neutral and straightforward.

Both are natural; the second version is very common in written Indonesian, especially when you want to set the scene first.

Why do we say berita tentang iklim instead of just berita iklim? When should I use tentang?

Tentang means about / regarding and makes the relationship explicit:

berita tentang iklim = news about climate

You can sometimes see berita iklim, but:

berita tentang iklim is clearer and more standard in everyday language.
berita iklim could be interpreted as a shorter, more technical or headline-like phrase (e.g. as a label: climate news), not a full sentence component.

Use tentang:

after a noun like berita, buku, artikel, diskusi, pidato to mean about:
- buku tentang sejarah Indonesia – a book about Indonesian history
- artikel tentang iklim – an article about climate
- diskusi tentang politik – a discussion about politics

In your sentence, berita tentang iklim is the most naturalspoken form.

What’s the difference between iklim and cuaca? Could this sentence use cuaca instead?

They are different:

iklim = climate
The general long-term patterns (years, decades), like climate change, global warming.
cuaca = weather
Short-term conditions (today, this week) like rain, temperature, storms.

Your sentence:

berita tentang iklim suggests news about climate, like climate change, policies, global warming.
berita tentang cuaca would mean weather reports/news, like forecasts, storms, or today’s weather.

So if the meaning is about climate change and related news, iklim is correct and should not be replaced by cuaca.

Does this sentence sound formal, informal, or neutral? How would a more casual version look?

The sentence is neutral, maybe slightly on the formal/standard side because of relaksasi and the complete structure.

A more casual, spoken version might be:

Aku merasa butuh lebih banyak waktu buat santai setelah dengar berita tentang iklim.

Changes:

Saya → Aku (more casual, intimate)
perlu → butuh (need, more colloquial)
untuk → buat (spoken form of untuk)
relaksasi → santai / bersantai (casual verb)
mendengar → dengar (dropping the me- prefix is common in speech)

But your original sentence is perfectly fine in everyday conversation, especially if you usually use Saya-style Indonesian.

Could I drop Saya and just say Merasa perlu lebih banyak waktu untuk relaksasi setelah mendengar berita tentang iklim?

Grammatically, Indonesian often allows dropping the subject when it is clear from context. So you might see:

Merasa perlu lebih banyak waktu untuk relaksasi setelah mendengar berita tentang iklim.

However:

In writing, especially in a complete standalone sentence, it’s more natural to keep Saya so the subject is explicit.
Dropping Saya like this is more common in notes, diaries, messages, or when continuing from a previous sentence where the subject is already obvious.

So:

For a full, clear sentence: Saya merasa perlu... is better.
In informal context with clear subject: dropping Saya is possible.