Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Saya merasa lapar, padahal saya sudah makan pagi. - I feel hungry, even though I already ate in the morning.

Saya merasa lapar = I feel hungry
padahal saya sudah makan pagi = even though I’ve already had breakfast / whereas I’ve already eaten breakfast

Nuance:

padahal = “even though / whereas in fact / but actually”
- It suggests: This situation is surprising or contrary to what should be the case.
tetapi / tapi = “but”
- A more neutral contrast, without the strong “this is unexpected” feeling.

Compare:

Saya merasa lapar, tapi saya sudah makan pagi.
= I feel hungry, but I’ve already had breakfast. (simple contrast)
Saya merasa lapar, padahal saya sudah makan pagi.
= I feel hungry, even though I’ve already had breakfast. (highlights it as something that “shouldn’t” happen)

So padahal emphasizes that the second clause makes the first clause seem unexpected or illogical.

How is padahal different from walaupun or meskipun?

All of them deal with contrast, but they’re used slightly differently.

walaupun / meskipun = although / even though
They usually introduce a concessive clause (a “although X, Y” structure).
- Walaupun saya sudah makan pagi, saya merasa lapar.
  Although I have already had breakfast, I feel hungry.
- Meskipun saya sudah makan pagi, saya merasa lapar.
padahal = even though / whereas in fact
It typically introduces a background fact that makes the situation surprising, and often has a tone like “but actually…”.
- Saya merasa lapar, padahal saya sudah makan pagi.
  I feel hungry, even though I’ve already had breakfast (and that’s unexpected).

You’d rarely replace padahal with walaupun in exactly the same position; the structure usually changes:

Saya merasa lapar, padahal saya sudah makan pagi.
Walaupun saya sudah makan pagi, saya merasa lapar.

So:

walaupun/meskipun: more “Although X, Y”.
padahal: more “Y, even though actually X” / “Y, whereas in fact X” and often carries a subtle tone of this shouldn’t be the case.

Is the comma before padahal necessary?

In normal written Indonesian, it is standard and natural to put a comma before padahal when it connects two clauses, just like a comma before but or although in English.

Saya merasa lapar, padahal saya sudah makan pagi. ✅

Without the comma, the sentence is still understandable, but it looks less correct in careful writing:

Saya merasa lapar padahal saya sudah makan pagi. (often seen informally, but not ideal in formal writing)

So:

Speech: you just pause slightly before padahal.
Writing: you normally show that pause with a comma.

Can I just say Saya lapar instead of Saya merasa lapar? What’s the difference?

Yes, you absolutely can say Saya lapar, and in everyday Indonesian that’s actually more common and more natural.

Saya lapar. = I’m hungry.
Saya merasa lapar. = I feel hungry.

Difference in nuance:

Saya lapar:
- Simple statement of condition, like I am hungry.
- Very common, neutral, and natural in both spoken and written Indonesian.
Saya merasa lapar:
- Literally “I feel hungry”.
- Slightly more explicit about the feeling process; can sound a bit more formal or introspective in everyday speech.
- You might use it if you want to emphasize the sensation or make it sound a bit more reflective:
  I’m feeling hungry (right now / surprisingly).

So the original sentence could very naturally be:

Saya lapar, padahal saya sudah makan pagi.
I’m hungry, even though I’ve already had breakfast.

When should I use merasa with adjectives, and when can I drop it?

In Indonesian, adjectives can function like “to be + adjective” in English, so you often don’t need merasa.

Common patterns:

Subject + adjective (very common, simple state)
- Saya lapar. = I’m hungry.
- Dia sedih. = He/She is sad.
- Mereka marah. = They’re angry.
Subject + merasa + adjective (focus on the subjective feeling or perception)
- Saya merasa lapar. = I feel hungry.
- Dia merasa sedih. = He/She feels sad.
- Mereka merasa marah. = They feel angry.

Use merasa when:

You want to emphasize the experience of feeling something.
You are being a bit more formal, reflective, or careful in speech/writing.

In casual everyday conversation, you will very often hear the shorter form without merasa:

Aku lapar.
Aku sedih.
Aku marah.

What does sudah add to makan pagi? Could I just say saya makan pagi?

Sudah indicates that an action has been completed, so here it works like “already” or a simple past marker.

saya makan pagi (by itself, out of context)
= I eat breakfast / I have breakfast (no clear time reference)
saya sudah makan pagi
= I have already had breakfast / I already ate breakfast.

In the sentence:

Saya merasa lapar, padahal saya sudah makan pagi.

sudah is important, because it introduces the contrast:

Normally, after you have already had breakfast, you shouldn’t be hungry.
That’s what makes the hunger feel surprising.

If you remove sudah, the contrast and the meaning become weaker and less clear:

Saya merasa lapar, padahal saya makan pagi.
Sounds odd; the idea of “this is unexpected because it’s already done” is missing.

So sudah here is basically required to get the intended meaning.

What’s the difference between makan pagi and sarapan?

Both mean “to have breakfast”, but:

sarapan:
- Very common and natural in modern Indonesian.
- Can be both noun and verb:
  - Saya sarapan jam tujuh. = I have breakfast at seven.
  - Sarapan saya sederhana. = My breakfast is simple.
makan pagi:
- Literally “morning eating”.
- Also correct and understandable.
- Feels slightly more descriptive or old-fashioned in some contexts, but still used and not wrong.

In your sentence, many speakers would more naturally say:

Saya merasa lapar, padahal saya sudah sarapan.
I feel hungry, even though I’ve already had breakfast.

So:

sudah makan pagi and sudah sarapan are both fine.
sudah sarapan is often shorter and more colloquial.

Why is it makan pagi, not makan sarapan?

In Indonesian, makan + time-of-day is a common pattern:

makan pagi = breakfast (morning meal)
makan siang = lunch (noon meal)
makan malam = dinner (evening meal)

Here, pagi / siang / malam function like descriptors of when you eat, not what you eat as a separate noun.

Sarapan, on the other hand, is already a word that means “breakfast”, so you don’t usually say makan sarapan because that would be like saying “eat breakfast-meal” twice.

Natural:

✅ makan pagi
✅ sarapan
❌ makan sarapan (sounds redundant/strange)

Can I drop the second saya and just say padahal sudah makan pagi?

Yes, that is natural and common in Indonesian, because the subject is clear from context.

Full form:

Saya merasa lapar, padahal saya sudah makan pagi.

Shorter (still correct and natural):

Saya merasa lapar, padahal sudah makan pagi.

The subject (saya) of the second clause is understood to be the same as in the first clause, so it can be omitted.

In spoken language, you might even hear:

Aku laper, padahal udah makan pagi.

Dropping repeated subjects is very common when the meaning stays clear.

How formal or informal is this sentence? How would it sound in casual conversation?

The given sentence is neutral and fine for general use. It leans slightly towards standard or written Indonesian because of:

saya (more formal/neutral than aku)
merasa instead of just lapar

In casual everyday speech, many speakers would say something like:

Aku laper, padahal udah sarapan.
- aku instead of saya
- laper (colloquial form of lapar)
- udah instead of sudah
- sarapan instead of makan pagi
- no merasa

So you can think of registers like this:

Formal/neutral:
Saya merasa lapar, padahal saya sudah makan pagi.
Natural neutral (spoken, but still standard):
Saya lapar, padahal saya sudah sarapan.
Casual/colloquial:
Aku laper, padahal udah sarapan.

Can I start the sentence with Padahal instead, like in English “Even though I’ve already had breakfast, I feel hungry”?

Yes, you can, but you usually need to change the structure slightly.

Natural versions:

Padahal saya sudah makan pagi, saya merasa lapar.
Padahal saya sudah makan pagi, saya masih merasa lapar.
(masih = still; this sounds a bit smoother)

However, sentences starting with padahal can sometimes sound a bit more dramatic or emphatic, as if you’re stressing the “but actually…” feeling.

More commonly, for an English-style “Even though X, Y”, Indonesians prefer walaupun/meskipun at the beginning:

Walaupun saya sudah makan pagi, saya merasa lapar.
Meskipun saya sudah makan pagi, saya masih merasa lapar.

So:

Padahal at the beginning is possible but more marked in tone.
Walaupun / meskipun are the more typical sentence-initial concessive connectors.