Walau saya lelah, saya tetap belajar di perpustakaan.

Even though I am tired, I still study in the library.

Breakdown of Walau saya lelah, saya tetap belajar di perpustakaan.

• adalah: to be
• saya: I
• di: in
• belajar: to study
• tetap: still
• lelah: tired
• perpustakaan: the library
• walau: although

Questions & Answers about Walau saya lelah, saya tetap belajar di perpustakaan.

What is the difference between walau, walaupun, and meskipun?

All three mean roughly “although / even though” and can usually replace each other without changing the basic meaning.

• walau

  • Shorter, slightly more informal / conversational.
  • Very common in speech and casual writing.

• walaupun

  • A bit more complete/formal than walau, but still very common in everyday Indonesian.
  • You’ll also see the pattern walaupun … tetapi … (although … but …).

• meskipun

  • Slightly more formal and bookish. Common in writing, presentations, news, etc.

In your sentence, you could also say:

• Walaupun saya lelah, saya tetap belajar di perpustakaan.
• Meskipun saya lelah, saya tetap belajar di perpustakaan.

All are correct; the nuance is mostly style and formality, not meaning.

Why is there a comma after walau saya lelah?

In Indonesian, when a dependent clause comes first, it is normally followed by a comma:

• Walau saya lelah, saya tetap belajar di perpustakaan.
• Kalau hujan, saya tidak pergi.

If you put the main clause first and the walau-clause second, the comma is usually not needed:

• Saya tetap belajar di perpustakaan walau saya lelah.

So the comma is there because the “although …” clause is placed before the main clause.

Can I change the word order, for example: Saya tetap belajar di perpustakaan walau saya lelah?

Yes. Both are natural:

1. Walau saya lelah, saya tetap belajar di perpustakaan.
2. Saya tetap belajar di perpustakaan walau saya lelah.

Differences:

• Version 1 puts more emphasis on the condition (being tired).
• Version 2 starts with what you still do, and adds the condition afterward.

Grammatically both are fine and very common.

What does tetap mean here, and how is it different from masih?

In this sentence:

• tetap ≈ “still / nevertheless / even so” with a feeling of not changing despite a problem.

So:

• Saya tetap belajar di perpustakaan.
  = I still study at the library (even though something might make it difficult).

masih also means “still”, but it focuses on continuation, not on contrast:

• Saya masih belajar di perpustakaan.
  = I’m still studying at the library (I haven’t stopped yet).

In your sentence, tetap is better because it shows contrast with walau saya lelah (although I’m tired, I still do it anyway).

Can I omit saya in one of the clauses?

Yes, Indonesian often drops repeated subjects when they’re clear from context.

All of these are natural, with slightly different rhythms:

1. Walau saya lelah, saya tetap belajar di perpustakaan.
2. Walau lelah, saya tetap belajar di perpustakaan.
3. Walau saya lelah, tetap belajar di perpustakaan. (more informal / spoken)

Most textbooks will give you version 1, but version 2 is very common in speech. Version 3 sounds like you’re giving yourself an instruction (“even if I’m tired, (I must) still study…”).

What is the difference between lelah and capek?

Both mean “tired”, but they differ in formality.

• lelah

  • More neutral or formal.
  • Common in writing, news, and polite speech.

• capek (or capai, less common)

  • More informal / colloquial.
  • Very frequent in everyday conversation.

So in casual speech, many people would say:

• Walau saya capek, saya tetap belajar di perpustakaan.

In a textbook or formal writing, lelah is more typical.

Why is it di perpustakaan and not ke perpustakaan?

• di = “at / in / on” (location, no movement)

  • di perpustakaan = at the library / in the library

• ke = “to” (movement toward a place)

  • ke perpustakaan = to the library

Your sentence describes what you do at the library, not the act of going there, so di is correct.

If you wanted to talk about going there, you could say:

• Walau saya lelah, saya tetap pergi ke perpustakaan.
  = Although I’m tired, I still go to the library.

How do we know what tense this sentence is in? Is it present, past, or future?

Indonesian verbs don’t change form for tense. Walau saya lelah, saya tetap belajar di perpustakaan can mean:

• Although I’m tired, I still study at the library. (habit / present)
• Although I was tired, I still studied at the library. (past, with context)
• Although I will be tired, I will still study at the library. (less common; usually made clearer)

To make the time clearer, you usually add time words:

• tadi (earlier) → Walau saya tadi lelah, saya tetap belajar di perpustakaan.
• besok (tomorrow) → Besok, walau saya lelah, saya tetap akan belajar di perpustakaan.

Is saya the most natural pronoun here? What about aku?

Both mean “I / me”, but they differ in politeness and style.

• saya

  • Polite, neutral, safe in almost all situations.
  • Good for speaking with strangers, older people, or in formal contexts.

• aku

  • More intimate, informal.
  • Used with friends, family, people your age or younger, in casual speech.

So you can also say:

• Walau aku lelah, aku tetap belajar di perpustakaan.

Grammatically both are correct; you choose based on who you are talking to and the tone you want.

Does belajar mean “study” or “learn”?

belajar can cover both “study” and “learn”, depending on context:

• Saya belajar di perpustakaan.
  = I study at the library.

• Saya belajar bahasa Indonesia.
  = I learn / am learning Indonesian.
  (In English, we might also say “I’m studying Indonesian.”)

There is also mempelajari, which is more formal and often means “to study (something) in depth.” But in most everyday sentences, belajar is what you use.

Can I shorten it to Walau lelah, saya tetap belajar di perpustakaan?

Yes, that is natural and common.

Because the subject in both clauses is the same (saya), Indonesian can drop saya in the first clause:

• Walau lelah, saya tetap belajar di perpustakaan.

This sounds fluent and is often used in speech and writing. The meaning is still clearly “Although I’m tired, I still study at the library.”