Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Kalau saya lelah, saya bermain basket sebentar di lapangan; setelah itu kepala saya terasa lebih segar. - When I am tired, I play basketball for a while on the court; after that my head feels fresher.

kalau
- Very common in spoken Indonesian.
- Can mean when (for a repeated situation) or if (for a condition).
- Neutral–informal.
- Example: Kalau hujan, saya bawa payung. = When/If it rains, I bring an umbrella.
jika
- More formal, more clearly if (conditional).
- Used in writing, instructions, formal speech.
- You could say: Jika saya lelah, saya bermain basket… (sounds more formal).
ketika
- Means when for a specific time, not a condition.
- Often used for past events or specific moments.
- Example: Ketika saya kecil, saya tinggal di Bali. = When I was a child, I lived in Bali.
- In this sentence, ketika would sound less natural because the idea is more like a general habit, not one specific moment.

So kalau here is a natural, everyday way to say when(ever) I’m tired.

Why can the sentence say saya lelah without any word like am?

Indonesian doesn’t use a verb like am / is / are between the subject and an adjective.

saya = I
lelah = tired

So saya lelah literally is I tired, which is how you normally say I am tired in Indonesian.

You could add sedang for emphasis on “right now”:

Saya sedang lelah. = I am (currently) tired.

…but it’s optional and usually not needed here. The basic pattern is:

Subject + adjective
- Dia marah. = He/She is angry.
- Mereka sibuk. = They are busy.
- Saya lelah. = I am tired.

Is lelah the same as capek? Which sounds more natural?

Both mean tired, but the nuance and register differ:

lelah
- Slightly more formal/neutral.
- Common in writing, speeches, but also in polite conversation.
- Can feel a bit “bookish” depending on context.
capek / capai
- Very common in everyday casual speech.
- capek (Jakarta / colloquial) is heard a lot.
- capai is a more standard/older form.

In a casual spoken sentence, many people would naturally say:

Kalau saya capek, saya main basket sebentar…

The textbook example uses lelah, but in conversation you’ll hear capek a lot.

Why is it bermain basket and not just main basket or bermain bola basket?

All of these are possible; the differences are style and formality:

bermain basket
- More standard / neutral.
- Literally “to play basketball”.
- Good for writing, learners, and polite speech.
main basket
- Colloquial, very common in speech.
- The prefix ber- is often dropped in everyday conversation.
- Meaning is the same as bermain basket.
bermain bola basket
- More explicit and formal (“play the ball [sport] basketball”).
- You’ll see bola basket in explanations, dictionaries, or when contrasting different sports.

So the sentence uses bermain basket as a natural, standard choice. In casual talk, main basket is extremely common.

What exactly does sebentar mean here?

sebentar basically means for a short time / briefly.

In this sentence:

saya bermain basket sebentar
= I play basketball for a bit / for a short while.

Other common uses:

Tunggu sebentar. = Wait a moment.
Saya mau istirahat sebentar. = I want to rest for a short while.

You can also say sebentar saja for “just a short while”, slightly stronger:

Saya main basket sebentar saja.

What does lapangan mean, and why do we need di lapangan?

lapangan is a field / court / open area, especially for sports.

lapangan sepak bola = soccer field
lapangan basket = basketball court
lapangan sekolah = school yard / school field

In this sentence:

di lapangan = on the court / on the field (context: the place where they play basketball).

Native speakers might also say more specifically:

di lapangan basket = on the basketball court.

The preposition di marks location:
di lapangan = at / on the field.

Why is a semicolon ( ; ) used before setelah itu? Would commas or a period also be correct?

The semicolon joins two closely related clauses:

Kalau saya lelah, saya bermain basket sebentar di lapangan; setelah itu kepala saya terasa lebih segar.

You could also write:

Kalau saya lelah, saya bermain basket sebentar di lapangan. Setelah itu, kepala saya terasa lebih segar.

In everyday Indonesian, people often just use a period or even a comma. The meaning doesn’t change; it’s mostly a punctuation/style choice:

Semicolon: a bit more formal/“proper” punctuation.
Period: very normal and clear.
Comma: common in informal writing, though less “correct” in strict grammar terms.

What does setelah itu mean, and how is it different from sesudah itu, lalu, and kemudian?

setelah itu means after that / afterwards.

Similar expressions:

setelah itu
- Neutral, common in speech and writing.
- Focus on time order: after that moment.
sesudah itu
- Very close to setelah itu, often interchangeable.
- sesudah is just another word for after.
lalu
- Means then / and then.
- Slightly more informal, very common in spoken narratives.
- Example: Saya main basket sebentar, lalu kepala saya terasa lebih segar.
kemudian
- Also then / afterward.
- Slightly more formal or “story-like” than lalu in some contexts.

In this sentence, you could replace setelah itu with sesudah itu, lalu, or kemudian without really changing the meaning:

…di lapangan; lalu kepala saya terasa lebih segar.

Why is it kepala saya terasa lebih segar and not saya terasa lebih segar or saya merasa lebih segar?

Breakdown:

kepala saya = my head
terasa = feels (has the sensation of)
lebih segar = fresher / more fresh

So kepala saya terasa lebih segar = my head feels fresher.

Subtle differences:

kepala saya terasa lebih segar
- Focuses on the physical feeling in the head.
- terasa is often used with body parts or physical sensations:
  - Tangan saya terasa dingin. = My hands feel cold.
  - Mata saya terasa pedih. = My eyes sting.
saya merasa lebih segar
- I feel fresher (overall, as a person).
- merasa is more general “to feel (emotionally/physically)”.
- This is also a natural sentence.
saya terasa lebih segar
- Sounds odd, because terasa usually describes how something is felt (like a body part, atmosphere, taste), not the whole person.

So the original emphasizes that the tired feeling in the head is gone; the head itself feels fresher.

What is the function of lebih in lebih segar? Could I say only segar or segar lagi?

lebih means more. So:

segar = fresh
lebih segar = fresher / more fresh

In this sentence:

kepala saya terasa lebih segar
= my head feels fresher (than before).

Alternatives:

kepala saya terasa segar lagi
- segar lagi = fresh again.
- Emphasizes that the head has returned to being fresh.
- Sounds very natural in conversation.
kepala saya terasa segar
- Just feels fresh, without comparison.
- Also correct, but loses the idea of “more than before”.

So lebih segar adds a comparative sense: it’s an improvement compared to before playing basketball.

Can I drop the second saya and just say Kalau saya lelah, bermain basket sebentar…?

Yes, you can. Repetition of the subject is often optional when it’s clear from context:

Kalau saya lelah, saya bermain basket sebentar… (more explicit)
Kalau saya lelah, bermain basket sebentar… (more compact, still clear)

Both are grammatically correct. The full version with both saya is very clear for learners and in writing; native speakers often drop the second saya in speech.

How do we know the tense? Could this sentence mean past, present, or future?

Indonesian verbs are not marked for tense like English verbs are. The same sentence can describe:

A general habit (present):
- When I’m tired, I play basketball a bit…
A typical pattern (timeless):
- Whenever I feel tired, I (usually) play…

If you wanted to make it clearly past in context, you’d usually add a time expression:

Dulu kalau saya lelah, saya bermain basket sebentar…
= In the past, when I was tired, I would play basketball for a bit…

To make it clearly future:

Nanti kalau saya lelah, saya akan bermain basket sebentar…
= Later, if/when I’m tired, I will play basketball for a bit…

Without extra time words, we infer tense from context; here it naturally feels like a general present habit.