Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Hari ini saking capeknya mata karena menatap layar, saya mengambil jeda lima menit setiap jam. - Today my eyes are so tired from staring at screens that I take a five-minute break every hour.

Saking marahnya, dia sampai membanting pintu.
= He was so angry that he even slammed the door.
Saking laparnya, dia makan dua piring.
= He was so hungry that he ate two plates (of food).

What exactly is the function of -nya in “capeknya” here? Is it “his/her/its”?

The suffix -nya has several functions in Indonesian; here it doesn’t mean “his/her” in the simple possessive sense. In capeknya it is:

Nominalizing / emphasizing the adjective:
- capek = tired (adjective)
- capeknya ≈ “the tiredness / how tired (it is)”
It helps form the “saking … -nya” pattern:
- saking capeknya = “so tired (that)…”

You could loosely feel it as “its tiredness” (i.e., the tiredness of the eyes), but in practice learners can just remember:
saking + adjective + -nya is the normal structure for “so (adj) that …”.

How is “saking capeknya mata” different from “mata saya sangat capek”?

They are close in meaning, but not identical in nuance or structure.

Mata saya sangat capek.
= “My eyes are very tired.”
→ Simple statement of fact.
Saking capeknya mata …
≈ “My eyes were so tired that …”
→ Emphasizes degree + consequence. It leads into what happens because of that tiredness.

In your sentence:

Hari ini saking capeknya mata karena menatap layar, saya mengambil jeda …
→ Focus is on “because my eyes were so tired, I (therefore) took breaks.”

If you said:

Hari ini mata saya sangat capek karena menatap layar, jadi saya mengambil jeda …
it would be perfectly natural too, just more straightforward and less “stylized” than the saking … -nya construction.

Is “capek” the same as “lelah”? Which is more natural here?

Both mean “tired”, but they differ in register:

capek
- Very common in everyday speech.
- Informal / neutral.
- Used with friends, colleagues, casual settings.
lelah
- More formal and “polite” or bookish.
- Common in writing, formal speech, or when sounding refined.

In your sentence:

Hari ini saking capeknya mata …
→ Sounds casual–neutral, natural in conversation.

A more formal version could be:

Hari ini, karena mata saya begitu lelah akibat menatap layar, saya beristirahat lima menit setiap jam.

Both are correct; choice depends on tone and context.

Why is it just “mata” and not “mata saya”? How do I know whose eyes?

In Indonesian, possessive words are often dropped if the owner is clear from context.

mata literally = “eyes”
But in a sentence about your own actions and feelings, listeners will usually assume “my eyes”.

Context:

The subject that actually does something is saya (“I”):
→ It’s natural to interpret “mata” as “my eyes”.

If you really want to make it explicit, you can say:

saking capeknya mata saya
(also correct and clear)

But native speakers commonly leave out saya in cases like this.

What’s the difference between “menatap layar” and “melihat layar”?

Both can be translated as “looking at the screen,” but:

menatap
- “to gaze at, to stare at, to look intently at”
- Suggests focus / intensity / duration.
melihat
- “to see / to look (at)” in a more general sense.
- More neutral.

In your sentence:

menatap layar implies prolonged staring at the screen, which fits the idea of eyes being tired from screen time.

You could say melihat layar, but menatap layar sounds more natural for “screen-staring” fatigue.

There’s no subject before “menatap layar”. Who is doing the staring?

The subject is understood from context. Indonesian often omits repeated subjects when it’s obvious.

Full, explicit version:

Hari ini, saking capeknya mata saya karena saya menatap layar, saya mengambil jeda …

In natural Indonesian, the second saya is typically dropped:

The main subject of the whole sentence is saya (“I”).
So karena menatap layar is understood as “because I was staring at the screen”.

This kind of subject dropping is very common once the subject has been established.

What does “mengambil jeda” literally mean, and is it the usual way to say “take a break”?

Literally:

mengambil = to take
jeda = a pause / break (often short, between activities)

So mengambil jeda = “to take a (short) break / pause”.

It’s natural and common, especially in contexts like work, studying, or media (e.g., “jeda iklan” = commercial break).

Other common ways to say “take a break”:

istirahat sebentar = rest a bit
ambil istirahat = take a rest (slightly more explicit)
rehat sebentar = take a short break (slightly formal / refined)

In this sentence, mengambil jeda is perfectly idiomatic.

In “mengambil jeda lima menit setiap jam”, what exactly modifies what? Is it “a five‑minute break every hour”?

Yes, the natural reading is:

jeda lima menit = a five‑minute break
setiap jam = every hour

So the whole chunk means: “I took a five‑minute break every hour.”

You could rephrase in other natural ways:

saya beristirahat selama lima menit setiap jam
saya istirahat lima menit tiap jam

All of these convey the same idea: 5 minutes of rest, recurring each hour.

What’s the difference between “setiap” and “tiap” in “setiap jam”?

setiap and tiap are very close in meaning: “every / each”.

setiap
- Slightly more formal / standard.
- Very common in both speech and writing.
tiap
- Slightly more informal / colloquial, but still widely acceptable.

In your sentence, you could say either:

setiap jam
tiap jam

Both are natural; setiap is just a bit “cleaner” in standard Indonesian.

Is the overall sentence formal or informal? Would it be okay in a work email?

The sentence is neutral–informal:

capek and the saking … -nya structure give it a casual, spoken feel.
It sounds very natural in conversation, chat, or a relaxed work setting.

For a more formal work email, you might adjust the wording:

Hari ini, karena mata saya begitu lelah akibat menatap layar, saya beristirahat selama lima menit setiap jam.

Changes:

capek → lelah (more formal)
saking … -nya → karena … begitu lelah (more neutral/formal)
mengambil jeda → beristirahat (slightly more formal register)

But in many modern workplaces, your original sentence would still be understood and often accepted, especially in internal chats.