Saking stresnya di kantor, saya sampai-sampai lupa makan siang.

I was so stressed at the office that I even forgot to eat lunch.

Breakdown of Saking stresnya di kantor, saya sampai-sampai lupa makan siang.

• saya: I
• di: at
• kantor: the office
• lupa: to forget
• makan siang: to have lunch
• nya: his/her/its
• stres: stressed
• saking ... sampai-sampai: so ... that

Questions & Answers about Saking stresnya di kantor, saya sampai-sampai lupa makan siang.

What does saking stresnya di kantor mean structurally, not just in translation?

The structure saking … -nya means “so … that …” / “to such an extent that …”.

Pattern:

• Saking + adjective/noun + -nya, … (result/consequence)
  
  • Saking capeknya, saya langsung tidur.
    = I was so tired that I went straight to sleep.
  • Saking laparnya, dia makan dua porsi.
    = He was so hungry that he ate two portions.

In your sentence:

• Saking stresnya di kantor,
  = Being so stressed at the office / The stress at the office was so great that …

So the whole sentence is:

• Saking stresnya di kantor, saya sampai-sampai lupa makan siang.
  = I was so stressed at the office that I even forgot to eat lunch.

Why is it stresnya and not just stres after saking?

The -nya after stres does two things here:

1. It turns the idea into a specific, “the …-ness” type of thing

   • stres = stress (general)
   • stresnya ≈ the stress (that I was feeling / that existed)

2. With saking, adding -nya is the natural pattern:

   • Saking capeknya, … (very natural)
     (Saking capek, … sounds off)
   • Saking marahnya, …
   • Saking banyaknya pekerjaan, …

So Saking stresnya di kantor feels like “Because the stress at the office was so intense”.
Without -nya (Saking stres di kantor) it sounds ungrammatical or at least very odd to native ears.

Is stres an Indonesian word or just English “stress” used as-is?

Stres is a borrowed word from English, but it has been adapted to Indonesian spelling and usage:

• Indonesian: stres (one s at the end)
• English: stress (double s at the end)

It is fully accepted and listed in Indonesian dictionaries (e.g. KBBI) and behaves like a normal Indonesian noun/adjective:

• Saya sedang stres. = I’m stressed.
• Stres di kantor. = Stress at the office.

What is the difference between saking and words like sangat or begitu?

All of them express a high degree, but the structure and feel are different:

1. sangat = very (just intensity)

   • Saya sangat stres di kantor.
     = I’m very stressed at the office.
     (No explicit consequence)

2. begitu … sampai … = so … that …

   • Saya begitu stres di kantor sampai lupa makan siang.
     = I was so stressed at the office that I forgot lunch.

3. saking … -nya, … sampai … = to such an extent that …

   • Saking stresnya di kantor, saya sampai lupa makan siang.
     = Because I was so stressed at the office, I even forgot lunch.

saking almost always implies there will be a result/consequence in the next clause, and sounds a bit more story-like or expressive than just sangat.

What is the difference between sampai and sampai-sampai?

Basic idea: doubling adds emphasis / drama.

• sampai in this pattern = to the point that / so … that

  • Saya sampai lupa makan siang.
    = I (even) ended up forgetting to eat lunch.

• sampai-sampai = an intensified, more dramatic version
  It adds a feel of “can you believe it, to the point that…”:

  • Saya sampai-sampai lupa makan siang.
    ≈ I even went so far as to forget to eat lunch.

Both are grammatically correct here. Sampai-sampai is just stronger, more expressive.

Do we really need both saking and sampai-sampai in the same sentence?

No, you don’t need both; it’s a stylistic choice for emphasis.

Your sentence:

• Saking stresnya di kantor, saya sampai-sampai lupa makan siang.

Possible, slightly less dramatic versions:

• Saking stresnya di kantor, saya sampai lupa makan siang.
• Saya begitu stres di kantor sampai lupa makan siang.
• Karena terlalu stres di kantor, saya sampai lupa makan siang.
• Di kantor saya stres sekali, sampai lupa makan siang.

They all keep the same basic meaning (the stress caused me to forget lunch), but the original with saking … sampai-sampai sounds more expressive and “storytelling-like”.

Why is it lupa makan siang and not lupa untuk makan siang?

In everyday Indonesian, after lupa when you mean “forget to do something”, the most natural pattern is:

• lupa + base verb (bare verb)

Examples:

• Saya lupa makan siang. = I forgot to eat lunch.
• Dia lupa bayar tagihan. = He forgot to pay the bill.
• Kami lupa bawa dompet. = We forgot to bring the wallet.

lupa untuk + verb is possible but:

• Sounds more formal/literary, or
• Often used when you want to sound more explicit/careful.

So:

• Saya sampai lupa makan siang. = the most natural everyday version.
• Saya sampai lupa untuk makan siang. = grammatically OK, but more formal/wordy; less common in casual speech.

Why not say melupakan makan siang instead of lupa makan siang?

lupa and melupakan are related but used differently.

1. lupa = to forget (often followed by an action or object, very common)

   • Saya lupa makan siang. = I forgot to eat lunch.
   • Saya lupa namanya. = I forgot his/her name.

2. melupakan = to forget (something) as a direct object, often more deliberate or about memories/obligations

   • Saya ingin melupakan masa lalu.
     = I want to forget the past.
   • Jangan melupakan janji itu.
     = Don’t forget that promise.

For everyday things you accidentally forget to do (eat, call, bring something), Indonesians much prefer:

• lupa makan siang, lupa telepon dia, lupa bawa kunci, etc.

Melupakan makan siang would sound strange and very unnatural in this context, as if “lunch” were a big promise or memory you are trying to erase.

Is makan siang here a noun phrase (“lunch”) or a verb phrase (“to eat lunch”)?

In Indonesian, makan siang can work as either, depending on context.

1. As a verb phrase: “to eat lunch”

   • Saya mau makan siang. = I’m going to eat lunch.
   • Kami sedang makan siang. = We’re eating lunch.

2. As a noun phrase: “lunch (meal)”

   • Makan siang sudah siap. = Lunch is ready.

In lupa makan siang, it is best understood as a verb phrase:

• I forgot to eat lunch.

Functionally, though, you don’t need to worry too much; Indonesians are comfortable with this flexibility.

Can di kantor be moved to another position in the sentence?

Yes, there is some flexibility, but not all positions sound equally natural.

Very natural:

• Saking stresnya di kantor, saya sampai-sampai lupa makan siang.
• Di kantor, saya saking stresnya sampai-sampai lupa makan siang. (less common but still OK)
• Saya saking stresnya di kantor sampai-sampai lupa makan siang.

Less natural / awkward:

• Saya sampai-sampai lupa makan siang saking stresnya di kantor.
  → Understandable, but the saking … -nya phrase usually comes before the result, not tacked on at the end.

Most typical patterns put Saking stresnya … at the beginning as a cause clause, or right before the main clause describing the result.

Is the register of this sentence formal or informal? Where could I say it?

The sentence is in neutral–informal Indonesian:

• Vocabulary: everyday words (stres, kantor, lupa, makan siang)
• Structure: expressive but not slangy.

You can use it in:

• Casual conversation with friends/colleagues
• Informal emails or chats
• Spoken storytelling, even in semi-formal settings

For a very formal written context (reports, official letters), you might choose something like:

• Karena tingkat stres di kantor sangat tinggi, saya sampai lupa makan siang.

But for normal spoken Indonesian, your original sentence sounds natural and idiomatic.

Are there other common patterns similar to Saking stresnya di kantor, saya sampai-sampai …?

Yes, several cause → extreme result patterns are common:

1. Karena terlalu …, …

   • Karena terlalu stres di kantor, saya sampai lupa makan siang.

2. Begitu … sampai …

   • Saya begitu stres di kantor sampai lupa makan siang.

3. Sebegitu …nya sampai …

   • Sebegitu stresnya saya di kantor sampai lupa makan siang.

4. Saking … -nya, … sampai … (your original pattern)

   • Saking stresnya di kantor, saya sampai-sampai lupa makan siang.

All of them express “the degree of X is so high that Y happens”, with slightly different styles and levels of emphasis.