Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Pengalaman mendaki itu begitu berkesan sehingga saya ingin mengajak keluarga ke lembah yang sama tahun depan. - That hiking experience was so memorable that I want to take my family to the same valley next year.

pengalaman = experience
- root: alam or alami (nature / to experience), but in practice you just learn pengalaman as “experience”.
mendaki = to climb / to hike (root: daki)

In Indonesian, a verb can directly follow a noun to describe what kind of experience, activity, job, etc. For example:

pengalaman kerja – work experience
pengalaman belajar – learning/study experience
pengalaman mendaki – hiking/climbing experience

So pengalaman mendaki is literally “experience (of) climbing/hiking”.

Why is “itu” placed after “pengalaman mendaki”, and what does it add?

In Pengalaman mendaki itu begitu berkesan…, the word itu means “that” (referring to a specific, known experience).

pengalaman mendaki itu = that hiking experience (the one we both know about)

In Indonesian, itu often comes after the noun it modifies:

rumah itu – that house
film itu – that movie
pengalaman mendaki itu – that hiking experience

Placing itu here shows the speaker is talking about one particular past experience, not hiking in general.

You could say pengalaman mendaki saya itu (“that hiking experience of mine”), but adding saya is optional if context is clear.

What is the function of “begitu” in “begitu berkesan”, and how is it different from “sangat berkesan”?

Both begitu berkesan and sangat berkesan express a high degree of berkesan (memorable / impressive), but they’re used slightly differently.

sangat berkesan = very memorable
- purely describes intensity.
begitu berkesan = so memorable
- usually sets up a result clause: begitu … sehingga …

In the sentence:

Pengalaman mendaki itu begitu berkesan sehingga saya ingin mengajak keluarga…

The pattern is:

begitu berkesan – so memorable
sehingga … – that (as a result) …

So you could translate the structure as:
“That hiking experience was so memorable that I wanted to invite my family…”

If you replace it with sangat berkesan, it’s still grammatical, but you lose the fixed “so … that …” feel; it becomes more like two separate statements:

Pengalaman mendaki itu sangat berkesan, sehingga saya ingin…
That hiking experience was very memorable, so I wanted…

What does “sehingga” do in this sentence, and how is it different from “jadi” or “karena itu”?

In this sentence, sehingga introduces the result of the first clause:

Pengalaman mendaki itu begitu berkesan sehingga saya ingin mengajak keluarga…
That hiking experience was so memorable that I wanted to take my family…

So the pattern is:

begitu (adjective) sehingga (result clause)
= so (adjective) that (result)

Comparison:

sehingga – often used in this “so … that …” pattern; focuses on consequence.
jadi – more casual, like “so / therefore”.
- Pengalaman itu berkesan, jadi saya ingin mengajak keluarga.
karena itu – more formal “because of that / therefore”.
- Pengalaman itu berkesan, karena itu saya ingin mengajak keluarga.

Only sehingga fits naturally inside the begitu … sehingga … structure.

What’s the difference between “mengajak” and “mengundang”, and why is “mengajak” used here?

Both can be translated as “to invite”, but they’re used in different contexts:

mengajak
- to invite someone to go/do something together
- informal to neutral
- focus: going along / joining an activity
- e.g. Saya ingin mengajak keluarga ke lembah itu.
  – I want to take/ask my family to go to that valley (with me).
mengundang
- to invite formally, often to an event
- like inviting to a party, ceremony, meeting.
- e.g. Kami mengundang Anda ke pernikahan kami.

Here, the action is going to the valley together, so mengajak is the natural choice.
Using mengundang would sound like you’re sending formal invitations to an event at the valley.

Why is it just “keluarga” and not “keluarga saya”, even though the meaning is “my family”?

Indonesian often omits possessive pronouns (my, your, his, etc.) when the possessor is clear from context.

In:

… saya ingin mengajak keluarga ke lembah yang sama…

The subject is saya (I), so keluarga is naturally understood as my family.
It’s very common to say:

Saya pergi dengan keluarga. – I went with (my) family.
Dia tinggal bersama keluarga. – He/She lives with (his/her) family.

You can say keluarga saya to make it explicit or if there might be ambiguity. Both are correct:

mengajak keluarga – invite/take (my) family
mengajak keluarga saya – invite/take my family (more explicit)

What does “lembah yang sama” mean exactly, and why do we need “yang”?

lembah yang sama literally means “the same valley”.

lembah – valley
yang sama – (that is) the same

In Indonesian, yang is used to introduce a modifier clause or phrase for a noun:

orang yang tinggi – person who is tall / tall person
rumah yang besar – house that is big / big house
lembah yang sama – valley that is the same / the same valley

Without yang, lembah sama is sometimes heard in casual speech, but lembah yang sama is the standard and clearer form.

So:

ke lembah yang sama = to the same valley (the same one as before).

Can “tahun depan” be moved to another place in the sentence, and does the meaning change?

Yes, tahun depan (next year) is flexible in position. Original:

… saya ingin mengajak keluarga ke lembah yang sama tahun depan.

Other natural orders:

Tahun depan, saya ingin mengajak keluarga ke lembah yang sama.
Saya tahun depan ingin mengajak keluarga ke lembah yang sama. (less common, but possible in speech)
Saya ingin tahun depan mengajak keluarga ke lembah yang sama. (also possible, but can sound a bit clunky)

The basic meaning (“next year”) doesn’t change. Moving tahun depan to the beginning can emphasize the time:

Tahun depan, saya ingin…
→ As for next year, I want to…

The original position (at the end) is natural and very common.

What is the nuance of using “saya” here instead of “aku”?

Both saya and aku mean “I”, but they differ in formality:

saya
- more formal / neutral
- safe in almost all situations (speaking to strangers, in writing, in polite conversation).
aku
- more informal / intimate
- used with close friends, family, or in song lyrics, diaries, etc.

In this sentence:

… sehingga saya ingin mengajak keluarga…

Using saya makes the sentence sound neutral and standard, suitable for writing, narration, or polite speech.

In a casual story to friends, you might hear:

Pengalaman mendaki itu begitu berkesan sehingga aku ingin mengajak keluargaku ke lembah yang sama tahun depan.

Both are correct; it’s a question of register and relationship with the listener.

Can you break down the prefixes in “mendaki”, “mengajak”, and “berkesan”?

Yes, these are common verb formations:

mendaki
- root: daki – to climb
- form: meN- + daki → mendaki
- meaning: to climb / to hike
mengajak
- root: ajak – to invite / to ask someone to come along
- form: meN- + ajak → mengajak
- meaning: to invite (to go/do something together)
berkesan
- root: kesan – impression
- form: ber- + kesan → berkesan
- meaning: to be impressive / to be memorable / to leave an impression

Patterns:

meN- + verb root → active verb (to do that action)
ber- + noun/adjective → to have / to be characterized by that thing

So berkesan is like “to have an impression / to be impressive”, which we translate naturally as “memorable / impressive”.