Breakdown of Saya merasa tenang selepas minum air segar di tepi sungai.
saya
I
air
the water
minum
to drink
selepas
after
tenang
calm
segar
fresh
sungai
the river
di tepi
by
merasa
to feel
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Questions & Answers about Saya merasa tenang selepas minum air segar di tepi sungai.
What’s the difference between merasa and rasa in the context of merasa tenang?
Both merasa and rasa can mean “to feel,” but:
- merasa is the active verb form (with the meN- prefix) that emphasizes the act or process of feeling.
- rasa is the bare root and can also mean “to taste” or an emotional state in a more stative sense.
You could say “Saya rasa tenang” and still be correct, but “Saya merasa tenang” sounds a bit more formal or explicit about experiencing the calmness.
Why is selepas used here instead of setelah, and can they be interchanged?
Both mean “after,” but:
- selepas is more common in everyday spoken Malay.
- setelah tends to appear in formal or written contexts.
They’re interchangeable in meaning. For example: - “Saya merasa tenang selepas minum…” (casual)
- “Saya merasa tenang setelah minum…” (more formal/literary)
Why doesn’t the verb minum have any affixes (e.g. meminum)?
Minum is the root verb (“to drink”) and is commonly used without any prefix or suffix. While meminum (with the meN- prefix) is grammatically possible, it’s rare and sounds overly formal or outdated in daily speech. Most Malay speakers simply say minum.
In air segar, why does the adjective segar come after the noun air?
The standard adjective placement in Malay is noun + adjective. Examples:
- rumah besar (big house)
- buah manis (sweet fruit)
Putting the adjective before the noun (e.g. segar air) would sound incorrect or poetic, not standard.
What role does di play in di tepi sungai?
Di is a preposition indicating location (similar to “at” or “in” in English). It marks tepi sungai (“riverbank”) as the place where the action happens:
- di tepi sungai = “at the riverbank”
Without di, tepi sungai remains a noun phrase and doesn’t clearly function as a locative.
Can I say di pinggir sungai instead of di tepi sungai? Is there any nuance?
Yes—pinggir and tepi are near-synonyms meaning “edge” or “side.”
- di pinggir sungai and di tepi sungai both mean “by the riverbank.”
- tepi is slightly more colloquial; pinggir can sound a bit more formal. But in practice, speakers use them interchangeably.
Why doesn’t Malay use articles like the in di tepi sungai?
Malay has no definite or indefinite articles. Nouns stand alone, and context tells you if it’s “a riverbank” or “the riverbank.” So di tepi sungai can mean either “at a riverbank” or “at the riverbank,” depending on what you’ve said before.
Is it possible to drop Saya in Saya merasa tenang? What effect does that have?
Yes. Malay is a pro-drop language, so you can omit the subject pronoun when it’s clear from context:
- “Merasa tenang selepas minum air segar di tepi sungai.”
Dropping Saya makes the sentence shorter and more informal. Including Saya is clearer and more typical in writing or when you need to specify the subject.