Breakdown of Sebenarnya saya mahu berehat hari ini sekurang-kurangnya setengah hari, tetapi saya masih ada tugasan penting.
Questions & Answers about Sebenarnya saya mahu berehat hari ini sekurang-kurangnya setengah hari, tetapi saya masih ada tugasan penting.
Sebenarnya literally means actually / in fact / to be honest.
In this sentence, it softens what you say and adds a slight contrast, as if you are explaining your original plan before saying why it couldn’t happen.
- Sebenarnya saya mahu berehat…
= Actually I wanted to rest… (sounds natural and common)
You can also move sebenarnya:
- Saya sebenarnya mahu berehat hari ini…
Focuses more on you (I, personally, actually wanted to rest). - Saya mahu berehat hari ini sebenarnya…
Sounds more like an afterthought or emphasis at the end.
All are correct; the difference is nuance and rhythm, not grammar.
All four can express want / would like to, but they differ in formality and nuance.
mahu
Neutral, common, slightly formal but still used in everyday speech.- Saya mahu berehat. – I want to rest.
hendak
Traditionally more formal or written, but also used in speech in some regions.- Saya hendak berehat. – I wish to rest / I want to rest.
ingin
More formal, polite, and a bit “softer”; often in writing or polite speech.- Saya ingin berehat. – I would like to rest.
nak
Very informal, colloquial (especially in Malaysia).- Saya nak berehat. – I wanna rest.
In your sentence, mahu makes the sentence neutral and suitable for both spoken and written Malay. If you were speaking casually with friends, Saya nak berehat… would be very natural.
Malay does not mark tense on the verb the way English does. Saya mahu berehat by itself is tenseless; the time reference comes from context and time expressions such as hari ini.
In your full sentence:
- Sebenarnya saya mahu berehat hari ini…
Depending on context and intonation, this could be:
- Actually I *want to rest today…* (a current plan)
- Actually I *wanted to rest today…* (a plan that is being disrupted)
The contrast with the second clause (tetapi saya masih ada tugasan penting) usually makes English speakers translate it as I wanted to rest today, but… because it describes a plan that is not fully realized.
Grammatically, though, Malay doesn’t change the verb for past or present.
Rehat is a noun: rest, break.
Berehat is a verb: to rest, to take a break.
- Saya mahu berehat. – I want to rest.
- Saya perlukan rehat. – I need a rest / I need a break.
Malay often uses prefixes to turn a noun into a verb.
Here, ber- + rehat → berehat (to rest).
So in this sentence, you need the verb form, because mahu must be followed by a verb or verb-like phrase.
Hari ini means today and functions as a time expression modifying berehat.
- Saya mahu berehat hari ini. – I want to rest today.
You can say pada hari ini, but it sounds:
- more formal, or
- more contrastive, like on this particular day (as opposed to other days).
In everyday speech and most normal writing:
- hari ini is much more natural than pada hari ini.
Sekurang-kurangnya means at least.
It’s made up of:
- kurang – less
- sekurang-kurang – at the least (intensified form)
- sekurang-kurangnya – at least (the minimal amount)
The hyphens show reduplication (kurang-kurang) which is a common pattern in Malay for intensification or to form expressions like paling-paling, kadang-kadang, etc.
You might also hear:
- paling kurang – at least (very common in speech)
- sekurang-kurang – older/less common; usually you’ll see the -nya form.
In your sentence, sekurang-kurangnya setengah hari = at least half a day.
Both can mean half a day, but there is a slight tendency in usage:
Setengah
Common for time and quantities in a general sense.- setengah hari – half a day
- setengah jam – half an hour
Separuh
Also means half, often used for dividing something into two equal parts.- separuh kek – half a cake
- separuh jalan – halfway along the road
Setengah hari is the more usual expression for half a day in this kind of sentence.
Separuh hari is understandable and not wrong, but sounds less idiomatic here.
Both correspond to but / however.
tetapi
More formal or neutral; common in writing, speeches, and careful speech.- Saya mahu berehat, tetapi saya masih ada tugasan penting.
tapi
Informal, colloquial; very common in everyday conversation.- Saya nak berehat, tapi saya masih ada tugasan penting.
In formal writing or when you want to sound more polished, tetapi is safer. In casual spoken Malay, tapi is more natural.
Ada by itself means to have / there is / there are depending on context.
- Saya ada tugasan penting. – I have important tasks.
Masih means still.
- Saya masih ada tugasan penting. – I still have important tasks.
So masih ada expresses that the situation continues and has not yet ended. It fits well with the idea that you wanted to rest, but your important tasks are still present and unfinished.
Without masih, the sentence loses that sense of continuity or ongoing obligation.
Both are related to tasks / duties, but there is a nuance:
tugas
The more general word for task, duty, responsibility.- Saya ada tugas. – I have a task / duty.
tugasan
Often used for assigned work, especially in:- school / university assignments
- official tasks given by a superior
In many contexts, tugas penting and tugasan penting can both be understood as important tasks, but:
- tugasan penting can sound a bit more like important assignments / specific pieces of work.
- tugas penting can sound more like important responsibilities / duties.
In your sentence, tugasan penting suggests you have specific pieces of important work to complete (e.g. assignments, projects, tasks).
Yes, you can change the order, with slight differences in emphasis:
…mahu berehat hari ini sekurang-kurangnya setengah hari…
- Natural and common.
- Emphasis flows: today → at least half a day.
…mahu berehat sekurang-kurangnya setengah hari hari ini…
- Still correct, but sounds a bit heavier.
- Emphasis flows: at least half a day → today.
Both are grammatically fine. The original order is more typical and sounds smoother in everyday usage.