Saya berehat sepenuhnya di rumah hari ini.

I rest completely at home today.

Breakdown of Saya berehat sepenuhnya di rumah hari ini.

• saya: I
• di: at
• berehat: to rest
• rumah: the house
• hari ini: today
• sepenuhnya: completely

Questions & Answers about Saya berehat sepenuhnya di rumah hari ini.

What is the role of saya here, and how is it different from aku? Is it always necessary to say it?

Saya means I / me and is the standard polite, neutral pronoun used in most situations (talking to strangers, in class, at work, etc.).
Aku also means I / me, but it is more informal/intimate and usually used:

• with close friends
• with siblings
• sometimes in songs/poems/monologues

In this sentence:

• Saya berehat sepenuhnya di rumah hari ini. – polite/neutral
• Aku berehat sepenuhnya di rumah hari ini. – casual, to a close friend

Malay often drops pronouns when the subject is clear from context, so in a casual conversation you might simply say:

• Berehat sepenuhnya di rumah hari ini.

and it would still be understood as “I am completely resting at home today,” if context is obvious.

Is berehat a verb? How is it different from rehat?

Yes, berehat is a verb: it means to rest / to take a break.

• rehat is the root (a noun: rest), e.g. waktu rehat = recess / break time
• berehat is formed by adding the ber- prefix to rehat, turning it into a verb: to rest

Examples:

• Saya berehat. – I am resting.
• Saya perlukan rehat. – I need a rest.

So in your sentence, berehat is the main action: you are doing the resting.

What exactly does sepenuhnya mean, and can I leave it out?

Sepenuhnya comes from penuh (full) and roughly means completely / fully / entirely.

• Saya berehat di rumah hari ini. – I’m resting at home today.
• Saya berehat sepenuhnya di rumah hari ini. – I’m completely resting at home today (not doing anything else, really taking it easy).

You can definitely leave it out. Leaving it out makes the sentence more neutral and less emphatic. Keeping it in adds the nuance that you are really dedicating the day to rest.

Where can sepenuhnya go in the sentence? Is Saya sepenuhnya berehat di rumah hari ini also correct?

Yes, sepenuhnya is an adverb-like word and has some flexibility in position. All of these are grammatically possible and natural:

1. Saya berehat sepenuhnya di rumah hari ini.
2. Saya sepenuhnya berehat di rumah hari ini.
3. Hari ini saya berehat sepenuhnya di rumah.

The most common and natural here is probably (1) or (3). Putting sepenuhnya immediately after berehat feels very normal. When you move sepenuhnya in front of berehat, it can sound slightly more formal or emphatic, but it is still correct.

Why is it di rumah and not ke rumah? What’s the difference?

In Malay:

• di = at / in / on (location)
• ke = to / towards (movement)

So:

• di rumah – at home (location, where you are)
• ke rumah – to the house/home (movement, where you are going)

Your sentence describes where you are resting (location), so you use di:

• Saya berehat sepenuhnya di rumah hari ini. – I am completely resting at home today.

If you said:

• Saya pergi ke rumah hari ini. – I went / I am going to the house today.

Do I always need the preposition di before rumah? Could I just say Saya berehat sepenuhnya rumah hari ini?

You must keep di here. In standard Malay, location nouns normally take di:

• di rumah – at home
• di sekolah – at school
• di pejabat – at the office

Without di, the sentence Saya berehat sepenuhnya rumah hari ini is ungrammatical in standard Malay. In fast casual speech, some speakers may drop di in certain patterns, but as a learner you should always include it.

Can I move hari ini to the front of the sentence? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, you can move hari ini to the front. The meaning stays the same; you just change the focus a little:

• Saya berehat sepenuhnya di rumah hari ini.
• Hari ini saya berehat sepenuhnya di rumah.

Both mean “I am completely resting at home today.”
Putting Hari ini at the front slightly emphasizes the time (“As for today, I’m completely resting at home”), but it is a very natural, common structure.

How is tense shown here? How do we know this is “today (present)” and not “I rested” or “I will rest”?

Malay normally does not change the verb form for tense. The verb berehat stays the same whether it is past, present, or future. Tense is shown by:

• time words: hari ini (today), semalam (yesterday), esok (tomorrow)
• aspect helpers: sedang (in the middle of doing), akan (will), sudah / telah (already)

Your sentence uses hari ini, which suggests “today (now or later)”:

• Saya berehat sepenuhnya di rumah hari ini.
  – Depending on context it can mean “I’m resting at home today” or “I’ll be resting at home today.”

You can make it clearer if needed:

• Saya sedang berehat sepenuhnya di rumah hari ini. – I am currently resting completely at home today.
• Saya akan berehat sepenuhnya di rumah hari ini. – I will rest completely at home today.

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral? How would I say it to a close friend in a casual chat?

As written, it is neutral to slightly formal, mainly because of saya and the complete structure. It’s perfectly fine in most contexts.

To sound more casual with close friends, you might change:

• saya → aku
• di rumah → kat rumah (colloquial di = kat / kat)

Examples:

• Aku berehat sepenuhnya kat rumah hari ni.
• Hari ni aku berehat je kat rumah. (with je = “only / just” and hari ni as the spoken form of hari ini)

These are typical in text messages or conversation among peers.

What is the difference between hari ini, hari ni, and pada hari ini?

All three can translate as today, but they differ in register:

• hari ini – standard, neutral; good for writing, speech, exams, etc.
• hari ni – colloquial spoken form; used in informal speech/messages.
• pada hari ini – more formal/literary; often seen in speeches, official writing.

In your sentence, the standard neutral choice is:

• Saya berehat sepenuhnya di rumah hari ini.

Can I drop hari ini? Does the sentence still sound complete?

Yes, you can drop hari ini if the time is clear from context:

• Saya berehat sepenuhnya di rumah. – I am completely resting at home.

This is a complete sentence. Without hari ini, it’s more general; the time frame may be understood from the conversation (e.g. “Why aren’t you coming out?” – “Saya berehat sepenuhnya di rumah.”).

Is sepenuhnya the same as sangat or betul-betul? Could I say Saya berehat sangat di rumah hari ini?

Sepenuhnya means completely / fully, and it usually modifies an action or a state.
Sangat means very and typically modifies adjectives: sangat penat (very tired), sangat gembira (very happy).

You would not normally say berehat sangat. More natural alternatives to express emphasis are:

• Saya betul-betul berehat di rumah hari ini. – I’m really resting at home today.
• Saya berehat sepenuhnya di rumah hari ini. – I’m completely resting at home today.

So betul-betul and sepenuhnya overlap in meaning (“really / completely”), but sepenuhnya is slightly more formal and literal (“fully”).