Learn Hardcore Malay: Saya berjalan perlahan-lahan di taman supaya fikiran saya tenang. - I walk slowly in the park so that my mind is calm.

In this sentence, saya berjalan = “I walk / I am walking.”
Whether it feels like “I walk” or “I go for a walk” depends on context and any extra words.

If you want to be more explicit that you are walking around for leisure (strolling), Malay often uses:

berjalan-jalan = to stroll / to go for a walk (for leisure)

So:

Saya berjalan di taman. – I walk in the park.
Saya berjalan-jalan di taman. – I go for a walk / stroll in the park.

In your sentence, berjalan is fine and natural; the idea of “for relaxation” is already carried by supaya fikiran saya tenang (“so that my mind is calm”).

Why is “perlahan-lahan” repeated with a hyphen, and how is it different from just “perlahan”?

Perlahan-lahan is a reduplicated form of perlahan (“slow, slowly”). Reduplication in Malay often:

intensifies or specifies manner
gives a more natural, idiomatic feel

Perlahan on its own can already mean “slow” or “slowly”:

Saya berjalan perlahan. – I walk slowly.

But perlahan-lahan tends to sound more like:

“very slowly” or
“slowly and gently / unhurriedly”, with a slightly more deliberate, careful nuance.

Both are correct here:

Saya berjalan perlahan di taman... – OK
Saya berjalan perlahan-lahan di taman... – sounds more natural and expressive, especially when talking about calming the mind.

The hyphen just marks the reduplication: perlahan + perlahan → perlahan-lahan.

Could I say “dengan perlahan-lahan” instead of just “perlahan-lahan”?

You can say it, but it is not the most natural in this sentence.

Malay expresses manner in two common ways:

Adverb-like adjective directly after the verb
- Saya berjalan perlahan-lahan. – I walk slowly.
With dengan + adjective/noun (similar to “with” or “in a … way”)
- Saya berjalan dengan perlahan. – I walk slowly.

Using both together (dengan perlahan-lahan) is grammatically possible but tends to sound a bit heavier or overly formal here. The most natural options are:

Saya berjalan perlahan-lahan di taman...
Saya berjalan dengan perlahan di taman...

For everyday speech, the first one (without dengan) is simpler and very common.

What exactly does “taman” mean here? Is it “garden” or “park”?

Taman can mean both, depending on context:

Garden (private or small, like a yard or landscaped area)
Park (public park, recreational area)

In many everyday contexts, taman = “park”, especially if it’s a place people go to walk, jog, or relax.

So in this sentence, di taman is most naturally understood as:

“in the park”

If you want to be extra clear about a public park, you can also say:

taman rekreasi – recreational park
taman awam – public park

How does “supaya” work in this sentence? Is it like “so that” or “because”?

Supaya is a conjunction meaning “so that / in order that”. It expresses purpose, not cause.

So:

Saya berjalan perlahan-lahan di taman supaya fikiran saya tenang.
= I walk slowly in the park so that my mind is calm / in order for my mind to be calm.

Compare with kerana / sebab (“because”):

Saya berjalan di taman kerana saya mahu menenangkan fikiran.
– I walk in the park because I want to calm my mind.

So:

supaya → expresses purpose / desired result
kerana / sebab → expresses reason / cause

Why is “fikiran saya” used instead of just “fikiran”? Could I drop “saya”?

Fikiran saya means “my mind / my thoughts”.

Fikiran on its own is more general: thought(s), mind (in an abstract sense).
Fikiran saya specifies whose mind: my mind.

In this sentence, if you drop saya:

... supaya fikiran tenang.
– “… so that (the) mind is calm.”

This is grammatically OK, but it sounds less personal, more like a general statement.

To clearly say “my mind”, you normally keep saya:

supaya fikiran saya tenang – so that my mind is calm.

So yes, you can say “supaya fikiran tenang”, but it slightly changes the nuance from personal (“my mind”) to more general, or something like “so that the mind is calm / things are peaceful mentally.”

What is the difference between “fikiran” and other words like “hati” or “perasaan”?

These three words all relate to inner states but are used differently:

Fikiran
- literally: thought(s), mind
- relates more to thinking, mental state, ideas
- fikiran saya tenang – my mind / thoughts are calm
Hati
- literally: liver, but in Malay, conceptually like “heart” in English (emotions, inner self)
- used for feelings, sincerity, inner emotions
- hati saya tenang – my heart is at peace (emotional calm)
Perasaan
- literally: feeling(s)
- refers to emotions more directly
- perasaan saya tenang – my feelings are calm

In your sentence, fikiran emphasizes mental calmness / clear mind, which fits well with the idea of walking slowly to relax mentally.

Why is the pronoun “saya” used twice: “Saya berjalan…” and “fikiran saya…”? Could I avoid repeating it?

Using saya twice is normal and natural:

Saya berjalan... – I walk...
fikiran saya – my mind

You can avoid repetition in some ways, but the structure will change:

Using menjadi (to become):
- Saya berjalan perlahan-lahan di taman supaya fikiran saya menjadi tenang.
  – I walk slowly in the park so that my mind becomes calm.
Using a possessive understood from context (more informal, but not always natural here):
- ... supaya fikiran tenang. – so that (the) mind is calm.

The original sentence with saya twice is clear and perfectly acceptable. Malay often repeats pronouns where English might drop them, especially to avoid ambiguity.

How is tense understood here? How do we know if this means “I walk” or “I walked” or “I am walking”?

Malay verbs do not change form for tense. Berjalan stays the same for past, present, or future. The time is understood from context or additional time words.

Your sentence, by itself, can mean:

I walk slowly in the park so that my mind is calm.
I am walking slowly in the park so that my mind is calm.
I walked slowly in the park so that my mind would be calm.

To make tense explicit, you add time expressions:

Tadi saya berjalan perlahan-lahan di taman... – Earlier, I walked slowly in the park…
Sekarang saya berjalan perlahan-lahan di taman... – Now I am walking slowly in the park…
Setiap petang saya berjalan perlahan-lahan di taman... – Every evening I walk slowly in the park…

The verb berjalan itself does not change.

Can “supaya fikiran saya tenang” be moved to the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. You can say:

Supaya fikiran saya tenang, saya berjalan perlahan-lahan di taman.

This is grammatically correct and still means:

“So that my mind is calm, I walk slowly in the park.”

Putting supaya at the beginning emphasizes the purpose first. Both orders are natural:

Saya berjalan... supaya fikiran saya tenang. (neutral)
Supaya fikiran saya tenang, saya berjalan... (slight emphasis on the purpose).

Is “tenang” an adjective here, or is it acting more like a verb (“to calm down”)?

Tenang is an adjective meaning “calm, peaceful.”

In Malay, adjectives can function like the predicate without a linking verb “to be”:

fikiran saya tenang
– literally: my mind calm
– meaning: my mind is calm

So we don’t say “fikiran saya adalah tenang” in normal speech. The simple structure noun + adjective is enough to mean “X is Y.”

If you want a more verb-like sense (“to become calm”), you can add menjadi:

fikiran saya menjadi tenang – my mind becomes calm.

But in your sentence, tenang is best understood as an adjective.

Would “berjalan-jalan” sound better than “berjalan” in this sentence?

Both are possible, but the nuance changes slightly:

Berjalan – to walk (plain walking, movement on foot)
Berjalan-jalan – to stroll / walk around for leisure or to look around

If you say:

Saya berjalan perlahan-lahan di taman supaya fikiran saya tenang.
– I walk slowly in the park so that my mind is calm.

It emphasizes the manner of walking (slowly) for calmness.

If you say:

Saya berjalan-jalan perlahan-lahan di taman supaya fikiran saya tenang.
– I stroll slowly in the park so that my mind is calm.

It emphasizes that you are strolling for leisure, which also fits the idea of calming the mind. Both are correct and natural; berjalan-jalan gives a slightly more relaxed, leisurely feeling.

Is there any difference between saying “perlahan-lahan” and “pelan-pelan”?

Both are used to mean “slowly.”

Perlahan-lahan
- more standard / formal
- used widely across Malay-speaking regions
Pelan-pelan
- very common in Indonesia
- also understood by many Malaysians, but perlahan-lahan is safer and more standard in Malay (as used in Malaysia / Brunei / Singapore context).

In a standard Malay learning context, perlahan-lahan is usually preferred. The meaning in this sentence would be the same:

Saya berjalan pelan-pelan di taman supaya fikiran saya tenang. – understood as the same idea, but stylistically more Indonesian.