Dalam diari, saya tulis tentang tekanan kerja yang saya rasa hari itu.

In the diary, I write about the work stress that I feel that day.

Breakdown of Dalam diari, saya tulis tentang tekanan kerja yang saya rasa hari itu.

• saya: I
• tentang: about
• rasa: to feel
• tulis: to write
• dalam: in
• yang: that/which
• diari: the diary
• tekanan kerja: the work stress
• hari itu: that day

Questions & Answers about Dalam diari, saya tulis tentang tekanan kerja yang saya rasa hari itu.

Why is it dalam diari and not something like di diari or in my diary with my?

In Malay, dalam already carries the idea of in / inside, so dalam diari literally means in the diary.

• di = a general location preposition: at / in / on
• dalam = in / inside (of)

You usually see:

• dalam diari = in the diary
• di dalam diari = inside the diary (a bit more explicit/emphatic)

di diari sounds odd; Malays rarely say it that way.

As for my: Malay often omits possessive pronouns when they are clear from context. dalam diari can mean:

• in the diary
• in my diary

If you need to be explicit, you can say:

• dalam diari saya = in my diary
• dalam diari itu = in that/the diary

What is the difference between saya tulis and saya menulis here? Which is better?

Both are grammatically correct:

• saya tulis – uses the root verb tulis (write).
• saya menulis – uses the meN- verb form menulis (to write / writing).

In this sentence:

Dalam diari, saya tulis tentang…

This sounds natural, fairly neutral, and is common in speech and informal writing. Using the root verb is very common in modern Malay, especially after a subject like saya, dia, etc.

If you say:

Dalam diari, saya menulis tentang…

it sounds slightly more formal / written-style, like a school essay or formal narrative, but still perfectly natural.

So:

• Everyday / neutral: saya tulis
• More formal / literary: saya menulis

How is the past tense shown if there is no word like did or wrote? Why not saya telah menulis?

Malay does not change the verb form for tense. Tense is shown by context words, such as hari itu (that day), semalam (yesterday), sudah, telah, etc.

In:

Dalam diari, saya tulis tentang tekanan kerja yang saya rasa hari itu.

The phrase hari itu tells us we are talking about the past. So saya tulis is understood as I wrote.

You can add explicit past markers:

• saya telah menulis tentang…
• saya sudah menulis tentang…

These mean I already wrote / I had written about… and sound more formal or more emphatic about completeness. In normal storytelling, saya tulis … hari itu is usually enough.

What does tentang mean exactly? Is it necessary, and are there alternatives?

tentang means about / regarding / concerning.

In this sentence:

saya tulis tentang tekanan kerja…
I wrote about the work stress…

You generally need something like tentang before the thing you’re writing about.

Common alternatives:

• mengenai – about, regarding (a bit more formal)
  
  • saya tulis mengenai tekanan kerja…
• perihal – about, regarding (quite formal / literary)

In everyday language, tentang is the usual, natural choice. You would not normally drop it here; saya tulis tekanan kerja would sound incomplete or like a different structure.

What does tekanan kerja literally mean, and is it the normal way to say “work stress”?

Literally:

• tekanan = pressure (from tekan = press)
• kerja = work

So tekanan kerja literally = work pressure, and in context it matches English work stress or job stress.

It is a very natural, standard phrase in Malay for pressure or stress caused by work.

You may also hear:

• stres kerja – using the loanword stres (stress), more informal / colloquial.
• tekanan di tempat kerja – pressure at the workplace.

But tekanan kerja is perfectly normal and common.

What is the function of yang in tekanan kerja yang saya rasa hari itu?

yang introduces a relative clause (like that / which in English).

Breakdown:

• tekanan kerja = work pressure / work stress
• yang saya rasa hari itu = that I felt that day

So:

tekanan kerja yang saya rasa hari itu
= the work stress that I felt that day

Structure:

• [noun phrase] + yang + [clause describing the noun]

Here, yang links tekanan kerja to saya rasa hari itu.
Without yang, the sentence becomes ungrammatical or changes meaning. You cannot say:

• ✗ tekanan kerja saya rasa hari itu (incorrect)

You must keep yang to show that saya rasa hari itu is describing tekanan kerja.

Does rasa here mean “to taste”? Why is it used for feelings?

rasa is a very flexible verb in Malay. Its meanings include:

• to taste (food, drink)
• to feel (physically or emotionally)
• to sense, to have a feeling / opinion in some contexts

In this sentence:

tekanan kerja yang saya rasa hari itu
= the work stress that I *felt that day*

So rasa = to feel.

Other common uses:

• Saya rasa sakit. – I feel pain / I’m in pain.
• Saya rasa sedih. – I feel sad.
• Saya rasa dia betul. – I feel/think he’s right.

If you want a slightly more formal verb for “experienced”, you could use:

• yang saya alami hari itu – the work stress that I experienced that day

But yang saya rasa hari itu is natural and clear.

Why is it hari itu and not pada hari itu? Are they different?

Both are correct:

• hari itu – that day
• pada hari itu – on that day

pada is a preposition meaning on / at (time).

In many sentences, pada before a time expression is optional in everyday use, especially when the time phrase is not at the very beginning:

• Saya pergi ke sana hari itu.
• Saya pergi ke sana pada hari itu.

Both can mean I went there that day.

In your sentence, hari itu already sounds natural and fluent:

…tekanan kerja yang saya rasa hari itu.

If you say pada hari itu here, it is still correct but a little more formal or slightly heavier:

…tekanan kerja yang saya rasa pada hari itu.

You might also see hari tersebut (that particular day), which is even more formal or specific.

Why isn’t there a possessive like saya after diari? How do I say “in my diary” more clearly?

Malay often drops possessive pronouns when context makes ownership obvious. So:

• dalam diari = in the diary / in my diary (depending on context)

If you need to make “my diary” explicit, use:

• dalam diari saya – in my diary

Examples:

• Dalam diari, saya tulis tentang…
  (Very likely understood as in my diary.)

• Dalam diari saya, saya tulis tentang…
  (Explicit: in my diary, I wrote about…)

Is the comma after Dalam diari necessary? Can I move that phrase to another position?

The comma is normal and helpful, but not strictly a grammatical rule; it reflects natural pausing:

Dalam diari, saya tulis tentang tekanan kerja…
In my diary, I wrote about work stress…

You can also put the location phrase later:

• Saya tulis dalam diari tentang tekanan kerja yang saya rasa hari itu.

This is also natural: I wrote in (my) diary about the work stress that I felt that day.

Key points:

• Position of dalam diari is flexible, as long as the meaning stays clear.
• A comma after an initial phrase like Dalam diari is common in writing to show a pause, especially in longer sentences.