Saya berjalan perlahan di sekitar tasik selepas kerja.

I walk slowly around the lake after work.

Breakdown of Saya berjalan perlahan di sekitar tasik selepas kerja.

• saya: I
• kerja: the work
• selepas: after
• perlahan: slowly
• berjalan: to walk
• tasik: the lake
• di sekitar: around

Questions & Answers about Saya berjalan perlahan di sekitar tasik selepas kerja.

What is the difference between saya and aku in this sentence, and which one sounds more natural here?

Both saya and aku mean I.

• saya

  • Neutral, polite, and safe in almost all situations.
  • Used in formal or semi‑formal contexts, with strangers, at work, etc.
  • Fits the sentence very well: Saya berjalan perlahan… sounds natural.

• aku

  • Informal and more intimate.
  • Used with close friends, family, or in casual speech.
  • Aku berjalan perlahan… is also correct, but it changes the tone to more casual.

If you’re unsure, use saya. It’s the default polite form.

Why is there no word for am / was / were in Saya berjalan perlahan…?

Malay usually does not use a separate verb like to be (am/is/are/was/were) before verbs.

In English:

• I was walking slowly…

In Malay:

• Saya berjalan perlahan…

Here:

• berjalan already functions as the verb (to walk / walking),
  so you don’t add anything like am or was.

Tense (past, present, future) is normally understood from context or time expressions:

• semalam (yesterday)
• sekarang (now)
• nanti (later)

So Saya berjalan perlahan di sekitar tasik selepas kerja is understood as past because of selepas kerja (after work), even though there’s no past marker.

How does berjalan relate to the word jalan? Why do we need the ber- prefix?

jalan is the root word. It can mean:

• road / street (noun)
• to walk (verb, in some informal uses)

berjalan is the verb form meaning to walk / to walk along / to move by walking.

In this sentence:

• berjalan = to walk / walking
• Saya berjalan = I walk / I am walking

The ber- prefix is very common in Malay to make intransitive verbs (no direct object).
Other examples:

• bekerja (from kerja) = to work
• berlari (from lari) = to run

So berjalan is the standard, clear way to say to walk in neutral Malay.

Is perlahan an adjective (slow) or an adverb (slowly) here, and why doesn’t it need a special adverb form?

In Malay, many words work as both adjective and adverb without changing form.

• perlahan can mean:
  • slow (adjective)
  • slowly (adverb)

In this sentence:

• Saya berjalan perlahan… = I walked slowly…

There is no need for an extra ending like -ly in English.

You may also see:

• berjalan dengan perlahan (walk with slow[ness])
• berjalan perlahan-lahan (walk very slowly / slowly and gently)

All are correct. Your sentence uses the simplest pattern: verb + modifier:

• berjalan perlahan = walk slowly

Does di sekitar tasik mean around the lake or near the lake? How strong is the idea of movement around it?

di sekitar tasik literally means at/ in the area around the lake.

• di = at / in / on (location)
• sekitar = around / surrounding area
• tasik = lake

So the whole phrase focuses on being in the area around the lake, not on the movement path itself.

Context decides the nuance:

• With berjalan, we normally understand that you’re walking around the lake area, which can imply walking along a path circling the lake, but it could also just be walking somewhere near it.

If you want to emphasise the idea of going all the way around it (making a loop), you could say:

• Saya berjalan mengelilingi tasik = I walked (all) around the lake (circled it).

What is the difference between di sekitar tasik and just sekitar tasik?

• di sekitar tasik

  • More complete and standard.
  • Literally: at around the lake / in the area around the lake.
  • Very natural in spoken and written Malay.

• sekitar tasik alone

  • Often used as a noun phrase: the area around the lake.
  • You might see it in things like:
    • Rumah-rumah di sekitar tasik… = The houses around the lake…
  • Without di, it sounds more like a description of an area than a location where an action happens.

So in your sentence, di sekitar tasik is the best choice:

• Saya berjalan perlahan di sekitar tasik…

Why is it selepas kerja, not selepas saya kerja or selepas saya bekerja?

All of these are possible, but they have slightly different flavours.

• selepas kerja

  • Literally: after work (treating kerja as a noun).
  • Very natural and common:
    • selepas sekolah = after school
    • selepas makan = after eating / after the meal

• selepas saya kerja

  • More informal; can sound a bit colloquial.
  • Literally: after I (do) work.
  • Not wrong, but less neat in standard writing.

• selepas saya bekerja

  • Literally: after I work / after I have worked.
  • Grammatically fine and clearer that I am the one working, but a bit longer.

In everyday speech, selepas kerja is short, natural and fully understood to mean after (my) work from context.

Could this sentence mean a general habit, like I usually walk slowly around the lake after work, or does it only mean one specific time in the past?

It can mean either, depending on context.

Malay verbs don’t change form for tense or aspect, so:

• Saya berjalan perlahan di sekitar tasik selepas kerja.

Possible readings:

• One specific event (past):
  
  • Yesterday after work, I walked slowly around the lake.
• A regular habit:
  
  • (Every day) after work, I walk slowly around the lake.

To make it clearly habitual, you can add time words like:

• setiap hari selepas kerja = every day after work
• selalu selepas kerja = always after work

Example:

• Saya selalu berjalan perlahan di sekitar tasik selepas kerja.
  = I always walk slowly around the lake after work.

What is the difference between kerja and bekerja?

• kerja

  • Noun: work / job / task
    
    • Saya ada banyak kerja. = I have a lot of work.
  • In informal speech it can also act as a verb:
    
    • Saya kerja di Kuala Lumpur. = I work in Kuala Lumpur. (casual)

• bekerja

  • Verb: to work (more clearly a verb and more standard)
    
    • Saya bekerja di Kuala Lumpur. = I work in Kuala Lumpur.

In selepas kerja, kerja is clearly a noun: after work (after the working period).

If you say:

• selepas saya bekerja, the focus is on the action after I have worked / after I work (more explicit subject).

Could I move selepas kerja to the beginning of the sentence, and would the meaning change?

Yes, you can move it, and the basic meaning stays the same.

• Original:

  • Saya berjalan perlahan di sekitar tasik selepas kerja.
    = I walk/walked slowly around the lake after work.

• Alternative:

  • Selepas kerja, saya berjalan perlahan di sekitar tasik.

The second version:

• Slightly emphasises after work (the time frame) first.
• Is still natural and correct.

Word order in Malay is quite flexible for time expressions like semalam, selepas kerja, pada waktu malam, etc. They can go at the beginning or at the end of the sentence with no major change in meaning.