Saya mahu rehatkan badan di sofa di ruang tamu.

I want to rest my body on the sofa in the living room.

Breakdown of Saya mahu rehatkan badan di sofa di ruang tamu.

• saya: I
• mahu: to want
• di: in
• di: on
• badan: the body
• ruang tamu: the living room
• sofa: the sofa
• rehatkan: to rest

Questions & Answers about Saya mahu rehatkan badan di sofa di ruang tamu.

Why does the sentence use mahu? What’s the difference between mahu, hendak, nak, and ingin?

All four mean something like want / would like, but they differ in formality and how commonly they’re used.

• mahu – Neutral, standard Malay. Very common in speech and writing in Malaysia. Good “default” word for learners.
• hendak – Slightly more formal or old‑fashioned in everyday speech, but still heard. Often written as hendaklah in formal texts.
• nak – Colloquial contraction of hendak/mahu, very common in casual spoken Malay (especially in Malaysia). You’d use this with friends/family:
  Saya nak rehatkan badan…
• ingin – More like wish / would like to; can sound a bit more polite, soft, or slightly formal/serious:
  Saya ingin berehat di sofa…

In your sentence, Saya mahu… is polite, standard, and natural for most situations.

Why is it rehatkan badan and not just rehat or berehat?

You can say it in several ways, with small differences in nuance:

• rehatkan badan – literally to rest the body, so you’re treating badan (body) as the object. This uses a transitive verb (rehatkan) + object (badan). It slightly emphasizes that your body is tired.
• berehat – intransitive verb, to rest in general.
  Saya mahu berehat di sofa… = I want to rest on the sofa… (most neutral/common).
• rehat by itself is usually the noun (rest / break) or a root. You might see:
  Saya mahu rehat sekejap. = I want a short break / I want to rest a bit.
  This is very common in speech.

So:

• Saya mahu berehat di sofa… – very natural, textbook style.
• Saya mahu rehatkan badan di sofa… – also correct, with a slight emphasis on resting your body.

What does the suffix -kan in rehatkan do?

In Malay, adding -kan to a root often makes the verb:

1. Transitive (it takes an object), and/or
2. Causative (to cause something to be in a certain state).

rehat (root) → rehatkan (to rest something / to cause something to rest)

In rehatkan badan:

• rehatkan = to rest (something)
• badan = the thing being rested (the object)

So rehatkan badan literally means to cause the body to rest / to rest the body. This is why you usually need an object after rehatkan.

Can I leave out badan and just say Saya mahu rehatkan di sofa…?

No, not like that. rehatkan is transitive here, so it sounds incomplete without an object.

You have three natural options:

1. Keep badan:
   Saya mahu rehatkan badan di sofa… – correct and natural.
2. Drop -kan and use berehat:
   Saya mahu berehat di sofa… – very natural and common.
3. Use rehat in a slightly more casual way:
   Saya mahu rehat di sofa… – common in speech, less formal.

But Saya mahu rehatkan di sofa (with no object) feels unfinished, like “I want to rest… (what?) on the sofa.”

What is the difference between rehat and berehat?

• rehat is the root and is commonly used as a noun:

  • masa rehat – break time
  • ambil rehat – take a rest / break

  In casual speech it can also act like a verb:

  • Saya mahu rehat sekejap.

• berehat is the standard intransitive verb form:

  • Saya mahu berehat. – I want to rest.
  • Dia sedang berehat. – He/She is resting.

For textbook/standard Malay, berehat is the “correct” verb form, but in everyday conversation you will hear rehat used as a verb as well.

Is it okay to say Saya mahu berehat di sofa di ruang tamu instead? Is that more natural?

Yes, that sentence is perfectly correct and very natural:

Saya mahu berehat di sofa di ruang tamu.

Many speakers would actually prefer this version in neutral speech, because:

• berehat is a simple, clear intransitive verb (to rest).
• You don’t need to mention badan, because it’s obvious you’re resting your body.

So both are fine:

• Saya mahu rehatkan badan di sofa di ruang tamu. – emphasizes resting the body.
• Saya mahu berehat di sofa di ruang tamu. – simple, common, very natural.

Why do we repeat di in di sofa di ruang tamu? Could we say it only once?

In Malay you normally repeat the preposition di when there are two location phrases:

• di sofa – at/on the sofa
• di ruang tamu – in the living room

Putting them together:

• di sofa di ruang tamu – on the sofa (which is) in the living room

Natural patterns are:

• di sofa di ruang tamu
• di sofa dalam ruang tamu (using dalam = inside)

This is not natural:

• ✗ di sofa ruang tamu (missing di before ruang tamu)

So yes, the repetition of di is normal and correct here.

Should I say di sofa or di atas sofa? Is there a difference?

Both are possible, but there’s a nuance:

• di sofa – commonly means on the sofa in everyday speech. Context makes it clear you’re on it, not inside it.
• di atas sofa – literally on top of the sofa. Slightly more explicit or descriptive, but still very normal.

So you can say:

• Saya mahu berehat di sofa di ruang tamu.
• Saya mahu berehat di atas sofa di ruang tamu.

Most of the time, di sofa is enough and sounds very natural.

What exactly does ruang tamu mean? Is it the same as “living room”?

Yes, ruang tamu is the usual Malay term for living room.

Breakdown:

• ruang – space / area
• tamu – guest

So ruang tamu = guest space, i.e. the area where you receive guests.

Related notes:

• bilik tamu can also mean a guest room (often a bedroom for guests), not the living room.
• ruang keluarga = family room (more private family area, not necessarily for guests).

For living room, ruang tamu is the standard, natural choice.

Why is it ruang tamu and not bilik tamu in this sentence?

Because you’re talking about the living room, not a guest bedroom.

• ruang tamu – living room; the open area where you sit, talk, watch TV, and receive guests.
• bilik tamu – literally guest room; sounds more like a separate room (often a bedroom) for guests to sleep in.

So:

• sofa di ruang tamu – sofa in the living room (correct here).
• katil di bilik tamu – bed in the guest room (a different meaning).

Can I replace Saya with Aku? How does that change the tone?

Yes, you can, but it changes the level of formality and who you’re speaking to.

• Saya – polite, neutral, standard. Safe with strangers, elders, teachers, colleagues, etc.
• Aku – informal, intimate. Used with close friends, siblings, people your age or younger (and even then, only if that’s normal in your social group).

So:

• Saya mahu rehatkan badan di sofa di ruang tamu. – polite/neutral.
• Aku nak rehatkan badan kat sofa kat ruang tamu. – casual, very colloquial (note also nak and kat).

For learners, default to Saya unless you’re sure Aku fits the situation.

Is the sentence overall formal, informal, or neutral?

As written:

Saya mahu rehatkan badan di sofa di ruang tamu.

it’s neutral-standard:

• Saya – polite and standard pronoun.
• mahu – standard, not very formal, not very slangy.
• rehatkan badan – normal in speech and writing.

You could make it:

• More formal:
  Saya ingin berehat di sofa di ruang tamu.
• More casual:
  Aku nak rehat sekejap kat sofa ruang tamu. (colloquial speech)

Is sofa a Malay word, or a loanword? Are there other ways to say it?

sofa is a loanword (from European languages), but it is fully accepted and very common in Malay.

Other possibilities:

• kerusi panjang – literally long chair; more descriptive, less commonly used in everyday modern speech for a living-room sofa.
• set sofa – sofa set (living-room furniture set).

In normal conversation about a living-room couch, sofa is the most natural and expected word.