Learn Hardcore Malay: Namun, rumah terasa begitu bersih sehingga saya berasa bangga dengan usaha keluarga saya. - However, the house feels so clean that I feel proud of my family’s effort.

Namun is slightly more formal and is very common in written Malay (essays, articles, reports).
Tetapi also means “but / however”, but is a bit more neutral and common in everyday speech.

In this sentence:

Namun, rumah terasa begitu bersih…
→ However, the house felt so clean…

You could replace Namun with Tetapi without changing the meaning much, though Namun sounds a bit more “written” or polished.

Why is there a comma after “Namun”?

The comma shows a short pause after the linking word Namun, similar to English:

However, the house felt so clean…

In Malay writing, it’s very common to put a comma after sentence connectors like Namun, Selain itu, Walau bagaimanapun, etc., especially at the beginning of a sentence. It separates the connector from the main clause and makes the sentence easier to read.

What does “rumah terasa begitu bersih” literally mean, and why use “terasa” instead of just “bersih”?

Literally:

rumah = the house
terasa = feels / is felt
begitu bersih = so clean

So rumah terasa begitu bersih = “the house felt so clean”, emphasizing someone’s perception.

If you said only:

Rumah begitu bersih. = “The house is so clean.”

That sounds more like an objective statement “the house is very clean”.

By using terasa, you suggest a subjective, sensed experience: the cleanliness is strongly felt by the speaker (or by people in the context), not just a factual description. It’s like the difference between:

“The house is clean.”
vs.
“The house feels so clean.”

What’s the nuance of “terasa” compared with “rasa” and “merasa”?

All three relate to feeling / sensing, but they’re used slightly differently:

rasa (base verb/noun)
- Verb: “to feel / to taste”
  - Saya rasa letih. – I feel tired.
- Noun: “taste / feeling”
  - rasa manis – sweet taste
berasa
- More formal/literary way to say “to feel (emotion/physical state)”
  - Saya berasa sedih. – I feel sad.
merasa
- Often transitive: “to taste / to feel (something)”
  - Saya merasa makanan itu. – I tasted that food.
  - Dia merasa sakit pada kakinya. – He feels pain in his leg.
terasa
- Focuses on the state being felt, often with a sense of something being noticeably felt, sometimes involuntarily:
  - Rumah terasa sunyi. – The house feels quiet.
  - Hati saya terasa pedih. – My heart feels sore.

In rumah terasa begitu bersih, terasa makes the state of cleanliness something clearly perceived or noticed, not just an objective property.

What’s the function of “begitu” in “begitu bersih”? Could I use “sangat” or “amat” instead?

Begitu here means “so / that (much)” and is part of a pattern:

begitu + adjective + sehingga + clause
→ so + adjective + that + clause

So:

rumah terasa begitu bersih sehingga…
→ “the house felt so clean that…”

You can use sangat or amat with adjectives to mean “very”:

Rumah terasa sangat bersih. – The house felt very clean.
Rumah terasa amat bersih. – The house felt very clean (formal).

However, the specific “so … that …” structure normally uses begitu (or terlalu in other contexts) together with sehingga:

Rumah terasa begitu bersih sehingga saya… – so clean that I…

If you change begitu to sangat, you lose that strong cause–effect structure of so X that Y and it becomes a simple “very clean” statement.

What exactly does “sehingga” mean here? Is it “until” or something else?

Sehingga has two common uses:

Time / limit → “until / up to”
- Dia bekerja sehingga malam. – He worked until night.
Result / consequence → “so … that” / “to the point that”
- Dia ketawa sehingga menangis. – He laughed so much that he cried.

In your sentence, it’s the second meaning:

rumah terasa begitu bersih sehingga saya berasa bangga…
→ “the house felt so clean that I felt proud…”

So the pattern is:

begitu (so) + adjective + sehingga (that) + result clause

Why is it “saya berasa bangga” and not just “saya bangga”? Are both correct?

Both are grammatically correct, but the nuance is slightly different:

Saya bangga dengan usaha keluarga saya.
– “I am proud of my family’s efforts.”
→ Simple, straightforward description of your state.
Saya berasa bangga dengan usaha keluarga saya.
– “I feel proud of my family’s efforts.”
→ Emphasizes the experience of feeling proud, a bit more expressive and slightly more formal.

In everyday speech, Malays often say Saya bangga….
In more careful or written Malay, Saya berasa bangga… sounds quite natural, especially when describing emotions in narrative or reflective writing.

Why use “dengan” in “bangga dengan usaha keluarga saya”? Can I say “bangga akan” or “bangga atas” instead?

In this context, dengan works like English “of / with” in “proud of”:

bangga dengan sesuatu = proud of something

So:

berasa bangga dengan usaha keluarga saya
→ “feel proud of my family’s efforts”

Other options:

bangga akan / bangga atas / bangga terhadap
These also exist, but:
- dengan is the most common and neutral in everyday modern Malay.
- akan / atas / terhadap can sound more formal or written, and are often seen in speeches, news, or formal writing.

Example:

Kami bangga akan pencapaian anda. – We are proud of your achievements. (formal)
Saya bangga dengan pencapaian anda. – I am proud of your achievements. (more everyday/neutral)

In your sentence, dengan is the most natural, conversational choice.

What does “usaha keluarga saya” literally mean, and how do plurals work here without an “s”?

Literally:

usaha = effort / attempt
keluarga = family
keluarga saya = my family

So usaha keluarga saya = “the effort(s) of my family / my family’s efforts”.

Malay normally does not add an “s” to show plural. Plurality is usually:

Understood from context, or
Shown by repeating the noun:
- usaha-usaha keluarga saya = (various) efforts of my family

In your sentence, usaha keluarga saya naturally means “my family’s efforts” (plural in meaning), because “efforts” makes sense in context. You don’t need to mark it explicitly unless you really want to emphasize many different efforts.

Why is there no word for “is” in “rumah terasa begitu bersih”? Where is the verb “to be”?

Malay generally does not use a separate “to be” verb (like is/are/am) before adjectives.

In English:
The house is clean.
In Malay:
Rumah bersih. (literally “house clean”)

Adjectives can directly function as the predicate:

Dia letih. – He is tired.
Air itu sejuk. – The water is cold.

In your sentence, the predicate is more complex (terasa begitu bersih), but the principle is the same:

rumah = subject
terasa begitu bersih = predicate (“feels so clean”)

There is no separate word for “is”; it’s understood from the structure.

Could I change the word order to “Namun, saya berasa bangga dengan usaha keluarga saya kerana rumah terasa begitu bersih”? Is that still correct?

Yes, that sentence is grammatically correct, but the emphasis changes slightly.

Original:

Namun, rumah terasa begitu bersih sehingga saya berasa bangga dengan usaha keluarga saya.
→ Focuses first on how clean the house feels, then gives the result (I feel proud).

Alternative:

Namun, saya berasa bangga dengan usaha keluarga saya kerana rumah terasa begitu bersih.
→ Starts with my feeling of pride, then gives the reason (because the house feels so clean).

Also note the connector change:

sehingga = “so … that …” (result/consequence)
kerana = “because” (reason/cause)

So your alternative is fine, just slightly different in structure and focus.