Walau apa pun yang berlaku di pejabat, saya cuba pulang ke rumah dengan hati yang tenang.

No matter what happens at the office, I try to go home with a calm heart.

Breakdown of Walau apa pun yang berlaku di pejabat, saya cuba pulang ke rumah dengan hati yang tenang.

• saya: I
• ke: to
• di: at
• dengan: with
• rumah: the home
• pulang: to return
• pejabat: the office
• tenang: calm
• cuba: to try
• yang: that/which
• berlaku: to happen
• walau apa pun: no matter what
• hati: the heart

Questions & Answers about Walau apa pun yang berlaku di pejabat, saya cuba pulang ke rumah dengan hati yang tenang.

What does walau apa pun literally mean, and how is it different from walaupun?

walau apa pun is a fixed expression that literally breaks down as:

• walau – even though / although
• apa – what / anything
• pun – an emphasising particle (similar to -ever in whatever)

Together, walau apa pun means no matter what / whatever happens / regardless of what.

walaupun, on the other hand, usually means although / even though and is followed by a clause:

• Walaupun saya penat, saya pergi juga.
  Although I am tired, I still go.

You cannot simply replace walau apa pun with walaupun in the original sentence, because:

• walau apa pun is followed by a thing or situation (here expanded by yang berlaku di pejabat)
• walaupun directly introduces a full clause.

A close paraphrase of the sentence would be:

• Walaupun apa-apa berlaku di pejabat, saya cuba pulang ke rumah dengan hati yang tenang.

But this is less natural than the set phrase walau apa pun (yang …).

Why is pun written separately in walau apa pun? Can it be apapun?

In standard Malay, pun is written separately when it acts as a particle, as in:

• apa pun – anything at all / whatever
• siapa pun – whoever
• bila pun – whenever

So:

• walau apa pun is the recommended standard spelling.

You do sometimes see apapun in informal writing, but it is non‑standard. For learners, it is safer to stick with apa pun.

Here, pun adds an idea of at all / ever / even. Without pun, walau apa would sound incomplete or unnatural; walau apa pun is the usual idiomatic chunk.

What is the role of yang berlaku after walau apa pun? Why do we need yang there?

yang berlaku works as a relative clause describing apa:

• apa – what / the things that
• yang berlaku – that happen / which happen

So apa pun yang berlaku is literally:

• whatever (it is) that happens

yang is the standard relative pronoun used to link a noun/pronoun to a descriptive clause:

• orang yang duduk di sana – the person who is sitting there
• buku yang saya baca – the book that I read

Without yang, apa pun berlaku would be ungrammatical here. You need yang to say what(ever) that happens.

A slightly fuller version would be:

• Walau apa-apa pun yang berlaku di pejabat…
  (Here apa-apa = anything, the meaning is essentially the same.)

What exactly does berlaku mean here, and how is it different from jadi or terjadi?

In this sentence, berlaku means to happen / to take place / to occur.

Nuances:

• berlaku

  • Neutral and fairly common in both spoken and written Malay.
  • Often used for events, situations, or incidents.
  • Example: Banyak perubahan telah berlaku. – Many changes have happened.

• jadi

  • Very common in speech. Can mean to become, to happen, or so / then (as a connector).
  • As happen, it is more colloquial:
    • Apa yang jadi semalam? – What happened yesterday?

• terjadi

  • Also means to happen / to occur, but is a bit more formal/literary or used for notable/unwanted events:
    • Kemalangan itu terjadi pada waktu malam.

In the original sentence, berlaku is a neutral, natural choice. You could say apa pun yang jadi di pejabat, but that feels more casual and conversational.

Why do we say di pejabat? Can it also be di ofis, and can the phrase move to another position in the sentence?

di pejabat means at the office / in the office.

• pejabat – office (more formal/standard Malay)
• ofis – office (loanword from English, common in everyday speech)

So in casual conversation, di ofis is fine and very common. In writing, official contexts, or textbooks, di pejabat is preferred.

About position: the phrase di pejabat is part of the clause yang berlaku di pejabat:

• apa pun yang berlaku di pejabat – whatever happens at the office

You generally keep di pejabat close to berlaku because it tells where it happens. If you move it too far, it can sound awkward or change the focus.

However, the whole concessive part can be moved:

• Walau apa pun yang berlaku di pejabat, saya cuba pulang…
• Saya cuba pulang… walau apa pun yang berlaku di pejabat.

Both are grammatically fine; putting it at the start sounds a bit more formal or emphatic.

Why is it saya cuba pulang and not saya cuba untuk pulang? Is untuk needed after cuba?

With cuba (to try), both patterns are possible:

1. cuba + verb

   • Saya cuba pulang awal. – I try to go home early.
   • Very common and natural.

2. cuba untuk + verb

   • Saya cuba untuk pulang awal.
   • Also correct, sometimes sounds a bit more formal or careful.

In everyday Malay, cuba is very often followed directly by a verb without untuk, especially when the verb is simple and short, like pergi, buat, pulang.

So:

• saya cuba pulang ke rumah is perfectly natural.
• saya cuba untuk pulang ke rumah is also correct, just slightly more wordy/formal.

What is the nuance of pulang here compared to balik or kembali?

All three can be translated roughly as to return, but they differ in usage:

• pulang

  • Common for returning home.
  • Slightly more formal/neutral than balik, and often used in writing.
  • pulang ke rumah is a very standard phrase.

• balik

  • Very common in everyday speech, more colloquial.
  • Often used without ke:
    • Saya balik rumah. – I’m going home / I go home.
  • You could say Saya cuba balik ke rumah dengan hati yang tenang in conversation.

• kembali

  • More formal or literary, often used for:
    • returning to a previous state: kembali tenang – become calm again
    • returning to a place in a more official tone
    • euphemism for passing away: kembali ke rahmatullah

In this sentence, pulang ke rumah gives a neutral, slightly careful style that fits both spoken and written Malay.

Why do we say pulang ke rumah and not just pulang rumah? Can ke be omitted?

In standard Malay, the pattern is:

• pulang ke rumah – go/return to home

ke is the preposition to / towards, and rumah is the noun house / home.

With pulang, standard grammar keeps ke:

• Dia pulang ke kampung. – He returns to the hometown.

In everyday colloquial speech, you will hear people drop prepositions after balik, especially:

• balik rumah (instead of balik ke rumah)
• balik kampung

With pulang, dropping ke is less common and can sound off to many speakers. So:

• pulang ke rumah – good standard form
• balik rumah – common colloquial alternative

What does dengan hati yang tenang literally mean, and is it idiomatic?

Literally, dengan hati yang tenang is:

• dengan – with
• hati – heart (in Malay, more like the seat of feelings and inner self)
• yang tenang – that is calm

So: with a calm heart.

This is not just a literal physical heart; hati here is emotional/inner state. The phrase is idiomatic in Malay, expressing an inner calm or peace of mind.

You could compare:

• dengan hati yang tenang – with a calm heart / peacefully
• dengan hati yang gembira – with a happy heart
• dengan tenang – calmly (without mentioning hati)

So, dengan hati yang tenang is a natural, slightly expressive way to say that you go home feeling calm and at peace inside.

What is the difference between hati and jiwa (or perasaan) in expressions like this?

All of these relate to inner feelings, but with different shades:

• hati

  • Literally liver, but conceptually it is the seat of emotion / inner feelings in Malay culture.
  • Very common in everyday emotional expressions:
    • sakit hati – hurt (emotionally), offended
    • besar hati – honoured, touched
    • hati yang tenang – a calm heart

• jiwa

  • Closer to soul / spirit.
  • Often feels more literary or deep:
    • jiwa yang kacau – a disturbed soul
    • ketenangan jiwa – peace of soul

• perasaan

  • Literally feeling(s).
  • More neutral/psychological:
    • perasaan sedih – feeling of sadness
    • jaga perasaan orang lain – care about other people’s feelings

In this sentence, hati is the most natural choice; jiwa yang tenang would sound more poetic or philosophical.

Is the overall sentence formal, informal, or neutral? Would people actually say it like this in daily conversation?

The sentence is neutral to slightly formal, and it is perfectly natural Malay.

In daily conversation, some speakers might make it a bit more casual, for example:

• Walau apa pun yang jadi kat ofis, saya cuba balik rumah dengan hati yang tenang.
  (using jadi, kat for di, ofis, and balik)

But the original:

• Walau apa pun yang berlaku di pejabat, saya cuba pulang ke rumah dengan hati yang tenang.

is absolutely acceptable in spoken Malay (especially in careful speech) and fits well in writing, self-reflection, or storytelling.