Q&A for How to Get Started Learning Malay Language

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  • Question
    What is the meaning of "Melakukan apa"?
    Community Answer
    "Melakukan apa" means, "Doing what?" If you want to ask, "What are you doing?", it would be "Kamu (Formal)/"Engkau/Kau" (Informal) tengah buat apa?"
  • Question
    How do I write Malay stories well?
    Community Answer
    Practice the language frequently and read a lot of Malay books and articles to get a feel for the language.
  • Question
    How can I learn about tense and parts of speech?
    Community Answer
    In Malay there are no past, present or future tenses like there are in English. Instead, words are added on to verbs to show whether something is happening, has happened or is going to happen. Using the verb 'makan', which means 'eat', as an example, you can add on the words 'sudah', 'sedang' and 'akan' to describe your actions. Saya sudah makan - I already ate. Saya akan makan - I will eat. Saya sedang makan - I'm eating.
  • Question
    What does "sakit dan cinta" mean?
    Community Answer
    "Sakit" means "hurt, feeling pain" or "sick, being ill" and "cinta" means "love." So "lovesick" would be a pretty apt translation.
  • Question
    What is 'to' in Malay?
    Community Answer
    Ke. For example, going to is pergi ke. It can also be Untuk, etc. To you is Untuk kamu.
  • Question
    Is there an easier way to remember Imbuhan?
    Community Answer
    Suffixes are easy enough to remember, but the spelling for the prefixes are harder. Make a list of the spelling rules for Malay prefixes and keep practising. Eventually, you'll be able to remember them off by heart.
  • Question
    How do I do an essay in Malay?
    Janice
    Community Answer
    It depends on your title. But, it must have at least 5 "Perenggan"(paragraph) and each paragraph must contain 3-5 sentences. If you want to score high marks for your essay, then you should use idioms and proverbs. They will give you high marks. Here are some: Bagai Aur Dengan Tebing - Helping each other (Tolong-menolong).
  • Question
    How to say “My birthday is on 30th May 1999”?
    Community Answer
    You would say: Hari jadi saya adalah pada tiga-puluh (30th) Mei (May) Satu sembilan sembilan sembilan (1999).
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