Masih means that a state or activity which held earlier continues at the relevant time. In Dia masih tidur, the person was asleep before and remains asleep now. The marker does more than translate English still: it connects two time points and often signals that change was possible or expected but has not happened.
That expectation can be neutral, relieved, impatient, or surprising depending on context. Kedai itu masih buka may simply give useful information; said late at night, it may express surprise. The grammar contributes continuity, while situation and intonation supply the attitude.
Continuation before a predicate
Masih normally precedes the predicate whose situation continues. It can occur with an activity, a state, an adjective predicate, an existential expression, or a role noun.
Dia masih tidur walaupun hari sudah terang.
She is still asleep even though it is already daylight.
Kami masih menunggu juruteknik datang memeriksa lif itu.
We are still waiting for the technician to inspect the lift.
Jalan utama masih sesak selepas hujan berhenti.
The main road is still congested after the rain stopped.
Tidur, menunggu, and sesak do not change form. Masih gives each predicate a continuing interpretation. With an ongoing activity such as menunggu, it overlaps in some contexts with a progressive meaning, but its emphasis differs from sedang. Sedang menunggu looks inside an action in progress; masih menunggu explicitly links the current wait to an earlier period.
Pukul sembilan tadi kami sedang menunggu di lobi; sekarang kami masih menunggu.
At nine we were waiting in the lobby; now we are still waiting.
The second clause is meaningful because the first establishes the earlier state. Even when that earlier point is not spoken aloud, masih asks the listener to accommodate one from shared knowledge.
The reference time can be past or future
Masih does not inherently mean “continuing at the moment of speech.” It continues a situation at whichever reference time the discourse establishes. In a past narrative, it can connect an earlier past state to a later past observation. In a forecast, it can say that a present condition will continue into a future date.
Ketika saya tiba pada pukul sepuluh, dia masih tidur di sofa ruang tamu.
When I arrived at ten, she was still asleep on the living-room sofa.
Menurut jadual pembaikan, jalan itu masih ditutup minggu depan.
According to the repair schedule, the road will still be closed next week. (formal)
In the first example, the relevant “now” is ten o'clock inside the story, not the moment when the story is told. In the second, minggu depan supplies the future reference point. The closure began earlier and is projected to hold then. English changes auxiliary tense in was still and will still be; Malay retains masih ditutup and lets the time frame establish the temporal location.
This flexibility also explains why masih is an aspectual continuity marker rather than a present-tense word. It describes a relation between stages of one state across any suitably established timeline.
masih ada: continued existence and availability
Before ada, masih says that someone or something continues to exist, remain present, or remain available.
Masih ada dua tempat kosong untuk bengkel petang ini.
There are still two places available for this afternoon's workshop.
Jangan tutup kaunter itu dahulu kerana masih ada pelanggan yang menunggu.
Don't close that counter yet because there are still customers waiting.
Awak masih ada di pejabat, atau sudah dalam perjalanan pulang?
Are you still at the office, or are you already on your way home? (neutral conversation)
In the first two examples, ada is existential: places or customers remain. In the question, it is locative: the person remains at the office. The marker appears before the whole ada predicate in both uses.
With a possessive interpretation, the same pattern can concern something that remains in one's possession or available supply: Saya masih ada salinan asal “I still have the original copy.” Malaysian speakers also say Saya masih mempunyai salinan asal in more (formal) prose.
masih with adjective and noun predicates
Malay does not require a copula before ordinary adjective predicates. Masih can therefore stand directly before the property that continues.
Komputer itu masih baik walaupun sudah digunakan selama lapan tahun.
That computer is still in good condition even though it has been used for eight years.
Air sungai masih keruh dua hari selepas banjir.
The river water is still murky two days after the flood.
A role or identity can continue as well:
Walaupun jarang mengajar, beliau masih pensyarah di universiti itu.
Although he rarely teaches, he is still a lecturer at that university. (formal)
There is no Malay equivalent of is between masih and baik, keruh, or pensyarah. English learners sometimes search for one because English still modifies a copular clause. Malay places the continuity marker before the predicate itself.
masih belum: an expected change has not occurred
Belum means “not yet”: a situation has not occurred by the reference time, while its later occurrence remains relevant. Adding masih strengthens the continuing link to an earlier period. Masih belum selesai means “still not finished”; the unfinished state held before and persists now.
Laporan itu masih belum selesai kerana data bulan Ogos baru diterima.
The report is still not finished because the August data has only just been received.
Kami sudah menghantar permohonan minggu lalu, tetapi masih belum menerima jawapan.
We submitted the application last week but still have not received a reply.
Punca gangguan bekalan air masih belum diketahui.
The cause of the water-supply disruption is still unknown. (formal)
The normal order is masih belum + predicate. Masih has wider scope over the “not-yet” state: that whole state continues. The combination often carries impatience or concern when a deadline or reasonable waiting period is salient, but it need not be emotional. A status report can use it neutrally.
Compare belum selesai with masih belum selesai. Both deny completion up to now. The version with masih more explicitly looks back to an earlier point when the item was also incomplete.
Remaining quantity: masih ada and tinggal
For a remaining quantity, masih ada + quantity presents what continues to be available. The lexical predicate tinggal “remain/be left” foregrounds the residue itself, often with hanya or saja when it is small.
Kami masih ada sedikit masa sebelum pintu masuk ditutup.
We still have a little time before the entrance closes.
Kopi di dalam teko tinggal sedikit sahaja, jadi saya akan membancuh kopi lagi.
There is only a little coffee left in the pot, so I'll make some more.
Selepas semua bil dibayar, baki wang itu tinggal lima puluh ringgit.
After all the bills were paid, only fifty ringgit remained.
The phrase tinggal sedikit does not need masih to mean that a small remainder exists. Masih ada sedikit kopi views the coffee as continuing availability; kopi tinggal sedikit highlights that the quantity has fallen to a small residue. Both can describe the same situation with a different informational center.
Do not confuse this lexical tinggal with its other common meanings, including “live/reside” and “leave behind.” Context and the participant pattern identify the intended sense.
Expectation: continuation, not merely emphasis
Because masih presupposes an earlier state, it can reveal the speaker's expectation. If a bus is due at eight, Bas masih belum tiba at eight fifteen treats nonarrival as a delayed change. If a long-established shop remains open, Kedai itu masih beroperasi may convey pleasant surprise that it has survived.
Restoran keluarga itu masih beroperasi selepas lebih empat puluh tahun.
That family restaurant is still operating after more than forty years.
English still also has a concessive discourse use meaning “nevertheless,” as in It was expensive; still, we bought it. Malay does not normally use masih as a sentence connector for that meaning. Use namun, walau bagaimanapun, or tetapi according to register.
Harganya agak mahal, tetapi kami tetap membelinya kerana kualitinya baik.
It was rather expensive, but we bought it anyway because the quality was good.
Here tetap marks persistence in a decision despite an obstacle. It is not interchangeable with temporal masih. See time reference for how such markers interact with an established reference time.
No longer: tidak lagi, not tidak masih
When a previously true situation has ended, Malay normally uses tidak lagi “no longer,” not a word-for-word negative of masih.
Dia tidak lagi bekerja di cawangan ini sejak berpindah ke Pulau Pinang.
She no longer works at this branch since moving to Penang.
The contrast is symmetric in meaning: Dia masih bekerja di sini continues the earlier employment; Dia tidak lagi bekerja di sini says that it has ceased. The marker order and lexical choice must be learned as Malay constructions rather than assembled from English not still.
Common Mistakes
1. Using sedang when continuation is the point
❌ Kami sedang menunggu selama tiga jam dan belum dipanggil.
Awkward for the intended emphasis on persistence—the three-hour duration calls for masih.
✅ Kami masih menunggu selepas tiga jam dan belum dipanggil masuk.
We are still waiting after three hours and have not been called in.
2. Reversing masih belum
❌ Kerja pembaikan itu belum masih selesai.
Incorrect marker order—the continuing not-yet state is expressed as masih belum.
✅ Kerja pembaikan itu masih belum selesai walaupun hari sudah lewat.
The repair work is still not finished even though it is already late.
3. Translating concessive English still as masih
❌ Hujan turun dengan lebat; masih, mereka meneruskan perlawanan.
Incorrect connector use—masih does not mean sentence-level ‘nevertheless.’
✅ Hujan turun dengan lebat; namun, mereka meneruskan perlawanan.
It rained heavily; nevertheless, they continued the match. (formal)
4. Negating continuation as tidak masih
❌ Dia tidak masih tinggal bersama keluarganya.
Incorrect for ‘no longer’—Malay normally uses tidak lagi.
✅ Dia tidak lagi tinggal bersama keluarganya selepas berpindah kerja.
She no longer lives with her family after relocating for work.
5. Treating remaining quantity as a new quantity
❌ Tinggal sedikit bermaksud jumlahnya baru bertambah sedikit.
Incorrect interpretation—tinggal sedikit presents a small residue, not a new increase.
✅ Air minuman di dalam tangki hanya tinggal sedikit, jadi kita perlu mengisi tangki itu semula.
There is little drinking water left in the tank, so we need to refill it.
Key Takeaways
Masih presupposes that a state or activity held earlier and says it continues at the reference time. It can precede verbal, adjectival, existential, and nominal predicates. Masih belum presents a not-yet state as continuing, often against an expectation of change. For residues, masih ada sedikit emphasizes continuing availability, while tinggal sedikit foregrounds what remains. When the earlier state has ended, use tidak lagi, not tidak masih.
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- lagi: Again, More, and Ongoing in Speech in Malaysian MalayA2 — Use the position of lagi to distinguish repetition, additional quantity, and a colloquial ongoing event.
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