Questions & Answers about Kami membawa kompas supaya tidak tersesat.
Why is kami used instead of kita?
In Malay, kami and kita both can mean we, but they are not interchangeable:
- kami = we, excluding the listener
- kita = we, including the listener
So Kami membawa kompas... means the speaker is talking about their group, not including the person being spoken to.
What does membawa mean, and why isn’t it just bawa?
Membawa is the verb to carry / to bring.
Its base form is bawa.
The prefix meN- is added to form an active verb, and with bawa, it becomes membawa.
So:
- bawa = bring/carry (root or informal base)
- membawa = to bring/carry, in a more standard full form
In everyday speech, people may say bawa more casually, but membawa is very normal in standard written Malay.
Why does meN- become mem- in membawa?