Questions & Answers about Kami memerlukan satu unit lagi.
Why does the sentence start with kami instead of kita?
Both kami and kita can mean we, but they are not interchangeable.
- kami = we, excluding the person being spoken to
- kita = we, including the person being spoken to
So Kami memerlukan satu unit lagi means We need one more unit, where the speaker's group does not include the listener.
If the listener were included, it would be Kita memerlukan satu unit lagi.
What does memerlukan mean, and why is it so long?
Memerlukan means to need.
It comes from the root word perlu, which means necessary / need. Malay often adds prefixes and suffixes to build verbs.
A simplified breakdown is:
- perlu = need / necessary
- memerlukan = to require / to need something
This form is a fairly standard, somewhat formal transitive verb, meaning it directly takes an object:
- memerlukan satu unit = need one unit
In everyday speech, many speakers also say:
- Kami perlu satu unit lagi
- Kami perlukan satu unit lagi
These are common alternatives, depending on style and region.