Doktor memeriksa jantung.

Malay commonly uses Subject–Verb–Object word order, just like English.

• Doktor = subject
• memeriksa = verb
• jantung = object

So the sentence is structured as:

Doktor + memeriksa + jantung
doctor + examines/is examining + heart

That makes this sentence very straightforward for an English speaker.

Memeriksa means to examine, to inspect, or to check depending on context.

In a medical sentence like this, memeriksa is best understood as examines or is examining.

It comes from the base form periksa = examine / inspect / check.
The prefix meN- turns it into an active verb:

• periksa = examine / inspection-related base
• memeriksa = to examine / examines

In standard Malay, active transitive verbs often take the meN- prefix.

Because the doctor is actively doing something to an object (jantung), memeriksa is the normal formal form.

Compare:

• Doktor memeriksa jantung. = The doctor examines the heart.
• Periksa jantung! = Examine the heart! / Check the heart!
  This sounds like a command.

So periksa can appear by itself, but memeriksa is the standard finite verb form in this sentence.

This happens because Malay prefixes often change shape depending on the first sound of the root word.

The root is periksa. When the meN- prefix is added, it becomes memeriksa.

For learners, the important thing is mostly to recognize the finished form rather than memorize every sound-change rule immediately. But it is helpful to know that:

• many active verbs in Malay begin with me-, mem-, men-, meng-, or meny-
• the exact form depends on the first sound of the root

So memeriksa is a normal derived active verb form.

Jantung usually means the physical organ, the heart inside the body.

So in this sentence, it clearly means the anatomical heart.

If you want to talk about the emotional or poetic heart, Malay often uses hati, although hati literally also means liver in many contexts. This can be confusing for English speakers.

A simple distinction is:

• jantung = physical heart
• hati = feelings, inner self, emotional heart, and also liver depending on context

Yes. Doktor is a Malay word borrowed from the same source as English doctor.

It usually means:

• a medical doctor
• sometimes a person with a doctorate, depending on context

In this sentence, because of memeriksa jantung, it clearly means a medical doctor.

Malay does not use articles like a, an, and the the way English does.

So:

• Doktor can mean a doctor or the doctor
• jantung can mean a heart or the heart

The exact meaning depends on context.

That means Doktor memeriksa jantung could be translated as:

• The doctor examines the heart
• A doctor examines the heart
• The doctor is examining the heart

Context tells you which one sounds best.

Malay verbs do not change form for tense the way English verbs do.

So memeriksa does not specifically mark:

• present
• past
• future

On its own, the sentence is often understood as present or general:

• The doctor examines the heart
• The doctor is examining the heart

If you want to make time clearer, Malay usually adds time words such as:

• sedang = currently
• sudah / telah = already / past
• akan = will

For example:

• Doktor sedang memeriksa jantung. = The doctor is examining the heart.
• Doktor telah memeriksa jantung. = The doctor examined / has examined the heart.

Normally, doktor is not capitalized unless it starts the sentence.

So:

• Doktor memeriksa jantung. = capitalized because it is the first word
• Saya berjumpa doktor. = lowercase in the middle of a sentence

You would also capitalize it if it were part of a name or title in a specific way, such as Doktor Ali, depending on style.

A learner-friendly pronunciation is roughly:

meh-meh-REEK-sah

A few useful points:

• e in the first syllables is often like a soft uh or short neutral vowel
• stress in Malay is usually not as strong as in English
• Malay spelling is generally quite regular, so words are often pronounced close to how they are written

A careful rough breakdown:

• me
• me
• rik
• sa

So: me-me-rik-sa

Yes, absolutely. Doktor memeriksa jantung is a natural and grammatical Malay sentence.

Malay often leaves aspect unstated when context is enough. So even without sedang, a simple sentence like this is fine.

Adding sedang just makes the ongoing action more explicit:

• Doktor memeriksa jantung. = The doctor examines / is examining the heart.
• Doktor sedang memeriksa jantung. = The doctor is examining the heart.

Normally, this sentence is understood as singular: heart.

Malay nouns usually do not change form for singular vs. plural. Context tells you the number.

If you wanted to make plurality explicit, Malay often uses reduplication:

• jantung-jantung = hearts

But in real usage, especially for body parts in a medical context, jantung here would naturally be understood as a single heart unless something in the context says otherwise.

Yes. That would mean The doctor examines the patient’s heart.

Here:

• jantung = heart
• pesakit = patient

Malay often shows possession by simply placing the possessor after the noun:

• jantung pesakit = the patient’s heart
• literally: heart patient

This is a very common and useful pattern in Malay.