Mereka bersembunyi di belakang pintu.

Mereka means they here.

Malay pronouns do not change form the way English pronouns do. So unlike English, which has they / them / their, Malay often uses one basic form depending on function, with other words added if needed.

In this sentence, mereka is the subject, so it corresponds to they.

A few useful points:

• mereka = they / them in many contexts
• It usually refers to people, not things
• It does not show gender, so it can mean they for men, women, or a mixed group

Bersembunyi is the normal verb form meaning to hide or to be hiding.

The root word is sembunyi, which is connected with the idea of hiding or being hidden. When you add the prefix ber-, it becomes an intransitive verb, meaning the subject performs the action without a direct object.

So:

• sembunyi = hide, hidden, concealment-related base form
• bersembunyi = to hide / to be hiding

In this sentence, the people are doing the action themselves, so bersembunyi is the natural choice.

The prefix ber- often forms verbs that describe:

• actions done by the subject
• states or conditions
• having or wearing something, in some other words

In bersembunyi, ber- helps create the meaning to hide oneself or to be in hiding.

It does not translate neatly as a single English word. You should think of bersembunyi as a whole verb rather than trying to translate ber- separately every time.

Other examples of ber- verbs:

• berjalan = to walk
• berenang = to swim
• bercakap = to speak

Because this di is a preposition meaning in / at / on depending on context.

In Malay:

• di as a preposition is written separately
• di- as a passive verb prefix is written attached to the verb

So:

• di belakang pintu = behind the door
• dibuka = opened

This is a very important spelling rule.

Di belakang means behind or more literally at the back of.

Breakdown:

• di = at / in / on
• belakang = back, rear, behind

Together, di belakang pintu means behind the door.

You will often see this pattern with location expressions:

• di depan rumah = in front of the house
• di atas meja = on the table
• di bawah kerusi = under the chair

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

So pintu can mean:

• a door
• the door

The exact meaning depends on context.

In this sentence, English naturally translates it as the door, but Malay does not need a special word for the.

This is very common in Malay:

• saya beli buku = I bought a book or the book, depending on context
• dia masuk rumah = he/she entered the house or a house

No, the sentence itself does not mark tense the way English does.

Mereka bersembunyi di belakang pintu can mean:

• they hide behind the door
• they are hiding behind the door
• they hid behind the door

The time is understood from context or from extra time words, such as:

• semalam = yesterday
• sekarang = now
• tadi = earlier
• esok = tomorrow

For example:

• Mereka sedang bersembunyi di belakang pintu = They are hiding behind the door
• Mereka bersembunyi di belakang pintu semalam = They hid behind the door yesterday

The word order is very similar to English:

Mereka + bersembunyi + di belakang pintu
subject + verb + location

So:

• Mereka = they
• bersembunyi = hide / are hiding
• di belakang pintu = behind the door

This subject-verb-location pattern is very common in Malay.

In everyday spoken Malay, you may hear Mereka sembunyi di belakang pintu.

However:

• bersembunyi is more standard and grammatically complete
• sembunyi without ber- is more conversational or shortened speech in some contexts

So if you are learning standard Malay, bersembunyi is the safer form to use.

A helpful rough guide is:

ber-sem-boon-yee

A few pronunciation notes:

• ber often sounds somewhat like bər
• sem has an e like the unstressed vowel in about
• bun sounds like boon
• yi sounds like yee

Malay pronunciation is usually quite regular, so once you know the spelling rules, it becomes easier to pronounce words correctly.

Usually, mereka is used for people.

For animals or things, Malay often avoids mereka, especially in careful or standard usage. Instead, speakers may repeat the noun or use another structure.

So in this sentence, mereka strongly suggests a group of people.

Because bersembunyi already carries the idea that the subject is hiding itself or itself/oneself.

English often says:

• they hid
• they hid themselves

Malay normally just uses bersembunyi, and the reflexive idea is already understood.

So Mereka bersembunyi naturally means They hid or They hid themselves.

Yes, sometimes in conversation the subject can be omitted if it is already understood from context.

For example, someone might simply say:

• Bersembunyi di belakang pintu.

This can sound like:

• hiding behind the door
• they are hiding behind the door
• hidden behind the door

But in a full, clear sentence, especially for learners, keeping mereka is best:

• Mereka bersembunyi di belakang pintu.

Yes, literally belakang means back or rear.

Malay often expresses location in a more literal way than English:

• di belakang pintu = at the back of the door = behind the door

This is a normal Malay pattern. Similar examples:

• di depan sekolah = in front of the school
• di tepi jalan = by the side of the road
• di dalam rumah = inside the house

So even if the wording looks slightly different from English, the meaning is natural in Malay.