Kami bergilir-gilir menyanyi selepas tepukan itu.

Kami means we, but specifically we excluding the person being spoken to.

Malay has two common words for we:

• kami = we, but not you
• kita = we, including you

So if the speaker says Kami bergilir-gilir menyanyi..., it means the group sang, but the listener was not part of that group.

Bergilir-gilir means to take turns or one after another in turn.

It comes from gilir, which relates to turn/order, and the pattern ber- + reduplication often gives the sense of doing something in turns or mutually.

So:

• bergilir-gilir menyanyi = to sing in turns
• natural English translation: we took turns singing

This is a very common feature in Malay called reduplication.

Malay often repeats a word to express ideas like:

• repetition
• plurality
• variety
• ongoing/distributed action

In bergilir-gilir, the repetition helps show the idea of taking turns repeatedly among members of a group, not just one single turn.

So bergilir-gilir sounds more natural than a non-reduplicated form here when you want to say take turns.

Menyanyi means to sing.

Its base word is nyanyi = song / sing.
With the verbal prefix meN-, it becomes menyanyi, meaning to sing as an action.

This prefix often forms active verbs in Malay.

Examples:

• baca → membaca = to read
• tulis → menulis = to write
• nyanyi → menyanyi = to sing

So in this sentence, menyanyi is the verb describing what kami did.

Malay usually does not need a verb like to be or extra tense-marking helpers like English often does.

In English, you might say:

• We were taking turns singing
• We took turns singing

In Malay, tense is often understood from context, time words, or the situation. The sentence itself does not have to mark past tense directly.

So:

• Kami bergilir-gilir menyanyi can mean
  We take turns singing,
  We were taking turns singing, or
  We took turns singing

The context tells you which one is intended.

Yes. Selepas means after.

In this sentence:

• selepas tepukan itu = after that applause / after that clap

It is a common time-related preposition.

Other similar words include:

• sesudah = after
• lepas = after / once past / let go, depending on context

But selepas is a standard and clear choice here.

Tepukan comes from tepuk, which means clap.

With the ending -an, it becomes a noun:

• tepuk = clap
• tepukan = a clap / clapping / applause

Then itu means that.

So tepukan itu means:

• that clap
• that round of clapping
• that applause

In natural English, after the applause or after that applause may sound best depending on context.

In Malay, demonstratives like ini (this) and itu (that) usually come after the noun.

So Malay says:

• rumah itu = that house
• buku ini = this book
• tepukan itu = that applause / that clap

This is different from English word order.

Yes. The sentence follows a very normal Malay pattern:

• Kami = subject
• bergilir-gilir menyanyi = verb phrase
• selepas tepukan itu = time phrase

So the structure is roughly:

Subject + action + time expression

Malay word order is often similar to English in basic sentences, although details like itu coming after the noun are different.

Yes, there are other ways to express a similar idea, though bergilir-gilir menyanyi is very natural.

Possible alternatives include:

• Kami menyanyi secara bergilir-gilir.
  = We sang one by one / in turns.

• Kami menyanyi berganti-ganti.
  = We sang alternately.

But Kami bergilir-gilir menyanyi is perfectly normal and probably the most direct way to say We took turns singing.

Usually, yes. Selepas normally means after, so the most natural reading is that the applause happened first, and then the singing in turns happened afterward.

However, the exact nuance depends on context:

• if people clapped once as a signal, it could mean after that clap
• if an audience applauded, it could mean after the applause

So the grammar clearly gives a sequence:

1. tepukan itu
2. kami bergilir-gilir menyanyi

Yes. Those are really just two natural English ways of expressing the same Malay sentence.

Because Malay often leaves tense and aspect more open, this sentence can be translated in several smooth ways, such as:

• We took turns singing after that applause.
• We sang in turns after that applause.
• After that applause, we took turns singing.

All of these fit the Malay well.