Saya mendengar berita di radio.

Dengar is the basic root, meaning hear or listen.

Mendengar is the active verb form built from that root. In standard Malay, many verbs take the meN- prefix, and dengar becomes mendengar.

So:

• dengar = root / dictionary form
• mendengar = to hear / to listen

In everyday speech, especially informal speech, people often do say just dengar:

• Saya dengar berita di radio.

That is very natural in conversation.
But Saya mendengar berita di radio sounds more standard, careful, or written.

It can cover both ideas, depending on context.

In English, hear and listen are often clearly separated:

• hear = perception happens
• listen = you actively pay attention

In Malay, mendengar can be used in both kinds of situations. In this sentence, it may be understood as either:

• I heard the news on the radio
• I listened to the news on the radio

The exact nuance comes from context.

If you want to emphasize active listening, Malay can also use other expressions in some contexts, but mendengar is completely normal here.

Berita means news.

A useful thing for English speakers to remember is that Malay nouns usually do not change form for singular vs. plural. So berita can mean:

• news
• a news report / a piece of news, depending on context

Also, English news is grammatically singular, but in Malay berita is just the noun itself without that same singular/plural issue.

If Malay speakers want to make plurality especially clear, they can use context, numbers, or reduplication in some cases, but with berita, the plain form is very common.

Here, di radio means on the radio.

The preposition di often means at, in, or on, depending on context. Malay does not divide these prepositions as strictly as English does.

So:

• di rumah = at home / in the house
• di sekolah = at school
• di radio = on the radio

In this sentence, di radio refers to the medium or place where the news was heard.

Because here di is a preposition, not a verb prefix.

This is a very common point for learners.

• di as a preposition = written separately
  
  • di radio
  • di rumah
  • di sekolah

But di- as a passive verb prefix is written attached:

• ditulis = written
• didengar = heard
• dibaca = read

So in your sentence, di radio must be two words.

Malay does not usually use articles like the or a/an the way English does.

So:

• berita can mean news, the news, or sometimes a news item, depending on context
• radio can mean radio or the radio, depending on context

Malay relies heavily on context rather than articles.

That means a sentence like:

• Saya mendengar berita di radio

can naturally be translated as:

• I heard the news on the radio
• I heard news on the radio

depending on the situation.

No, the sentence itself does not mark tense clearly.

Malay verbs do not change form the way English verbs do for tense.
So mendengar does not itself mean specifically:

• hear
• heard
• am hearing
• was listening

Context tells you the time.

If needed, Malay can add time words such as:

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

For example:

• Saya mendengar berita di radio semalam. = I heard the news on the radio yesterday.
• Saya sedang mendengar berita di radio. = I am listening to the news on the radio.

So without extra context, the sentence is tense-neutral.

Yes, but the tone changes.

• saya = neutral, polite, standard
• aku = more informal, personal, casual

So:

• Saya mendengar berita di radio.
  sounds standard and safe in most situations.

• Aku dengar berita di radio.
  sounds more casual and conversational.

For learners, saya is usually the safer choice, especially at first.

Yes, very similar.

The sentence follows a straightforward pattern:

• Saya = subject
• mendengar = verb
• berita = object
• di radio = prepositional phrase / location-medium phrase

So the structure is basically:

Subject + Verb + Object + Prepositional Phrase

That is one reason this sentence feels quite approachable for English speakers.

Usually di radio is the more natural choice for on the radio.

• di radio = on the radio / via the radio
• dari radio = from the radio

Dari emphasizes source or origin more directly. In some contexts, it can be understandable, but for the normal English idea on the radio, di radio is the best choice.

So this sentence is most naturally:

• Saya mendengar berita di radio.

Yes, it is natural, especially in standard Malay.

In everyday conversation, speakers may use a slightly simpler or more colloquial version, such as:

• Saya dengar berita di radio.
• Aku dengar berita kat radio. (very informal/colloquial in some varieties)

So your sentence is good and correct. It just sounds a bit more standard or careful than the most casual spoken version.

A helpful rough guide is:

men-DENG-ar

with the stress typically felt around deng, although Malay stress is generally lighter and less dramatic than in English.

Breakdown:

• me
• ng
• de
• ngar

A few pronunciation notes:

• ng is the same sound as in English sing
• e in me- is often a relaxed vowel, like a soft uh
• r is usually clearer or more tapped than many English r sounds, depending on accent

So a rough learner-friendly approximation is:

muhn-DENG-ar

Not perfect, but close enough to start.

Yes.

Just like in English, radio can refer to:

• the physical radio set/device
• radio as a broadcasting medium

So in di radio, the meaning is usually the medium:

• on the radio

not literally inside a radio.

Context makes that clear.