Kami membayar fi pendaftaran hari ini.

Kami means we, but specifically we excluding the listener.

So if a school office says Kami membayar fi pendaftaran hari ini, it means we paid / are paying the registration fee today, and the person being spoken to is not included in kami.

Malay makes an important distinction:

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

This is something English does not normally show, so it is a very common question for learners.

Membayar is the verb to pay in a more standard, fully marked form.

It comes from the root bayar = pay.

The prefix meN- is added to form an active verb:

• bayar → membayar

This is very common in Malay. The meN- prefix often marks an action that the subject actively does, especially when there is a direct object.

Here:

• Kami = subject
• membayar = verb
• fi pendaftaran = object

In everyday speech, especially informal conversation, people may also say:

• Kami bayar fi pendaftaran hari ini

That is very common in spoken Malay, but membayar is more standard and textbook-like.

By itself, membayar does not show tense the way English verbs do.

Malay verbs usually do not change form for:

• present
• past
• future

So membayar can mean different things depending on context:

• pay
• paid
• are paying
• will pay

In this sentence, hari ini = today gives the time reference, so the sentence is understood as something like:

• We are paying the registration fee today or
• We paid the registration fee today

The exact English wording depends on context.

In Malay, the main noun usually comes first, and the word describing or specifying it comes after.

So:

• fi pendaftaran = registration fee
  • fi = fee
  • pendaftaran = registration

English usually puts the describing noun first:

• registration fee

Malay usually puts it after:

• fee registration literally, but naturally translated as registration fee

This head-first pattern is very common in Malay noun phrases.

Pendaftaran means registration.

It is formed from the root daftar, which is related to register or list/registering.

The pattern peN-...-an often creates a noun referring to:

• the process of doing something
• the result of an action
• a related abstract noun

So:

• daftar = register / enroll
• pendaftaran = registration

This is a very useful word-building pattern in Malay.

Malay generally does not use articles like English a, an, or the.

So:

• fi pendaftaran can mean
  • a registration fee
  • the registration fee
  • simply registration fee

The exact meaning depends on context.

This is very normal in Malay, and learners often need time to get used to it because English requires articles much more often.

Hari ini means today.

In Malay, time expressions are often placed:

• at the beginning, or
• at the end

So all of these can be natural, depending on emphasis:

• Kami membayar fi pendaftaran hari ini.
• Hari ini, kami membayar fi pendaftaran.

Putting hari ini at the end is very common and sounds natural. It works a lot like adding a time phrase at the end in English:

• We are paying the registration fee today.

Yes, sometimes it can be omitted if the context is already clear.

For example, in conversation, someone might simply say:

• Membayar fi pendaftaran hari ini. or more naturally in casual speech:
• Bayar fi pendaftaran hari ini.

However, including kami makes the sentence clearer and more complete, especially in teaching materials or formal writing.

Malay often allows subjects to be dropped when they are obvious from context.

Fi is used in Malay and is understood, especially in formal or administrative contexts.

However, another very common word is yuran.

So you may also see:

• yuran pendaftaran = registration fee

In many contexts, yuran pendaftaran may sound more idiomatic or more typically Malay than fi pendaftaran, depending on the region and situation.

Very roughly:

• fi often feels like fee
• yuran often feels like fee/charges/subscription dues

Both can be correct, but yuran pendaftaran is extremely common.

Yes. A common casual version would be:

• Kami bayar fi pendaftaran hari ini.

In informal spoken Malay, people often drop some prefixes, especially meN-, so membayar becomes bayar.

This does not usually make the sentence hard to understand. In fact, it often sounds more natural in everyday speech.

So:

• Kami membayar fi pendaftaran hari ini. = more formal / standard
• Kami bayar fi pendaftaran hari ini. = more casual / spoken

The structure is:

• Kami = subject
• membayar = verb
• fi pendaftaran = object
• hari ini = time expression

So the pattern is basically:

Subject + Verb + Object + Time

That is a very common and straightforward Malay sentence pattern.

Then kami would normally change to kita:

• Kita membayar fi pendaftaran hari ini.

That means:

• We are paying the registration fee today, including you

So changing just one pronoun can change who is included in the group. This is one of the most important distinctions in Malay pronouns.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

• mem-ba-yar

Very roughly for an English speaker:

• mem like mem in memory
• ba like bah
• yar like yar in yard, but shorter

The r in Malay is usually clearer than in many English accents, often a light tapped or rolled sound depending on the speaker.

Also, Malay pronunciation is usually more regular than English spelling, so once you learn the sound system, words are often pronounced quite predictably.