Orang dewasa menunggu di sini.

Yes, orang literally means person / people, and dewasa means adult / mature. Together, orang dewasa means adult person or, more naturally, adult / adults.

In Malay, a noun plus a describing word often works like this:

• orang tua = old person / parent (depending on context)
• orang muda = young person
• orang dewasa = adult

In this sentence, orang dewasa is understood as adults because the context is general, not one specific adult.

Malay usually does not require articles like the, a, or some.

So:

• Orang dewasa menunggu di sini. can mean
  Adults are waiting here,
  The adults are waiting here, or sometimes
  Some adults are waiting here

The exact meaning depends on context.

If Malay speakers want to be more specific, they can add other words:

• orang dewasa itu = those / the adults
• beberapa orang dewasa = several adults
• seorang orang dewasa is not natural; instead say seorang dewasa = one adult

In Malay, plural meaning does not always need to be marked. Very often, context is enough.

So orang dewasa can mean:

• an adult
• adults

The verb and situation usually make it clear. In this sentence, it is naturally understood as plural: Adults are waiting here.

You can sometimes see reduplication for plural:

• orang-orang dewasa

But this is often unnecessary and may sound more formal, emphatic, or stylistically marked. In everyday Malay, orang dewasa is very normal.

Tunggu is the base form, meaning wait.
Menunggu is the active verb form, meaning to wait / are waiting.

The prefix meN- is very common in Malay and forms active verbs. With tunggu, it becomes menunggu.

So:

• tunggu = wait / waiting (base or command in some contexts)
• menunggu = to wait / is waiting / are waiting

In a full statement, menunggu is the normal choice:

• Orang dewasa menunggu di sini.

If you say Tunggu!, that means Wait! as a command.

Not exactly. Malay verbs usually do not change for tense the way English verbs do.

So menunggu by itself does not specifically mean present tense only. It can be understood from context as:

• wait
• are waiting
• were waiting
• will wait

In this sentence, the natural interpretation is present:

• Orang dewasa menunggu di sini. = Adults are waiting here.

If you want to make the time clearer, you can add time words:

• sedang menunggu = are currently waiting
• telah menunggu = have waited / had waited
• akan menunggu = will wait

Di sini means here.

In Malay, di is a preposition meaning at / in / on, and it is written separately when it shows location.

So:

• di sini = here
• di rumah = at home
• di sekolah = at school

This is different from di- as a verb prefix, which is written together:

• ditulis = written
• dibaca = read

A useful rule:

• di
  • place = usually separate
• di-
  • verb = usually attached

Mostly yes. This sentence follows a very familiar pattern:

• Orang dewasa = subject
• menunggu = verb
• di sini = place

So it is basically: Subject + Verb + Place

That matches English quite closely:

• Adults
  • are waiting
    • here

This is one reason sentences like this are fairly easy for English speakers to understand once they know the vocabulary.

It is functioning like a describing word, similar to an adjective: adult or mature.

In orang dewasa, the head word is orang (person), and dewasa describes what kind of person:

• person adult → adult person → adult

Malay often places the describing word after the noun:

• rumah besar = big house
• budak kecil = small child
• orang dewasa = adult person / adult

So yes, dewasa is acting like a descriptor after the noun.

A simple approximate pronunciation for English speakers is:

OH-rang duh-WAH-suh muh-NOONG-goo dee SEE-nee

A few helpful notes:

• orang: the ng is like the end of sing
• dewasa: stress is not as strong as in English, but wa is often the clearest syllable
• menunggu: ng also sounds like in sing
• di = dee
• sini = see-nee

Malay pronunciation is generally quite regular, so once you learn the sound system, reading gets easier.

Yes, depending on context, orang dewasa can sometimes be understood as singular or plural. Malay often leaves number unstated unless it needs to be clear.

So this sentence could theoretically mean:

• An adult is waiting here
• Adults are waiting here

However, if a speaker specifically wants to say one adult, they would usually say:

• Seorang dewasa menunggu di sini.

That makes the singular meaning much clearer.

You can add itu if the adults are already known from context:

• Orang dewasa itu menunggu di sini.

This often means:

• Those adults are waiting here
• The adults are waiting here

If the people are near the speaker, ini can be used:

• Orang dewasa ini menunggu di sini.
• These adults are waiting here

Malay uses words like ini and itu where English often uses the plus context.

Just change the location phrase:

• Orang dewasa menunggu di sana. = The adults / adults are waiting there.
• Orang dewasa itu menunggu di sana. = Those / the adults are waiting there.

Useful location words:

• di sini = here
• di sana = there
• di situ = there (often nearer or more specific, depending on context)

Yes. If you want to emphasize that the action is happening right now, you can say:

• Orang dewasa sedang menunggu di sini.

This means:

• The adults are waiting here right now
• Adults are currently waiting here

Without sedang, the original sentence is still perfectly natural. Adding sedang just makes the ongoing action more explicit.