Mana tahu mereka boleh memutar roda tembikar.

Yes, if you break it down word-for-word, mana often means where / which, and tahu means know. But in this expression, mana tahu is an idiomatic phrase.

Here it means something like:

• who knows
• maybe
• you never know

So in this sentence, Mana tahu mereka boleh memutar roda tembikar means something like Who knows, they might be able to turn/spin a pottery wheel.

This is a good example of how Malay often uses short expressions that do not translate literally into natural English.

That is a very natural question. In many contexts, mana does mean where or which, for example:

• Di mana? = Where?
• Yang mana? = Which one?

But in fixed expressions, the meaning can shift. In mana tahu, it no longer functions as a normal question word. Instead, the whole phrase acts as an idiom meaning who knows / maybe.

So the key point is:

• mana on its own: often where / which
• mana tahu as a set phrase: who knows / maybe

You should learn mana tahu as one chunk rather than trying to interpret each word separately every time.

It is connected to the rest of the sentence, but it also works a bit like an introductory comment.

You can think of the structure like this:

• Mana tahu = Who knows / Maybe
• mereka boleh memutar roda tembikar = they can / might be able to spin a pottery wheel

So the full sentence is like:

• Who knows, they may be able to spin a pottery wheel.

In speech and writing, mana tahu often appears at the beginning to introduce a possibility.

Mereka means they / them, and it is used for people, not usually for things or animals in ordinary speech.

In this sentence:

• mereka = they

A few useful points:

• Malay pronouns do not change for subject and object the way English does.
• So mereka can mean both they and them, depending on the sentence.
• It does not show gender, so it could refer to any group of people.

Example:

• Saya nampak mereka. = I saw them.
• Mereka datang. = They came.

Boleh can cover several ideas in English, depending on context:

• can
• be able to
• may / be allowed to

In this sentence, it most likely expresses ability or possibility, not permission. So the meaning is closer to:

• can
• might be able to

Because the sentence begins with mana tahu, the whole idea sounds uncertain or speculative. So even though boleh by itself can mean can, the full sentence feels more like:

• Who knows, maybe they can...
• Who knows, they might be able to...

Great question. The base word is putar, which means turn, rotate, or spin.

The form memutar uses the meN- prefix, which often forms an active verb. In many cases, this makes the verb sound more like to do the action in a standard sentence.

So:

• putar = base/root form, turn / spin
• memutar = active verb, to turn / to spin

In formal or neutral sentence structure, Malay often uses this prefixed form for active verbs.

So:

• mereka boleh memutar... = they can spin/turn...

If you are learning Malay grammar, this is part of a very common pattern:

• baca → membaca
• tulis → menulis
• putar → memutar

This happens because of how the meN- prefix changes shape depending on the first sound of the root word.

For roots beginning with p, the p often drops and the prefix becomes mem-.

So:

• putar → memutar

This is a normal sound-change pattern in Malay morphology.

A few similar examples:

• pakai → memakai
• pilih → memilih
• pukul → memukul

So memutar is exactly what you would expect from the root putar.

Roda means wheel, and tembikar means pottery.

So roda tembikar means:

• pottery wheel

Malay often puts the main noun first and the describing noun after it.

So the order is:

• roda = the thing itself, wheel
• tembikar = what kind of wheel, pottery

This is very common in Malay. Compared with English, the modifier often comes after the main noun.

For example:

• rumah batu = stone house
• air teh = tea water or more naturally tea
• roda tembikar = pottery wheel

So yes, it is normal that Malay says something more like wheel pottery where English says pottery wheel.

Yes. Tembikar refers to pottery, earthenware, or ceramic ware, depending on context.

So roda tembikar is best understood as a wheel used in pottery-making, which is why pottery wheel is the most natural English translation.

The exact English word can vary a little depending on context, but in this sentence pottery wheel is the clearest and most idiomatic translation.

In a way, yes—but Malay does not need to state it explicitly here.

In English, who knows has the word who, which acts as the subject. In Malay, mana tahu is just a set expression meaning who knows / maybe. It does not need a separate subject.

So you should not try to force a literal grammatical match with English. It is better to treat mana tahu as a complete idiomatic opener.

Malay does not use articles the same way English does. There is no direct equivalent of a/an/the in most ordinary sentences.

So:

• roda tembikar could mean a pottery wheel, the pottery wheel, or pottery wheel(s) depending on context.
• mereka is just they.
• memutar roda tembikar could mean spin a pottery wheel or spin the pottery wheel, depending on the situation.

This is very normal in Malay. Context usually tells you which English article is most natural.

Malay does not have to mark plural explicitly. A noun can be singular or plural depending on context.

So roda tembikar could technically mean:

• a pottery wheel
• pottery wheels

But in this sentence, English would most naturally interpret it as singular unless the wider context suggests otherwise.

For people, mereka already tells us the subject is plural: they.

Yes, definitely. Because of mana tahu, the sentence has a tone of possibility, uncertainty, or even optimism.

It can sound like:

• Maybe they can do it
• Who knows, perhaps they are able to do it
• You never know, they might be able to spin a pottery wheel

So the speaker is not stating a fact with certainty. They are suggesting a possibility.

Not wrong, but spin or turn is usually more natural in English for this context.

Possible translations of memutar include:

• turn
• spin
• rotate

For a roda tembikar, English usually says:

• spin a pottery wheel
• turn a pottery wheel

Rotate a pottery wheel is understandable, but it sounds more technical and less natural in everyday English.

This word order is natural, but Malay does allow some flexibility depending on emphasis.

The original:

• Mana tahu mereka boleh memutar roda tembikar.

This is a very normal way to say it.

You could also hear slightly different phrasings in real usage, but the original is clear and idiomatic. The important structure is:

• introductory expression: mana tahu
• subject: mereka
• modal/ability word: boleh
• verb: memutar
• object: roda tembikar

So the sentence follows a very common Malay pattern:

• [introductory phrase] + [subject] + [modal] + [verb] + [object]

It is fairly neutral and natural.

• mereka, boleh, and memutar are standard Malay.
• mana tahu is common and idiomatic, and it can appear in everyday conversation.

So the sentence does not sound especially stiff, but it is also not slangy. It works well as standard spoken or written Malay, depending on context.