Mana tahu mereka boleh memutar roda tembikar.

they

Breakdown of Mana tahu mereka boleh memutar roda tembikar.

• boleh: to be able
• roda tembikar: a potter's wheel
• memutar: to turn or spin

Questions & Answers about Mana tahu mereka boleh memutar roda tembikar.

What does mana tahu mean here? Does it literally mean where know?

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.

Why is mana used if it usually means where or which?

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.