Pekerja memakai peralatan pelindung.

It can mean either worker or workers.

Malay nouns usually do not change form for singular vs. plural the way English nouns do. So pekerja can mean:

• a worker
• workers
• the worker
• the workers

You understand the number from context.

For example:

• Pekerja memakai peralatan pelindung. = The worker is wearing protective equipment / Workers wear protective equipment
• If you really want to make it clearly plural, you can say pekerja-pekerja, but in normal Malay this is often unnecessary.

Malay usually does not use articles the way English does.

So a sentence like Pekerja memakai peralatan pelindung can sound natural without any separate word for:

• a
• an
• the

Context tells you what is meant.

If needed, Malay can add other words to make the meaning more specific, for example:

• seorang pekerja = a worker
• pekerja itu = the worker
• para pekerja = the workers / workers (emphasizing a group of people)

But in many everyday sentences, Malay simply leaves articles out.

Pakai is the root word, and memakai is the common active verb form built from that root.

• pakai = the base word wear / use
• memakai = to wear / to use in a normal finite sentence

In standard written Malay, memakai sounds more complete and grammatical in a full sentence:

• Pekerja memakai peralatan pelindung.

In casual speech, people may say pakai:

• Pekerja pakai peralatan pelindung.

That is common in conversation, but memakai is the better choice for standard grammar.

It can mean both, depending on the object.

With things like clothes, shoes, helmets, or equipment worn on the body, memakai often means:

• wear
• have on

With tools or objects, it can also mean:

• use

So in this sentence, because the object is peralatan pelindung (protective equipment), memakai is naturally understood as wearing/using protective equipment, depending on context. In English, wear is usually the most natural translation here.

Examples:

• memakai baju = wear clothes
• memakai topi keledar = wear a helmet
• memakai komputer = use a computer

Because in Malay, the main noun usually comes first, and the describing word comes after it.

So:

• peralatan = equipment
• pelindung = protective / protector-type / for protection

Together:

• peralatan pelindung = protective equipment

This is a very common Malay pattern:

• kereta merah = red car
• rumah besar = big house
• topeng muka = face mask
• alat keselamatan = safety equipment

English often puts the modifier first, but Malay usually puts it after the noun.

It behaves a bit like one here, but it is helpful to think of it more broadly as a describing word derived from a root meaning protect.

The root is:

• lindung = protect / shelter

From that, Malay can form:

• pelindung = protector / protective
• perlindungan = protection

In peralatan pelindung, pelindung describes what kind of equipment it is: equipment for protection.

So even if it does not work exactly like an English adjective in every situation, in this sentence it functions as a modifier after the noun.

Yes.

A simple Malay sentence like Pekerja memakai peralatan pelindung can express:

• a general truth: Workers wear protective equipment
• a habitual action: The workers usually wear protective equipment
• a current action, depending on context: The worker is wearing protective equipment

Malay often does not force you to mark tense as clearly as English does. Time is often understood from context or from extra words.

If you want to make it clearly progressive, Malay often uses sedang:

• Pekerja sedang memakai peralatan pelindung.
  = The worker is wearing protective equipment right now.

Malay verbs usually do not change form for tense.

English changes or adds words:

• wear
• is wearing
• wore
• will wear

Malay often keeps the verb the same and uses:

• context
• time words
• optional markers like sedang, sudah, akan

Examples:

• Pekerja memakai peralatan pelindung. = The worker wears / is wearing protective equipment
• Pekerja sedang memakai peralatan pelindung. = The worker is wearing protective equipment
• Pekerja sudah memakai peralatan pelindung. = The worker has already put on / is already wearing protective equipment
• Pekerja akan memakai peralatan pelindung. = The worker will wear protective equipment

Yes, and the meaning is related, but not exactly identical.

• peralatan pelindung = protective equipment
• alat pelindung diri = personal protective equipment (PPE)

So alat pelindung diri is often more specific, especially in workplace or safety contexts. It literally refers to equipment used to protect oneself.

Examples:

• Pekerja memakai peralatan pelindung.
  = The worker is wearing protective equipment.
• Pekerja memakai alat pelindung diri.
  = The worker is wearing personal protective equipment.

Both are natural, but alat pelindung diri is especially common in safety rules and manuals.

Yes, depending on the situation.

Some possibilities are:

• pekerja = worker / employee
• buruh = laborer, often more manual-labor focused
• kakitangan = staff
• operator = operator
• pegawai = officer / staff member in some contexts

So pekerja is a good general choice, especially when talking about a worker in a workplace or industrial setting.

A simple approximate pronunciation for an English speaker is:

• Pekerja ≈ puh-KER-juh
• memakai ≈ muh-mah-KAI
• peralatan ≈ puh-rah-LAH-tahn
• pelindung ≈ puh-lin-DOONG

A few helpful notes:

• e in many Malay words is often like a soft uh sound.
• ai in memakai sounds like eye.
• ng in pelindung is like the ng in sing.

So the whole sentence is roughly:

puh-KER-juh muh-mah-KAI puh-rah-LAH-tahn puh-lin-DOONG

Mostly yes.

The basic pattern is:

• Pekerja = subject
• memakai = verb
• peralatan pelindung = object

So it follows a familiar Subject–Verb–Object order:

• Worker wears protective equipment

That makes this sentence relatively easy for an English speaker.

The main difference is inside the noun phrase:

• English: protective equipment
• Malay: peralatan pelindung

So the overall sentence order is similar, but the describing word usually comes after the noun in Malay.