Dia bertanya tentang asal nama itu.

Dia can mean either he or she in Malay. Malay does not normally mark gender in third-person singular pronouns the way English does.

So:

• Dia bertanya... = He asked... or She asked...

You usually figure out the gender from context.

Tanya is the base word meaning ask or question.

The form bertanya uses the prefix ber-, which often makes a verb meaning to do the action. So:

• tanya = ask / question
• bertanya = to ask

In normal sentences, bertanya sounds more complete and natural as a verb:

• Dia bertanya = He/She asked

You may also hear tanya in casual speech, but bertanya is a standard written form.

Tentang means about or concerning.

So:

• bertanya tentang... = ask about...

In this sentence:

• Dia bertanya tentang asal nama itu.
• He/She asked about the origin of that name.

Here, asal means origin, source, or where something comes from.

So asal nama itu means something like:

• the origin of that name
• where that name came from

Be aware that asal can have other meanings in other contexts, so it is a flexible word.

Both can work, but they are slightly different in feel.

• asal nama itu = the origin of that name
• asal usul nama itu = the history/background/origin of that name

Asal usul is a common fixed expression meaning origin or background, and it can sound a bit fuller or more formal.
Asal nama itu is shorter and still understandable.

So the sentence is natural, but asal usul nama itu is another common way to express the same idea.

In Malay, demonstratives like ini and itu usually come after the noun, not before it.

So:

• nama itu = that name
• buku ini = this book

This is different from English, where we say that name, not name that.

The basic word order is:

• Dia = subject
• bertanya = verb
• tentang asal nama itu = prepositional phrase (about the origin of that name)

So it follows a very English-friendly order:

• Subject + Verb + Prepositional phrase

Word by word:

• Dia = he/she
• bertanya = asked
• tentang = about
• asal = origin
• nama itu = that name

No. Malay verbs do not change form for tense the way English verbs do.

So bertanya by itself does not specifically mean asks, asked, or was asking. The time is usually understood from context or shown by time words such as:

• semalam = yesterday
• tadi = earlier / just now
• esok = tomorrow

Without extra context, Dia bertanya tentang asal nama itu could be interpreted according to the situation. If the translation shown to the learner is in the past, that comes from context, not from a past-tense verb ending.

Yes, but the structure and emphasis change a little.

• bertanya tentang asal nama itu = asked about the origin of that name
• menanyakan asal nama itu = asked about / asked regarding the origin of that name

Very roughly:

• bertanya tentang... focuses on asking about something
• menanyakan... takes the thing asked about more directly as its object

Both are possible, but bertanya tentang is very straightforward and common.

Malay often expresses noun relationships more directly than English does.

In English, we say:

• the origin of that name

In Malay, this is often just:

• asal nama itu

So Malay does not always need a separate word equivalent to of. The relationship is understood from the sequence of words.

Sometimes yes, if the subject is already clear from context. Malay often allows subjects to be dropped more easily than English.

For example, in conversation, someone might simply say:

• Bertanya tentang asal nama itu.

if it is already obvious who did the asking.

But in a full standalone sentence, Dia bertanya tentang asal nama itu is clearer and more complete.

A casual spoken version might be:

• Dia tanya pasal asal nama tu.

Changes:

• bertanya → tanya
• tentang → pasal or sometimes pasal/hal
• itu → tu

This is more conversational. The original sentence with bertanya tentang ... itu sounds more standard and suitable for writing or careful speech.

A simple learner-friendly approximation is:

• ber-tan-ya

Notes:

• ber- is often pronounced lightly, sometimes close to buh(r)
• tanya sounds roughly like tan-ya
• The ny sound is like the ny in canyon

So a rough guide is:

• bertanya ≈ bər-TAHN-ya

The exact pronunciation varies by speaker, but that approximation is a good start.