Mereka bertukar hadiah.

Mereka can mean they or them, because Malay pronouns do not change form the way English pronouns do.

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

In Mereka bertukar hadiah, mereka is the subject, so it means they.

Also, mereka is normally used for people, not usually for things.

Bertukar comes from the root tukar, which is related to the idea of changing, swapping, or exchanging.

In this sentence, bertukar hadiah means to exchange gifts.

Depending on context, bertukar can mean slightly different things:

• bertukar hadiah = exchange gifts
• bertukar tempat = switch places
• keadaan bertukar = the situation changed

So the exact English translation depends on what follows it and on the context.

The prefix ber- changes the root into a verb form that often means to do something, to be in a state, or to engage in an action.

So:

• tukar = change / exchange / swap
• bertukar = to exchange / to switch / to change

In this sentence, bertukar is the natural verb form.

A useful way to think of it is:

• tukar is the base idea
• bertukar is the actual verb being used in the sentence

Because bertukar already gives a natural mutual/reciprocal meaning in this context.

So Mereka bertukar hadiah naturally means:

• they exchanged gifts
• they exchanged gifts with each other

If you want to make the mutual idea extra explicit, you can add saling:

• Mereka saling bertukar hadiah.

That is more explicitly They exchanged gifts with each other, but the shorter sentence is already perfectly normal.

It can be understood as gift or gifts, depending on context.

Malay nouns do not have to change form for plural the way English nouns often do. So hadiah can mean:

• a gift
• the gift
• gifts

In Mereka bertukar hadiah, the meaning is usually understood as They exchanged gifts.

If you really want to show plural clearly, Malay can use:

• hadiah-hadiah = gifts
• beberapa hadiah = several gifts

But in many everyday sentences, plain hadiah is enough.

Malay does not use articles like English a/an/the.

So hadiah by itself can mean:

• a gift
• the gift
• gifts

The listener figures it out from context.

That is why Mereka bertukar hadiah is a complete, natural sentence without any article.

By itself, the sentence does not mark tense.

Malay verbs usually do not change form for present, past, or future. So Mereka bertukar hadiah could mean:

• They exchange gifts.
• They are exchanging gifts.
• They exchanged gifts.

The exact time is usually understood from context.

If needed, Malay can make time clearer with extra words:

• Mereka sedang bertukar hadiah. = They are exchanging gifts.
• Mereka telah bertukar hadiah. = They have exchanged / exchanged gifts.
• Mereka akan bertukar hadiah. = They will exchange gifts.

Yes. The basic order here is:

• Mereka = subject
• bertukar = verb
• hadiah = object/complement

So it follows a straightforward Subject + Verb + Object pattern, much like English:

• They exchanged gifts.

That makes this sentence quite beginner-friendly.

Yes, you could, but the nuance is slightly different.

• Mereka bertukar hadiah = They exchanged gifts.
• Mereka saling memberi hadiah = They gave gifts to each other.

These are very close in meaning, and in many situations both are natural. But bertukar hadiah emphasizes the idea of exchanging/swapping, while saling memberi hadiah emphasizes giving to each other.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

• mereka ≈ muh-REH-kah
• bertukar ≈ ber-TOO-kahr
• hadiah ≈ ha-DEE-ah

So the whole sentence is roughly:

muh-REH-kah ber-TOO-kahr ha-DEE-ah

As with all pronunciation guides, this is only approximate, but it is a useful starting point.