Question 1

In the sentence Saya mahu belajar memasak kari tahun ini, why don’t we use ingin instead of mahu?

Accepted Answer

Both mahu and ingin mean “to want,” but mahu is more commonly used in everyday conversation, whereas ingin sounds a bit more formal or literary. You can swap them without changing the meaning:  
Saya ingin belajar memasak kari tahun ini

Question 2

Why is belajar followed by memasak and not just masak?

Accepted Answer

When you talk about learning an action, the verb that follows belajar normally uses the meN- prefix to form the active verb. The root masak (cook) becomes memasak (to cook [something]). In casual speech some people say belajar masak, but the standard, written form is belajar memasak.

Question 3

Why is there no preposition like pada before tahun ini?

Accepted Answer

Time expressions such as tahun ini (this year), hari ini (today), or besok (tomorrow) usually stand alone in Malay. Adding pada (“on/at”)—as in pada tahun ini—is correct but more formal. Omitting pada feels more natural in everyday use.

Question 4

Can I move tahun ini to the beginning of the sentence?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Malay allows flexible placement of time phrases for emphasis. Beginning with the time puts focus on this year:  
Tahun ini, saya mahu belajar memasak kari.

Question 5

What does the prefix meN- in memasak do?

Accepted Answer

The meN- prefix turns a base word into an active verb that takes an object. The root masak can be a noun (“cooking”) or adjective (“cooked”), but memasak explicitly means “to cook [something].”

Question 6

Why don’t we use an article before kari, like “the curry” or “a curry”?

Accepted Answer

Malay does not have articles (no the or a/an). Kari simply means “curry” in general. If you need to specify, you add a demonstrative:  
– kari itu (that curry)  
– kari ini (this curry)

Question 7

Is kari originally a Malay word? It sounds borrowed.

Accepted Answer

Kari is indeed a loanword (from Tamil), but it’s been fully adopted into Malay. Many Malay words come from Sanskrit, Arabic, Tamil, English, etc., and their spelling is adapted to Malay pronunciation.

Question 8

Why is the subject saya included? Can we drop it?

Accepted Answer

Malay often drops pronouns when context is clear (pro-drop), so you can say:  
Mahu belajar memasak kari tahun ini.  
However, including saya makes it explicit (“I want …”) and is more polite or clearer in writing.

Saya mahu belajar memasak kari tahun ini.

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