Saya suka mendaki bukit bersama jiran saya setiap hujung minggu.

I like hiking a hill with my neighbor every weekend.

Breakdown of Saya suka mendaki bukit bersama jiran saya setiap hujung minggu.

• saya: I
• suka: to like
• setiap: every
• bersama: with
• hujung minggu: the weekend
• bukit: the hill
• jiran: the neighbor
• mendaki: to hike

Questions & Answers about Saya suka mendaki bukit bersama jiran saya setiap hujung minggu.

What does saya mean and why is it placed at the very beginning of the sentence?

saya means “I” or “me.” Malay generally follows a Subject–Verb–Object (SVO) order, so the subject (saya) naturally comes first. You could move it for emphasis, but the neutral, unmarked order is to put saya at the start.

What does suka mean, and is it a verb or adjective?

suka is a verb meaning “to like.” It expresses a preference: “I like…” In Malay you don’t need an extra helper verb or adjective—the root suka itself does the job.

Why is there no article like “a” or “the” before bukit?

Malay does not use indefinite or definite articles (no “a,” “an,” or “the”). Nouns stand on their own, and you rely on context or quantifiers (e.g. sebuah bukit for “a hill,” or bukit itu for “that hill”). Here, simply bukit means “hill” in a general sense.

What is the prefix me- in mendaki, and why can’t we just say daki?

The prefix me- turns the root daki (climb) into a verb (mendaki) meaning “to climb.” Without me-, daki is just the noun/root form and can’t function as a proper verb in standard Malay.

Why does the sentence use bersama jiran saya instead of dengan jiran saya? Are they interchangeable?

Both bersama and dengan can mean “with.”

• bersama often feels a bit more formal or emphasizes togetherness (“together with”).
• dengan is more neutral (“with”), used for instruments (“with a knife”) or company (“with a friend”).
  In everyday speech you could say dengan jiran saya and a native would understand it perfectly.

What does setiap hujung minggu literally mean, and can I move it to the front of the sentence?

setiap means “every,” hujung means “end,” and minggu means “week,” so setiap hujung minggu = “every weekend.”
Yes—you can front-load time expressions in Malay for stylistic reasons:
“Setiap hujung minggu, saya suka mendaki bukit bersama jiran saya.”
The meaning stays the same, but you’re highlighting the time.

How do you indicate possession? Why is it jiran saya and not saya jiran?

In Malay the possessor follows the noun.

• jiran saya = “my neighbor” (literally “neighbor my”)
  If you said saya jiran, it would read “I neighbor,” which doesn’t work. Always put the thing owned or described first, then the owner: buku saya (“my book”), rumah dia (“his/her house”).