Breakdown of Kegagalan itu membuat saya sedar saya perlu belajar lebih keras.
saya
I
itu
that
membuat
to make
lebih
more
perlu
to need
belajar
to study
sedar
to realize
keras
hard
kegagalan
the failure
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Questions & Answers about Kegagalan itu membuat saya sedar saya perlu belajar lebih keras.
What is the structure and meaning of kegagalan itu?
kegagalan comes from the root gagal (to fail) with the nominaliser ke-…-an, giving the noun “failure.” itu is a demonstrative meaning “that.” Together, kegagalan itu means “that failure,” referring to a specific failure already known or mentioned.
How does membuat saya sedar work grammatically?
membuat (the active verb “to make”) + saya (me) + sedar (aware/realize) expresses causation. The pattern membuat + object + adjective/verb is used to mean “make someone [do/be something],” so membuat saya sedar literally means “makes me realize.”
Why is there no bahawa between sedar and saya perlu belajar?
bahawa (“that”) is optional in Malay. You may insert it for extra formality or clarity—sedar bahawa saya perlu belajar…—but in everyday speech and writing it’s commonly omitted without changing the meaning.
Why does saya appear twice in the sentence?
The first saya is the object of membuat (“make me”), and the second saya is the subject of the subordinate clause (“I need to study…”). Malay repeats pronouns like this to mark clearly who is doing what in each clause.
What is perlu, and why does it come before belajar?
perlu is a modal verb meaning “need to” or “must.” In Malay, modals always precede the main verb, so saya perlu belajar means “I need to study.”
How do lebih and keras combine to express lebih keras?
lebih means “more,” and keras means “hard” or “intensively.” Together, lebih keras literally means “more hard,” i.e. “harder” or “more intensively,” describing the increased effort in studying.
Can I replace membuat saya sedar with menyebabkan saya sedar or menyedarkan saya?
Yes.
- menyebabkan saya sedar also means “cause me to realize.”
- menyedarkan saya is the bound-verb form meN-…-kan of sedar, so kegagalan itu menyedarkan saya bahawa saya perlu belajar lebih keras is equally correct. The choice depends on style or formality.
Is buat an acceptable alternative to membuat?
In colloquial Malay, you can say buat instead of membuat:
Kegagalan itu buat saya sedar saya perlu belajar lebih keras.
However, in formal writing the meN- prefix is required, so membuat is preferred.