Awak mesti bawa payung jika hujan.

You must bring an umbrella if it rains.

Breakdown of Awak mesti bawa payung jika hujan.

• awak: you
• bawa: to bring
• jika: if
• payung: the umbrella
• hujan: to rain
• mesti: must

Questions & Answers about Awak mesti bawa payung jika hujan.

What does awak mean and how is it different from kamu or Anda?

In Malay, awak is an informal/friendly pronoun for you.

• Anda is the polite/formal form, used in business or with strangers.
• Kamu is casual and can sound abrupt or rude depending on tone and region.
  Use awak with friends or people of similar age/status.

What kind of word is mesti and how do I use it?

mesti is a modal verb meaning must or have to, indicating obligation.
• It precedes the main verb.
• The main verb stays in its root form (no affixes).
Example: awak mesti bawa = you must bring.

Why is the verb bawa in its base form, not membawa?

After modals like mesti, Malay uses the bare root verb. Affixes such as meN- (which would make membawa) are dropped after modals. Hence mesti bawa, never mesti membawa.

Why is there no a/an before payung? How do you say an umbrella in Malay?

Malay doesn’t use articles like a or an. To specify one umbrella, you can add a classifier: sebuah payung, where sebuah means “one (countable item).” Often you simply say payung.

What is jika and can I use kalau instead?

Both jika and kalau mean if.
• Jika is slightly more formal or literary.
• Kalau is more colloquial and very common in speech.
You can say awak mesti bawa payung kalau hujan in everyday conversation.

Does Malay indicate tense on verbs? How do I know when this must happen?

Malay verbs do not change form for tense. Time is inferred from context or added words:

• jika hujan (if it rains) implies a future or conditional situation.
• To be explicit, add a time word: awak mesti bawa payung nanti (you must bring an umbrella later).

Can I omit awak? What effect does that have?

Yes. Malay often drops pronouns when context is clear.
Writing mesti bawa payung jika hujan works as a general instruction or sign, sounding more impersonal.

Is there a difference between mesti and perlu?

Both express necessity but differ in strength:

• mesti = must, strong obligation.
• perlu = need to/should, softer, more like advice.
  E.g. awak mesti bawa payung (you absolutely must bring an umbrella) vs. awak perlu bawa payung (you should/need to bring an umbrella).

Can I place jika hujan at the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. Malay allows flexible clause order. You can say:
Jika hujan, awak mesti bawa payung.
It means exactly the same.