Learn Hardcore Malay: Selain sejarah, dia meminati sains dan muzik. - Besides history, he/she is interested in science and music.

bold: Selain generally means “other than / apart from,” and its inclusiveness depends on context.
With a positive statement like this one, it’s usually inclusive: “In addition to history, he’s also interested in science and music.”
It can be exclusive in negative or limiting contexts: bold: Selain Ali, tiada siapa datang. (“Apart from Ali, nobody came.”)
If you need an unambiguously exclusive sense, bold: kecuali or bold: melainkan are safer: bold: Kecuali sejarah, dia tidak meminati subjek lain.

Do I need to add bold: juga (“also”) to make the “in addition to” meaning clear?

Not required, but adding bold: juga makes the inclusiveness explicit and natural: bold: Selain sejarah, dia juga meminati sains dan muzik.
Place bold: juga after the subject (bold: dia), not after bold: meminati, for the most neutral flow.

Is bold: dia “he” or “she”?

bold: dia is gender‑neutral: it can mean “he” or “she.”
For respectful reference to an older or notable person, Malay often uses bold: beliau.
Plural “they” is bold: mereka.

What’s the difference between bold: meminati, bold: berminat, and bold: suka?

bold: meminati = “to be interested in / to like (as a hobby/field).” It’s a bit formal and directly takes an object: bold: Dia meminati sains.
bold: berminat + preposition (bold: dengan/pada/akan) = “to be interested in”: bold: Dia berminat dengan sains.
bold: suka = “to like,” everyday and broad: bold: Dia suka sains dan muzik.
Other near-synonyms: bold: menggemari (formal-ish), bold: gemar (often with bold: akan in formal style).

Is bold: meminat (without -i) correct?

No; the standard verb is bold: meminati. bold: meminat is nonstandard in Malay.
If you don’t want the -i form, use bold: berminat (with a preposition) or bold: suka.

How is bold: meminati formed, and what does the -i do?

Root: bold: minat (noun “interest”) → bold: meminati via meN- + root + -i.
meN- becomes bold: mem- before an m-initial root (assimilation).
The suffix -i here makes a transitive verb meaning “to have interest in [object].”
Related form: bold: meminatkan = “to make [someone] interested” (causative).

Can I say just bold: Dia meminati. without an object?

No. bold: meminati is transitive and needs an object: bold: Dia meminati sains.
If you want an intransitive feel, use bold: Dia berminat. (and optionally add a prepositional phrase: bold: dengan/pada/akan …).

Can I change the word order, like bold: Dia meminati sains dan muzik, selain sejarah?

Yes, that’s grammatical. You can put the bold: selain phrase at the end: bold: Dia meminati sains dan muzik, selain sejarah.
Starting with bold: Selain sejarah sounds slightly more contrastive/emphatic. Adding bold: juga helps when you intend “in addition to.”

Is the comma after bold: Selain sejarah required?

It’s recommended because bold: Selain sejarah is an introductory phrase. Many writers include the comma for clarity: bold: Selain sejarah, …
Without the comma is not wrong in casual writing, but the pause is natural.

Could I use bold: serta instead of bold: dan?

Yes. bold: serta is a more formal “and”: bold: … meminati sains serta muzik.
You can also say bold: dan juga for emphasis (“and also”), though it can sound a bit heavy if you already used bold: juga earlier.

Why is it bold: muzik (with z) and not “musik”?

What’s the nuance difference between bold: sains and bold: ilmu?

bold: sains = “science” (as academic disciplines).
bold: ilmu = “knowledge; learning” in a broader, often more general/intellectual sense. bold: Ilmu pengetahuan is a formal phrase for “scientific knowledge.”

Do I need “the/a” in Malay before bold: sains or bold: muzik?

No articles are needed. Malay has no “the/a.” General categories are used bare: bold: sains, bold: muzik, bold: sejarah.
If you need specificity, you add other markers (demonstratives, classifiers, etc.), not articles.

How do I say a clearly exclusive “except for history …”?

Use bold: kecuali or bold: melainkan: bold: Kecuali sejarah, dia meminati sains dan muzik. (implies he does not include history.)
Or keep bold: selain but add a negative to force exclusivity: bold: Selain sejarah, dia tidak meminati subjek lain.

Is bold: Selain daripada sejarah acceptable?

Yes. bold: Selain daripada … is common and slightly more formal; bold: selain … alone is also fine.
bold: daripada is preferred (over bold: dari) after bold: selain when the sense is “other than (from among).”

How should I pronounce the tricky words?

bold: dia: “DEE-ah”
bold: meminati: “mə-mee-NAH-tee”
bold: sejarah: “suh-JA-rah” (j as in “judge”; light final h)
bold: sains: commonly “SIGH-ns” (some speakers articulate it as two beats “sa-ins”)
bold: muzik: “MOO-zeek”

Are bold: sains and bold: muzik being treated as fields or activities here?

They can be read either way, depending on context. Malay often uses bare nouns for both fields (academics) and hobbies.
For fields, you could also say bold: bidang sains (“the field of science”) for clarity: bold: Dia meminati bidang sains dan muzik.

Can I express “his/her interests” using the noun bold: minat?

Yes: bold: Minatnya sains dan muzik. (“His/Her interests are science and music.”)
Or: bold: Dia ada minat dalam sains dan muzik. (more conversational)
The original sentence uses the verb form, which is also natural.