Saya bayar bil di kaunter.

I pay the bill at the counter.

Breakdown of Saya bayar bil di kaunter.

• saya: I
• di: at
• kaunter: the counter
• bil: the bill
• bayar: to pay

Questions & Answers about Saya bayar bil di kaunter.

Is it okay to use the bare verb bayar, or should it be membayar?

Both are correct. bayar is very common in everyday speech and neutral in tone. membayar (with the meN- prefix) sounds more formal and is frequent in writing, signage, and official contexts.

• Casual: Saya sudah bayar bil di kaunter.
• Formal: Saya telah membayar bil di kaunter. After auxiliaries, both can work, with formality shifting accordingly:
• nak/mahu/ingin/hendak bayar vs hendak membayar
• boleh bayar vs boleh membayar (the first is more natural in speech)

How do I show past, present, or future time? Malay verbs don’t change form.

Use time/aspect markers or time words:

• Past/already: sudah or telah (formal) — Saya sudah/telah bayar bil di kaunter.
• In progress: sedang — Saya sedang bayar bil di kaunter.
• Future: akan — Saya akan bayar bil di kaunter.
• Time words: tadi/semalam (earlier/yesterday), nanti/esok (later/tomorrow) — e.g., Saya bayar bil di kaunter tadi.

Can I drop the subject Saya?

Yes, in casual speech when context is clear: Bayar bil di kaunter. However, for learners and in formal writing, keep Saya to avoid ambiguity.

What’s the difference between saya, aku, awak, and Anda?

• saya: polite/neutral “I,” safe in most situations.
• aku: intimate/informal, used with close friends/family; avoid with strangers.
• awak: “you,” casual; fine with peers; can sound too familiar with elders/strangers.
• Anda: formal/polite “you,” common in customer-facing language and writing; less in everyday face-to-face conversation. Regional/other forms exist (e.g., kamu, gua), but the above are the core ones to master first.

Does bil mean any kind of “bill”? Does it also mean “banknote”?

bil is a charge/invoice/check (utilities, restaurant, hospital). It does not mean a banknote.

• Banknote: wang kertas/duit kertas
• Receipt: resit
• Invoice (another term, esp. formal): invois Examples: bil elektrik, bil air, minta bil (di restoran).

Do I need a classifier or plural marker with bil?

Usually no. Malay often leaves number implicit.

• Plural by context: Saya bayar bil di kaunter can mean “bill(s).”
• To be explicit: tiga bil, beberapa bil, semua bil.
• Reduplication (bil-bil) is grammatical but uncommon; use quantifiers instead. For the physical piece of paper you can say sekeping bil, but everyday speech just uses bil.

How do I say “pay someone” vs “pay for someone”?

• Pay someone (they are the recipient): bayar dia / more formal bayar kepada dia or bayar kepada juruwang (pay the cashier).
• Pay for someone (on their behalf): bayar untuk dia.
• Benefactive verb: membayarkan — e.g., Saya membayarkan bil dia = I paid his/her bill (for him/her).

Why is it di kaunter and not ke kaunter or pada kaunter?

• di = at/in (location, static): bayar di kaunter.
• ke = to/towards (movement): pergi ke kaunter (go to the counter).
• pada is not used for physical location here; it’s used with time or recipients: pada hari Isnin, bayar pada juruwang (pay to the cashier). For location, stick with di.

Can I move parts of the sentence for emphasis?

Yes, Malay word order is flexible:

• Location fronted: Di kaunter, saya bayar bil.
• Object fronted (common in speech): Bil itu saya bayar di kaunter.
• Neutral: Saya bayar bil itu di kaunter.

How do I make a passive sentence?

Two common options:

• di- passive: Bil itu dibayar di kaunter (oleh saya).
• “Short passive” (object + active verb + agent): Bil itu saya bayar di kaunter. Note: di as a preposition (location) is written separately (di kaunter), but the passive prefix di- attaches to the verb (dibayar).

How do I negate the sentence?

• Simple negation: Saya tidak bayar bil di kaunter. (colloquial: Saya tak bayar…)
• More formal with the meN- form: Saya tidak membayar bil di kaunter.
• Not yet: Saya belum bayar bil di kaunter.
• Negating the location: Saya bayar bil bukan di kaunter (tetapi dalam talian).

How do I turn it into a yes/no question?

Several ways:

• Intonation only (speech): Awak bayar bil di kaunter?
• Colloquial particle ke: Awak dah bayar bil di kaunter ke?
• Formal: Adakah anda sudah membayar bil di kaunter?

How do I say “Please pay the bill at the counter”?

• Polite/instructional (signage, staff to customers): Sila bayar bil di kaunter.
• Requesting help (peer to peer): Tolong bayar bil di kaunter.

What’s the difference between bayar, bayaran, pembayaran, and pembayar?

• bayar: verb “to pay”
• bayaran: a payment/fee/charge (the thing paid) — e.g., kaunter bayaran, bayaran masuk
• pembayaran: the act/process/transaction of paying (more formal) — kaunter pembayaran
• pembayar: payer

Is kaunter the only word I need here? How do I be more specific?

You can specify the type:

• di kaunter bayaran/kaunter pembayaran (payment counter)
• di kaunter bank (bank counter)
• di kaunter pos (post-office counter) To mention the person: juruwang (cashier) — e.g., bayar kepada juruwang.

Where do ini/itu (this/that) go?

• After the noun: bil itu, kaunter ini
• Full sentence examples:
  • Saya bayar bil itu di kaunter ini.
  • Saya bayar bil ini di kaunter itu.

How would I contrast paying at the counter with paying online?

Use (secara) dalam talian for “online”:

• Saya lebih suka bayar bil secara dalam talian daripada di kaunter.
• Bayaran boleh dibuat di kaunter atau secara dalam talian.

Any quick pronunciation tips for the words here?

• saya: SA-yah (two syllables)
• bayar: BA-yar (the r is tapped)
• bil: “beel” with a short i (like “bill”)
• kaunter: KOWN-ter (au like “ow” in “cow”)