Learn Hardcore Malay: Dia tanya soalan itu sekali lagi.

Dia is gender‑neutral and can mean either “he” or “she.” If you need to show respect (e.g., for an esteemed elder, teacher, official), Malay often uses beliau. Indonesian also has ia as a more formal/literary subject pronoun.

Can I drop dia? Will the sentence still make sense?

Often, yes—in context. Malay frequently omits subjects when they’re understood. But be careful: Tanya soalan itu sekali lagi. can be read as an imperative (“Ask that question again”). If you want to avoid ambiguity, keep dia in neutral narration.

Is tanya soalan redundant, like saying “ask a question” twice?

It’s a common collocation in Malaysian Malay and widely acceptable. Prescriptively, some prefer:

Dia bertanya sekali lagi. (intransitive, no object)
Dia mengemukakan/mengajukan soalan itu sekali lagi. (more formal) In Indonesian, avoid tanya pertanyaan; prefer Dia bertanya lagi. or Dia mengajukan pertanyaan itu sekali lagi.

What’s the difference among tanya, bertanya, menanyakan, mengajukan, and menyoal?

tanya: root verb “ask”; very common and neutral; often with a direct object (e.g., tanya soalan).
bertanya: intransitive “to ask (a question)”; can take the addressee with kepada/pada.
menanyakan: “to ask about [something]”; more common in Indonesian; in Malay it’s understood but less needed if you can use tanya/bertanya.
mengajukan / mengemukakan: “to put forward/pose” (formal), good with soalan/pertanyaan.
menyoal: “to question/interrogate”; used in exams, interviews, police contexts.

Why is it soalan itu, not itu soalan?

Malay normally places demonstratives after the noun: soalan itu = “that question/ the mentioned question.” itu soalan means “that is a question” (a full clause), not “that question.”

What does itu add here? Could I omit it?

Itu makes the noun specific/anaphoric (“that/the previously mentioned”). Without itu, soalan is generic/indefinite (“a question”). If you mean a specific, already-known question, keep itu. Formal anaphoric alternative: soalan tersebut.

What’s the nuance difference between sekali lagi and lagi?

sekali lagi: “once more/one more time” (exactly one additional time).
lagi: “again,” “more,” or “still,” depending on context. Dia tanya lagi = “He asked again” (not necessarily only once). Malaysian colloquial also uses lagi sekali for “once more”; Indonesian typically sticks to sekali lagi.

Where can I place sekali lagi in the sentence?

Common placements:

Dia tanya soalan itu sekali lagi. (most neutral)
Dia tanya sekali lagi soalan itu. (also fine)
Dia sekali lagi menanyakan/mengemukakan soalan itu. (more formal/emphatic) Avoid over-splitting the phrase; keep sekali lagi together.

How do I show past, present, or future? The verb doesn’t change.

Malay is tenseless; use particles/time words:

Past: Dia sudah/telah tanya… or add a time adverb (e.g., semalam).
Progressive: Dia sedang bertanya…
Future: Dia akan tanya… Context often suffices without markers.

How do I say who someone asked?

Use kepada/pada for the addressee:

Dia bertanya kepada/pada guru itu.
With tanya: Dia tanya soalan itu kepada/pada guru itu. Malaysian colloquial may use kat/katakan? (Use kat as “to/at”: Dia tanya kat cikgu.) Indonesian colloquial often uses sama: Dia tanya sama guru itu.

Is there a politeness or register difference between tanya and bertanya?

Both are polite. tanya is very common and neutral in speech. bertanya can feel a bit more formal or “bookish,” and is handy when you don’t want to specify an object (Dia bertanya sekali lagi).

How do I pronounce tanya and soalan?

tanya: the ny = [ɲ], like Spanish ñ in “señor” (TA-ɲa).
soalan: syllabified so.a.lan (the o and a are separate vowels), stress typically near the penultimate: so‑A‑lan.

How do I say “not … again” or “no longer”?

Not again (simple negation): Dia tidak tanya lagi. / Dia tidak akan tanya lagi.
Colloquial Malay: Dia tak tanya dah.
More formal “no longer”: Dia tidak lagi bertanya.

How do I talk about the number of times?

once = sekali
twice = dua kali
many times = berkali-kali
“two more times” = dua kali lagi
“once more” = sekali lagi / lagi sekali (the latter is Malaysian colloquial)

Is this sentence equally natural in Indonesian?

Indonesian would usually avoid tanya pertanyaan. More natural options:

Dia bertanya lagi.
Dia mengajukan pertanyaan itu sekali lagi.
Dia menanyakan hal itu sekali lagi. The original Dia tanya soalan itu sekali lagi is idiomatic Malaysian Malay.