Breakdown of Saya guna pena biru di atas kertas putih untuk menulis nota.
Questions & Answers about Saya guna pena biru di atas kertas putih untuk menulis nota.
In Malay, adjectives normally come after the noun they describe.
pena biru = blue pen
- pena = pen (noun)
- biru = blue (adjective)
kertas putih = white paper
- kertas = paper (noun)
- putih = white (adjective)
Saying biru pena or putih kertas is not natural Malay for “blue pen” / “white paper”. The usual order is:
[noun] + [adjective]
pena biru, kertas putih, baju baru, rumah besar, etc.
All three are related to the idea of using something, but they differ in formality and structure:
guna – base verb, common and neutral in everyday speech
- Saya guna pena biru. = I use / am using a blue pen.
menggunakan – more formal, often in writing or polite speech
- Saya menggunakan pena biru. = I use a blue pen.
This sounds more formal/complete, especially in official contexts.
- Saya menggunakan pena biru. = I use a blue pen.
gunakan – verb with the suffix -kan, often used in commands or when an object is clearly expressed
- Gunakan pena biru ini. = Use this blue pen.
In ordinary spoken Malay, Saya guna ... is completely acceptable. In a school essay or formal document, Saya menggunakan ... would be preferred.
Yes, you can, and it is perfectly correct.
- Saya guna ... – neutral / everyday, slightly less formal.
- Saya menggunakan ... – more formal and “textbook-like”.
Both are grammatically correct. The choice is about style and register, not correctness.
Both mean I, but they differ in formality and social distance:
Saya
- Polite, neutral.
- Used with strangers, in formal situations, with older people, in writing.
- Safe default pronoun for learners.
Aku
- Informal and intimate.
- Used with close friends, siblings, sometimes in poetry/songs.
- Can sound rude if used with someone you should be polite to.
So:
- Saya guna pena biru... – neutral/polite.
- Aku guna pena biru... – okay with close friends, but not in formal contexts.
As a learner, stick to Saya unless you’re sure Aku is appropriate.
di atas literally means on / on top of.
- di = at / in / on (preposition)
- atas = on top (surface, upper side, above)
In this sentence:
- di atas kertas putih = on the white paper (on its surface)
Alternatives:
di kertas putih
Grammatically possible, but less natural here. It can sound like “at the white paper” rather than clearly “on the surface of the paper”.atas kertas putih
Common in more casual speech; di is sometimes dropped in conversation:- Pena biru atas kertas putih.
Standard written Malay prefers di atas. For correct, neutral Malay, di atas kertas putih is the best choice.
tulis is the base verb “write”, and menulis is the meN- form.
tulis – base form, widely used, especially after certain auxiliary words:
- nak tulis (want to write)
- boleh tulis (can write)
menulis – more formal/standard, especially when:
- used after untuk in writing: untuk menulis
- used as a plain verb: Saya menulis nota.
The pattern in careful Malay is often:
untuk + meN-verb
e.g. untuk menulis, untuk membaca, untuk memakan (usually untuk makan in practice), etc.
untuk tulis nota is understandable and will be heard in speech, but untuk menulis nota is the more standard, textbook form.
untuk means for or to (as in in order to).
In this sentence, it introduces the purpose of using the pen:
- ... guna pena biru ... untuk menulis nota.
= uses a blue pen in order to write notes / for writing notes.
Structure:
[main action] ... untuk + [purpose]
Saya pergi ke perpustakaan untuk belajar.
I go to the library to study.
Malay usually does not change the noun form for plural. nota can mean:
- a note
- notes
- some notes
Context decides whether it’s singular or plural. If you really want to emphasize plural, you can:
- Use reduplication: nota-nota (notes, various notes)
- Add a number or quantifier: beberapa nota (several notes), dua nota (two notes)
In your sentence, nota naturally reads as “notes” in English, because that fits the context.
Malay verbs don’t change form for tense. guna is the same for past, present, and future.
The time is usually shown by context or by time words:
tadi (earlier), semalam (yesterday) – past
- Tadi saya guna pena biru. = I used a blue pen (earlier).
sekarang (now), sedang (in the middle of doing) – present
- Sekarang saya sedang guna pena biru. = I am using a blue pen now.
nanti, esok, akan (will) – future
- Esok saya akan guna pena biru. = I will use a blue pen tomorrow.
Without any time marker, your sentence can usually be translated as present in English because that’s the most neutral choice in isolation.
All of these exist, with regional and style differences:
pena
- Standard, somewhat more formal/literary.
- Common in textbooks and official writing.
pen
- Very common in everyday speech, especially in Malaysia.
- Many people say pen instead of pena.
pulpen (pulpen / bolpoin)
- More common in Indonesian usage for “ballpoint pen”.
In Malaysian Malay, you will hear:
- Saya guna pen biru. (very natural)
- Saya guna pena biru. (also correct, a bit more formal-sounding)
Your sentence is fully correct with pena, and you can safely use pen in everyday conversation.
Yes, that word order is also correct. Malay allows some flexibility in placing prepositional and purpose phrases.
Two natural options:
Saya guna pena biru di atas kertas putih untuk menulis nota.
- Focus slightly on the location where the pen is used (on white paper), then the purpose.
Saya guna pena biru untuk menulis nota di atas kertas putih.
- Focus slightly on the purpose first (to write notes), then specify that the notes are on white paper.
Both are grammatical. The difference is subtle and mainly about information flow, not correctness.
Yes, in certain contexts.
In Malay:
- The subject pronoun is often dropped when it’s obvious from context, especially in:
- Instructions
- Notes to yourself
- Informal conversation
For example, in a list of instructions:
- Guna pena biru di atas kertas putih untuk menulis nota.
= (You should) use a blue pen on white paper to write notes.
However, if you’re making a full sentence in isolation or in formal writing, it’s better to keep Saya:
- Saya guna pena biru di atas kertas putih untuk menulis nota.