Learn Hardcore Malay: Kenapa dia masih malas pada waktu pagi? - Why is he/she still lazy in the morning?

Kenapa – more common in everyday conversation, casual, very frequent in spoken Malay (and in Indonesian).
Mengapa – more formal or neutral, often used in writing, textbooks, news, speeches, and exams.

In a normal spoken sentence like Kenapa dia masih malas pada waktu pagi?, kenapa sounds natural and conversational. If you were writing a formal essay or exam answer, you might prefer:

Mengapa dia masih malas pada waktu pagi?

How is the word order for this question formed? Is it just a statement plus kenapa?

Yes. The structure is essentially:

[Question word] + [Subject] + [Other parts of the sentence]

So:

Statement: Dia masih malas pada waktu pagi. – He/She is still lazy in the morning.
Question: Kenapa dia masih malas pada waktu pagi? – Why is he/she still lazy in the morning?

Malay does not:

add a helping verb like do/does/is
change the order of subject and verb like English (Why is he…?, Why does he…?)

You just add the question word (kenapa, apa, di mana, etc.) at the beginning and use rising intonation in speech, plus a question mark in writing.

What exactly does masih do here? Where does it usually go in a sentence?

Masih means still (as in continuing, not yet changed).

Placement: it normally comes before a verb or adjective:

Dia masih malas. – He/She is still lazy.
Dia masih tidur. – He/She is still sleeping.
Mereka masih belajar. – They are still studying.

In this sentence:

masih malas = still lazy, implying that:
- the laziness has been going on for some time, and
- the speaker expected it to stop or improve, but it hasn’t.

Without masih, the meaning becomes more neutral:

Kenapa dia malas pada waktu pagi? – Why is he/she lazy in the morning? (no idea of change or expectation)
Kenapa dia masih malas pada waktu pagi? – Why is he/she *still lazy in the morning?* (implies “After all this time?”)

What is malas grammatically? Where is the equivalent of English “is”?

Malas is an adjective meaning lazy (or sometimes unwilling / not in the mood to do something).

Malay usually does not use a separate verb like to be (is/are/am) before adjectives. The adjective itself functions as the predicate:

Dia malas. – He/She is lazy.
Dia rajin. – He/She is diligent/hard‑working.
Mereka letih. – They are tired.

There is no word like is in:

Kenapa dia masih malas pada waktu pagi?
Literally: Why he/she still lazy at (time) morning?
Natural English: Why is he/she still lazy in the morning?

You generally do not insert adalah before an adjective:

❌ Dia adalah malas. (unnatural/wrong)
✅ Dia malas.

Does dia mean he or she? How do I know the gender?

Dia can mean he, she, or they (one person, gender unspecified). Malay third‑person singular pronouns are not gendered.

So Dia malas can be:

He is lazy
She is lazy

The gender is understood from context (who you’re talking about) or from names/titles in the wider conversation.

Other related pronouns:

beliau – formal/respectful he/she (for respected people, teachers, officials, etc.)
mereka – they (plural)

What does pada waktu pagi literally mean, and is it the same as in the morning?

Yes, pada waktu pagi translates as in the morning, but literally it is:

pada – at / on (a general preposition for time)
waktu – time
pagi – morning

So literally: at (the) time (of) morning.

In natural English we just say in the morning.

Some alternative, very common ways to say in the morning:

waktu pagi – morning time
pada pagi hari – on the morning (a bit more formal/literary)
pagi‑pagi – early in the morning / in the morning (colloquial)

All of these can work with small differences in tone or emphasis:

Kenapa dia masih malas waktu pagi? (informal)
Kenapa dia masih malas pada pagi hari? (slightly more formal)

Why is pada used here instead of di? Can I say di waktu pagi or just pagi?

Both pada and di can appear with time expressions, but:

pada is the more standard and safe choice for time (days, dates, parts of the day, etc.):
- pada waktu pagi, pada hari Isnin, pada pukul 8.00
di is primarily for locations (in, at, on a place):
- di rumah, di sekolah, di Kuala Lumpur
  But in informal speech, people often use di with some time words too:
- di pagi hari, di waktu malam (colloquial, quite common in Indonesian; also heard in Malay)

You will also hear shortened or simpler versions:

Kenapa dia masih malas pagi‑pagi? (very colloquial, Why is he/she still lazy in the morning/early morning?)
Kenapa dia masih malas waktu pagi? (informal; drops pada)

For clear, standard Malay (e.g. for exams), pada waktu pagi is ideal.

How is tense expressed here? Does this sentence mean “is”, “was”, or “will be” lazy?

Malay does not mark tense with verb changes like English (is/was/will be). The bare form can refer to present, past, or future; time is understood from context or from time words.

Kenapa dia masih malas pada waktu pagi? could mean:

Why is he/she still lazy in the morning? (habit / present)
Why was he/she still lazy in the morning? (if the surrounding context is past)
Why will he/she still be lazy in the morning? (less common, but possible from context)

To make the time explicit, you add time expressions:

Kenapa dia masih malas tadi pagi? – Why was he/she still lazy this morning?
Kenapa dia masih malas setiap pagi? – Why is he/she still lazy every morning?
Kenapa dia masih malas esok pagi? – Why will he/she still be lazy tomorrow morning?

Is calling someone malas rude? How could I say this more politely?

Malas literally means lazy, and it can sound quite direct or harsh, depending on tone and context—especially if said to the person’s face.

More tactful or softer ways to express a similar idea:

Kenapa dia susah bangun pagi? – Why does he/she find it hard to get up in the morning?
Kenapa dia kurang bersemangat pada waktu pagi? – Why is he/she less energetic in the morning?
Kenapa dia kurang aktif pada waktu pagi? – Why is he/she not very active in the morning?

To soften the tone further, Malay speakers sometimes add particles like ya or agaknya:

Kenapa dia masih malas pada waktu pagi ya? – softens the question, sounds less confrontational.
Kenapa agaknya dia susah bangun pagi? – I wonder why he/she finds it hard to get up in the morning?

Can I drop dia and just say Kenapa masih malas pada waktu pagi?

Yes, you can drop dia if the subject is already clear from context.

Kenapa masih malas pada waktu pagi?
– Why still lazy in the morning? (understood as Why are you/he/she still lazy in the morning?)

This is common in casual conversation when everyone already knows who you are talking about. However:

In writing, or when you need clarity, it’s better to keep dia.
If there’s any chance of confusion about who is lazy, use dia (or a name, or another pronoun).

How would I say “Why is he/she no longer lazy in the morning?” using the same pattern?

To say no longer / not anymore, you can use tidak lagi or tidak … lagi.

Two natural versions:

Kenapa dia tidak lagi malas pada waktu pagi?
Kenapa dia tidak malas lagi pada waktu pagi?

Both mean roughly:

Why is he/she no longer lazy in the morning?
Why isn’t he/she lazy in the morning anymore?

Patterns to note:

tidak lagi + adjective/verb:
- Dia tidak lagi malas. – He/She is no longer lazy.
tidak + adjective/verb + lagi:
- Dia tidak malas lagi. – He/She is not lazy anymore.

Both are widely understood and natural.