Breakdown of Masuk lewat ke mesyuarat tidak dibenarkan.
Questions & Answers about Masuk lewat ke mesyuarat tidak dibenarkan.
Literally:
- Masuk – enter / entering
- lewat – late
- ke – to / into
- mesyuarat – meeting
- tidak – not
- dibenarkan – allowed / permitted (passive form)
So the rough literal structure is:
Entering late to the meeting is not allowed.
Malay often omits the subject when it is obvious from context, especially in:
- rules
- signs
- instructions
- notices
Here, the sentence is giving a general rule, so the subject is understood as:
- Anda (you, formal/polite), or
- Orang (people, everyone), or
- Sesiapa (anyone)
You could make the subject explicit:
- Anda tidak dibenarkan masuk lewat ke mesyuarat.
– You are not allowed to enter the meeting late.
But it is completely natural and common in Malay to leave it out in this kind of rule.
Grammatically, masuk is a verb meaning to enter, but at the start of this sentence it functions like an action noun / gerund in English (entering).
Malay often uses the base verb at the beginning of a sentence to talk about an action in general, for example:
- Merokok tidak dibenarkan. – Smoking is not allowed.
- Makan dalam kelas tidak dibenarkan. – Eating in class is not allowed.
Similarly:
- Masuk lewat ke mesyuarat tidak dibenarkan.
→ Late entry to the meeting is not allowed / Entering late to the meeting is not allowed.
So it’s a verb in form, but used in a noun‑like way.
Lewat means late, and here it describes the manner of entering: to enter late.
You can think of it as:
- adverbial: describing how the entering happens (enter late)
- or like an adjective attached to the action: late entry
Common patterns:
- Datang lewat – to come late
- Sampai lewat – to arrive late
- Masuk lewat – to enter late
So in masuk lewat, lewat modifies the verb masuk.
- ke = to / towards / into (movement)
- di = at / in / on (location, no movement)
In this sentence, the focus is on the act of entering the meeting, so movement is involved:
- Masuk lewat ke mesyuarat
– literally: entering late to the meeting
If you used di mesyuarat, it would sound more like being at the meeting late (already there), not the act of coming in. For example:
- Datang lewat di mesyuarat – coming late at the meeting (less natural; you’d more likely say Datang lewat ke mesyuarat).
So ke fits because we’re talking about going into the meeting.
Tidak dibenarkan is:
- tidak – not
- dibenarkan – is/are allowed; passive verb formed from benarkan (to allow, to permit)
dibenarkan = di- (passive prefix) + benar (true/allowed) + -kan (causative suffix)
So tidak dibenarkan literally means: is not allowed / is not permitted.
This passive structure is very common in formal statements, rules and notices because it:
- sounds neutral and impersonal
- focuses on the action, not on who forbids it
There is an implied agent: (oleh pihak penganjur / by the organizers), but it is omitted.
Yes, that word order is also grammatical and natural:
- Masuk lewat ke mesyuarat tidak dibenarkan.
- Tidak dibenarkan masuk lewat ke mesyuarat.
Both can be used. The difference is mainly emphasis:
- Masuk lewat ke mesyuarat tidak dibenarkan.
– Emphasis feels more on the activity of late entry. - Tidak dibenarkan masuk lewat ke mesyuarat.
– Emphasis feels more on the prohibition (“Not allowed to enter late…”).
In signs and written rules, both patterns are common.
Both can translate as not allowed / prohibited, but the nuance differs.
tidak dibenarkan
- literally: not allowed / not permitted
- feels slightly more neutral, formal, bureaucratic
- suggests “this is against the rules / not permitted”
dilarang
- literally: forbidden / prohibited
- stronger, more direct and absolute
- often used on warning signs
Compare:
- Masuk lewat ke mesyuarat tidak dibenarkan.
– Late entry to the meeting is not allowed. - Masuk lewat ke mesyuarat dilarang.
– Late entry to the meeting is forbidden. (sounds stricter)
Both are correct; choice depends on tone.
The sentence is formal–neutral, suitable for:
- official notices
- workplace rules
- school/university guidelines
- written announcements
You would expect to see it:
- on a notice outside a meeting room
- in an email with meeting instructions
- in event rules and regulations
It is not slangy or casual; it sounds appropriate in professional and formal settings.
Yes, signs often use more compact wording, for example:
- Dilarang masuk lewat. – No late entry.
- Masuk lewat tidak dibenarkan. – Late entry is not allowed.
- Tiada masuk lewat. – No late entry. (very concise, informal‑ish)
If the context is obvious (e.g. a sign on a meeting room door), you can drop ke mesyuarat because “to the meeting” is understood.
One natural way:
- Masuk lewat ke mesyuarat dibenarkan dengan kebenaran terlebih dahulu.
Breakdown:
- Masuk lewat ke mesyuarat – late entry to the meeting
- dibenarkan – is allowed
- dengan kebenaran – with permission
- terlebih dahulu – beforehand / in advance
You could also shorten it a bit:
- Masuk lewat ke mesyuarat hanya dibenarkan dengan kebenaran.
– Late entry to the meeting is only allowed with permission.
By default, mesyuarat is singular: a meeting.
However, in rules and signs, a singular noun often carries a generic meaning:
- Masuk lewat ke mesyuarat tidak dibenarkan.
→ For this meeting (or for meetings under these rules), late entry is not allowed.
If you want to make it clearly general and plural, you could say:
- Masuk lewat ke mana-mana mesyuarat tidak dibenarkan.
– Late entry to any meeting is not allowed.
Masuk mesyuarat lewat tidak dibenarkan is understandable but sounds less natural.
The more idiomatic patterns are:
- Masuk lewat ke mesyuarat tidak dibenarkan.
- Masuk lewat ke dalam mesyuarat tidak dibenarkan. (slightly more explicit)
Reasons:
- ke mesyuarat clearly marks the destination of the movement (enter to the meeting).
- Placing lewat right after masuk (masuk lewat) is the usual word order for “enter late”.
So it’s better to keep masuk lewat ke mesyuarat.