Log inSign up

Kadangkala saya marah apabila internet perlahan.

Kadangkala saya marah apabila internet perlahan.
Sometimes I get angry when the internet is slow.

Breakdown of Kadangkala saya marah apabila internet perlahan.

saya
I
adalah
to be
perlahan
slow
apabila
when
kadangkala
sometimes
internet
the internet
marah
angry
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Malay grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Malay now

Questions & Answers about Kadangkala saya marah apabila internet perlahan.

In the sentence Kadangkala saya marah apabila internet perlahan, what does kadangkala mean, and is it different from kadang-kadang?

Kadangkala means “sometimes”.

It is very close in meaning to kadang-kadang, which also means “sometimes”. The differences are minor:

  • kadang-kadang is more common in everyday speech.
  • kadangkala feels slightly more formal or “written”, but people do use it in speech too.

In most contexts, you can treat kadangkala and kadang-kadang as interchangeable.

Can kadangkala go in other positions in the sentence, like English “I sometimes get angry”?

Yes. The adverb kadangkala is flexible in position. All of these are grammatical:

  1. Kadangkala saya marah apabila internet perlahan.
    – Literally: Sometimes I am angry when the internet is slow.

  2. Saya kadangkala marah apabila internet perlahan.
    – Literally: I sometimes am angry when the internet is slow.

  3. Saya marah kadangkala apabila internet perlahan.
    – Understandable, but less natural; Malaysians prefer kadangkala earlier in the clause.

The most natural are (1) and (2). Putting kadangkala at the beginning or just after saya is generally best.

Does saya marah mean “I get angry” or “I am angry”? How do tenses work here?

Saya marah can mean both “I am angry” and “I get angry”. Malay does not mark tense on the verb the way English does. Instead, context or time words show when something happens.

In your sentence:

  • Kadangkala saya marah apabila internet perlahan.
    → Because of kadangkala (“sometimes”), this describes a habit: I sometimes get angry when the internet is slow.

For tense, Malay typically uses time expressions, for example:

  • Semalam saya marah apabila internet perlahan.
    – Yesterday I was/got angry when the internet was slow.

  • Nanti saya mungkin marah apabila internet perlahan.
    – Later I might get angry when the internet is slow.

So the form marah itself doesn’t change; the time reference comes from other words.

Is it necessary to say menjadi marah or berasa marah, or is marah alone enough?

Marah alone is already natural and complete:

  • Saya marah. – I am angry / I get angry.

You sometimes see:

  • Saya menjadi marah. – I become angry. (emphasises the change into anger)
  • Saya berasa marah. – I feel angry. (more formal/careful style)

In everyday speech, people almost always just say saya marah. You do not need menjadi or berasa for the sentence to be correct.

What is the difference between saya and aku here? Could I say Kadangkala aku marah…?

Both saya and aku mean “I”, but they differ in politeness and formality:

  • saya

    • Polite, neutral, safe with almost everyone.
    • Used in formal situations, with strangers, in writing, in the media, etc.

  • aku

    • Informal, intimate.
    • Used with close friends, siblings, or when both speakers agree to use it.
    • Can sound rude or too casual if used to someone older or higher status who doesn’t use aku with you.

So yes, you can say:

  • Kadangkala aku marah apabila internet perlahan.

But this sounds casual and personal. The original saya version is neutral and widely appropriate.

What does apabila mean, and how is it different from bila or ketika?

Apabila means “when” in a temporal or conditional sense:

  • apabila internet perlahan – when the internet is slow

Comparison:

  • apabila

    • Means “when” (time/condition).
    • Slightly more formal; common in writing and careful speech.

  • bila

    • Also “when”.
    • Very common in everyday spoken Malay; more colloquial.

  • ketika

    • “when/while/at the time when”.
    • Used especially for background time in narratives, often with longer actions:
      • Ketika internet perlahan, saya buat kerja lain.
        – When/while the internet is slow, I do other work.

In your sentence, you could also say:

  • Kadangkala saya marah bila internet perlahan. (more colloquial)
  • Kadangkala saya marah ketika internet perlahan. (OK, but sounds slightly more narrative/formal)
Could I say bila internet lambat instead of apabila internet perlahan? What’s the difference between perlahan and lambat?

Yes, you can say:

  • Kadangkala saya marah bila internet lambat.

This is very natural in everyday conversation.

Difference:

  • perlahan

    • Literally “slow” (in terms of speed or pace).
    • Neutral and works for both physical movement and abstract speed:
      • kereta itu perlahan – the car is slow
      • internet perlahan – the internet is slow

  • lambat

    • Often “slow” in the sense of late, delayed, not fast enough.
    • Also used widely for slow internet:
      • internet lambat – the internet is slow (commonly said)
      • dia lambat – he/she is late

In the context of internet speed, perlahan and lambat are both understood and commonly used. Lambat sounds a bit more colloquial; perlahan feels slightly more neutral/formal.

In internet perlahan, why is there no word like “the” or “my”? How would I say “when my internet is slow”?

Malay usually doesn’t use articles like “the” or “a/an”. Nouns can stand alone without any article:

  • internet perlahan
    – could be understood as the internet is slow or internet is slow depending on context.

To say “my internet”, you add a possessive after the noun:

  • apabila internet saya perlahan – when my internet is slow

Examples:

  • Kadangkala saya marah apabila internet saya perlahan.
    – Sometimes I get angry when my internet is slow.

If you want to be more specific:

  • apabila internet rumah saya perlahan – when the internet at my house is slow.

No separate word for “the” is necessary.

Is internet perlahan a complete clause? There is no verb like “is” — how does that work in Malay?

Yes, internet perlahan is a complete clause in Malay.

Malay often omits a separate “to be” verb (like “is/are”) when linking a noun and an adjective. The structure is:

  • [subject] + [adjective]

So:

  • internet perlahan
    – literally: internet slow → the internet is slow

Other examples:

  • saya marah – I am angry
  • dia penat – he/she is tired
  • makanan itu sedap – that food is delicious

You only see words like ialah or adalah in more specific structures (often linking to a noun phrase, not an adjective) and mainly in formal contexts.

Would it be more natural to say Kadangkala saya rasa marah apabila internet perlahan? What’s the nuance of adding rasa?

You can say both:

  • Kadangkala saya marah apabila internet perlahan.
  • Kadangkala saya rasa marah apabila internet perlahan.

Both are correct, but the nuance differs slightly:

  • saya marah

    • Direct: I am angry / I get angry.
    • Sounds stronger and more straightforward.

  • saya rasa marah

    • Literally: I feel angry.
    • Slightly softer, focusing on the feeling of anger rather than the state itself.

For casual speech, many people just say saya marah. Use saya rasa marah if you want to emphasise the emotion as something you experience, often in more reflective or formal contexts.

Can the subject saya be dropped, like Kadangkala marah apabila internet perlahan?

In colloquial Malay, subjects can sometimes be dropped if they are very clear from context, but in this particular sentence:

  • Kadangkala marah apabila internet perlahan.

sounds incomplete or vague. It feels like “Sometimes (someone) is angry when the internet is slow” without clearly saying who.

For clear and natural Malay, especially as a learner, you should keep the subject:

  • Kadangkala saya marah apabila internet perlahan.

Dropping saya is more acceptable in short replies where the subject has just been mentioned and is obvious, but not in a standalone sentence like this.

Is the style of this sentence formal, informal, or neutral? In what situations could I use it?

The sentence is neutral, leaning slightly towards formal because of kadangkala and apabila:

  • Kadangkala saya marah apabila internet perlahan.

You can use it:

  • In everyday conversation (still sounds natural).
  • In writing (e.g. essays, messages, social media).
  • In semi-formal contexts (talking to a teacher, colleague, etc.).

For more casual speech with friends, many people would naturally say:

  • Kadang-kadang aku marah bila internet lambat.

For very formal writing, the original form is already appropriate.