Pada waktu pagi, saya buka langsir dan lihat langit biru.

In the morning, I open the curtain and see the blue sky.

Breakdown of Pada waktu pagi, saya buka langsir dan lihat langit biru.

• saya: I
• dan: and
• buka: to open
• pada: in
• waktu pagi: the morning
• lihat: to see
• langit: the sky
• biru: blue
• langsir: the curtain

Questions & Answers about Pada waktu pagi, saya buka langsir dan lihat langit biru.

What does pada waktu pagi literally mean, and can I shorten it?

Literally, pada waktu pagi is:

• pada = at / on (used for time)
• waktu = time
• pagi = morning

So it’s like saying at the time (of) morning → in the morning.

Common variations:

• pada waktu pagi – neutral, clear, a bit more complete
• pada pagi – also correct and common, just a little shorter
• waktu pagi – usually okay in context, often used in speech
• pagi-pagi – colloquial, feels like early in the morning / very morning-ish

All of these can work, but pada waktu pagi is perfectly standard and clear.

Why is pada used here and not di? Aren’t both “at / in”?

Malay usually prefers:

• pada for time (days, dates, time expressions)
• di for place / location

Examples:

• pada waktu pagi = in the morning
• pada hari Isnin = on Monday
• pada pukul 8 = at 8 o’clock

But:

• di rumah = at home
• di sekolah = at school

So pada waktu pagi (not di waktu pagi) follows this time vs place pattern.

Is the word order fixed? Could I say Saya buka langsir pada waktu pagi dan lihat langit biru?

You can move the time phrase. All of these are grammatical:

1. Pada waktu pagi, saya buka langsir dan lihat langit biru.
2. Saya buka langsir dan lihat langit biru pada waktu pagi.
3. Saya, pada waktu pagi, buka langsir dan lihat langit biru. (less common in speech, more written/emphatic)

Malay is fairly flexible with time expressions. Usually, time can appear:

• at the beginning (for emphasis on time), or
• at the end (very common in conversation).

Your version in (2) is natural.

Why is it buka and not membuka? Is buka informal?

Malay verbs often have:

• a base form: buka
• a meN- form: membuka

Both can mean to open.

Differences:

• buka

  • very common in everyday speech
  • simple, neutral, not necessarily “slang”
  • often used after a subject: saya buka, dia buka

• membuka

  • more formal / written
  • used more in formal writing, news, or to sound a bit more careful

In your sentence, saya buka langsir sounds natural and conversational.
You could say saya membuka langsir, which sounds a bit more formal or written, but still correct.

What exactly does langsir mean? Are there other words for “curtains”?

Langsir means curtains (the fabric hanging over windows).

Other words you may see:

• tirai – also means curtain, but can be:
  • cloth curtains
  • bead curtains
  • or even a metaphorical curtain (like “curtain of night”)
• gordeng / gordyn / gordeng – colloquial / borrowed forms (from English curtain or Dutch gordijn), more common in some regions and informal speech.

For standard Malay in Malaysia, langsir is very common and perfectly natural for regular home curtains.

Why is it just saya buka langsir, not saya membuka langsir itu to mean “the curtains”?

In Malay, definiteness (the vs a) is often understood from context and doesn’t need an article.

• langsir = curtain(s) / the curtain(s), depending on context
• langsir itu = that curtain / those curtains (more specific)

If the situation is clear (e.g., it’s your room and there is one set of curtains), saya buka langsir is enough to mean I open the curtains.

You only add itu (that) or ini (this) when you really need to specify:

• Saya buka langsir itu. = I open that curtain (or those curtains).
• Saya buka langsir bilik tidur. = I open the bedroom curtains.

Why is it lihat and not melihat? Are they different?

Again, this is a base verb vs meN- form:

• lihat = see / look
• melihat = to see / to look at (more formal)

In practice:

• lihat is very common in speech:
  • Saya lihat langit biru.
• melihat is common in:
  • writing, news reports, formal speech:
    • Kami melihat peningkatan dalam jualan.

In your sentence, saya … lihat langit biru is natural, everyday Malay.
Saya … melihat langit biru is also correct, just a bit more formal or careful.

Why is saya not repeated before lihat? Is that normal?

Yes, it is normal. Malay often uses one subject for multiple verbs in a row if the subject doesn’t change.

Your sentence:

• saya buka langsir dan lihat langit biru

is understood as:

• saya buka langsir dan (saya) lihat langit biru
  = I open the curtains and (I) see the blue sky.

Repeating saya is possible but less natural here:

• Pada waktu pagi, saya buka langsir dan saya lihat langit biru.

That’s grammatically correct but sounds a bit heavier and more “written”.
In everyday speech, we usually drop the second saya if it’s obvious.

How do I know if this means “I open” or “I opened”? There’s no tense marking.

Malay verbs do not change form for tense. Buka and lihat themselves do not tell you past, present, or future. Tense comes from context or time words.

Your sentence, as given, could mean:

• In the morning, I open the curtains and see the blue sky. (habit / general)
• This morning, I opened the curtains and saw the blue sky. (if the context is clearly past)

If you want to be explicit:

• Pagi tadi, saya buka langsir dan lihat langit biru.
  = This morning, I opened the curtains and saw the blue sky.

• Setiap pagi, saya buka langsir dan lihat langit biru.
  = Every morning, I open the curtains and see the blue sky.

• Esok pagi, saya akan buka langsir dan lihat langit biru.
  = Tomorrow morning, I will open the curtains and see the blue sky.

So tense is largely about added time expressions and context, not verb endings.

Do I need yang in langit biru? Should it be langit yang biru?

Both exist, but they’re used differently.

• langit biru

  • basic noun + adjective = blue sky
  • simple description

• langit yang biru

  • literally: the sky that is blue
  • used when you are specifying or emphasizing the sky as “the one that is blue” (e.g., contrasting with something else)

In your sentence, you’re just describing what you see, so langit biru is natural and correct.

Examples:

• Saya nampak langit biru. = I see the blue sky.
• Saya suka langit yang biru, bukan yang kelabu.
  = I like the sky that is blue, not the one that is grey.

Could I use something other than dan between the verbs? For example, to mean “then”?

Yes. dan simply means and. If you want the sense of then / and then, you can use:

• lalu – and then / then
• kemudian – then / afterwards
• selepas itu – after that

Examples:

• Pada waktu pagi, saya buka langsir lalu lihat langit biru.
  = In the morning, I open the curtains and then see the blue sky.

• Pada waktu pagi, saya buka langsir, kemudian lihat langit biru.
  = In the morning, I open the curtains, then see the blue sky.

Your original with dan is perfectly fine as a simple sequence of two actions.