Di kelas sejarah, perbincangan kadang-kadang serius, kadang-kadang lucu.

In history class, the discussion is sometimes serious, sometimes funny.

Breakdown of Di kelas sejarah, perbincangan kadang-kadang serius, kadang-kadang lucu.

• adalah: to be
• di: in
• kelas: the class
• sejarah: the history
• lucu: funny
• serius: serious
• perbincangan: the discussion
• kadang-kadang: sometimes

Questions & Answers about Di kelas sejarah, perbincangan kadang-kadang serius, kadang-kadang lucu.

What does di mean in this sentence, and could I use dalam or pada instead?

Di is a preposition meaning in/at a place. Here it marks kelas sejarah (history class) as the location: Di kelas sejarah = In history class.

• Di is the normal, neutral choice for physical locations.
• Dalam also means in/inside, but it emphasizes being inside the interior of something. Dalam kelas can work, but it sounds more like inside the room, and in this context di kelas is more natural.
• Pada is more often used for time, abstract locations, or people (e.g. pada pukul 8 = at 8 o’clock, pada Ali = to Ali). Pada kelas sejarah would sound odd here.

So for this sentence, di is the best and most natural choice.

Why is it kelas sejarah and not sejarah kelas? How does word order work here?

In Malay noun phrases, the main noun usually comes first, and its modifier comes after.

• kelas = class
• sejarah = history

So kelas sejarah literally means class [of] history, i.e. history class.
If you said sejarah kelas, it would mean something like the history of the class, which is a different meaning.

This pattern is very common:

• buku sejarah = history book
• guru bahasa = language teacher
• pelajar universiti = university student

What exactly does perbincangan mean? Is it a verb, a noun, or something else?

Perbincangan is a noun meaning discussion / discussions.

It comes from the root verb bincang (to discuss), with the noun-forming prefix and suffix:

• bincang = to discuss
• per‑bincang‑an = discussion, the act or process of discussing

The per‑…‑an pattern often turns a verb or root into a noun that refers to the action or event:

• ajar → pelajaran (to teach → lesson)
• bual → perbualan (to chat → conversation)

So perbincangan here is the topic/ongoing activity in the history class: the discussions.

Does perbincangan mean one discussion or many discussions? How do I know the number?

Malay usually does not mark singular vs plural on the noun itself. Perbincangan can mean:

• a discussion
• the discussion
• discussions

The exact meaning comes from context. In this sentence, the English equivalent the discussions or discussion in general both fit.

If you really want to emphasize plurality, you can add extra words:

• banyak perbincangan = many discussions
• beberapa perbincangan = several discussions

But in normal speech, just perbincangan is enough, and context does the rest.

There is no word for are in the sentence. How can perbincangan kadang-kadang serius mean the discussions are sometimes serious?

Malay often does not use a verb like “to be” (am/is/are) when linking a subject to an adjective or a noun. The structure:

• perbincangan kadang-kadang serius

is literally:

• perbincangan = the discussion(s)
• kadang-kadang = sometimes
• serius = serious

In Malay, you can just put them together, and serius functions as the predicate (like is serious in English). There is no need for a separate is/are.

You could insert adalah in some formal or written contexts, but perbincangan adalah kadang-kadang serius would sound unnatural for this sentence. The simple version without adalah is the normal, natural pattern.

Why is kadang-kadang written with a hyphen and repeated? Is it different from kadang?

Kadang-kadang is formed by reduplication (repeating a word), which is very common in Malay.

• kadang on its own is rarely used in modern Malay.
• kadang-kadang is the standard word meaning sometimes.

The hyphen simply shows that this is a reduplicated form. In many adverbs of frequency or manner, the reduplicated form is the normal one:

• perlahan-lahan = slowly
• kerap-kerap (less common) = often

So you should learn kadang-kadang as the normal word for sometimes, not kadang by itself.

Why is kadang-kadang repeated twice in the sentence? Can I just say it once?

The sentence has:

• perbincangan kadang-kadang serius, kadang-kadang lucu.

Kadang-kadang is repeated to show two separate possibilities:

• sometimes serious
• sometimes funny

This repetition sounds natural and balanced, similar to English expressions like sometimes X, sometimes Y.

You could say:

• perbincangan kadang-kadang serius dan lucu.

but that sounds more like the discussions are sometimes both serious and funny at the same time, which is a slightly different nuance. Repeating kadang-kadang emphasizes the contrast between the two states: at some times serious, at other times funny.

Is serius just a borrowed word from English serious? Is its usage exactly the same?

Yes, serius is a loanword from English serious, adapted to Malay spelling and pronunciation.

Usage is very similar:

• perbincangan serius = serious discussion
• dia sangat serius = he/she is very serious

Pronunciation: serius in Malay is usually [se-ri-us] (three syllables), not exactly like the English “seer-ee-əs”, but close enough that you can remember it easily.

Register: serius is fine in both informal and formal contexts. There is also a more native/older word bersungguh-sungguh (earnest, serious), but serius is extremely common and natural.

What does lucu mean exactly? Is it “funny”, “cute”, or “silly”?

Lucu mainly means funny / amusing, as in making people laugh.

• cerita lucu = a funny story
• dia sangat lucu = he/she is very funny

Depending on context, lucu can also carry a sense of adorably funny or cute in a funny way, especially when talking about children or animals. But its core meaning in this sentence is simply funny / humorous, contrasting with serius.

Why is there a comma after Di kelas sejarah? Could I put di kelas sejarah at the end instead?

The comma marks Di kelas sejarah as an introductory phrase:

• Di kelas sejarah, perbincangan kadang-kadang serius, kadang-kadang lucu.

This is like English In history class, the discussions are sometimes serious, sometimes funny.

You can also put the location at the end:

• Perbincangan kadang-kadang serius, kadang-kadang lucu di kelas sejarah.

This is grammatically acceptable, but it sounds a bit less smooth and can be slightly ambiguous (it might sound like only the funny/serious part happens in history class). Putting Di kelas sejarah first clearly sets the scene before describing the discussions, which is why the original order is more natural.

If I want to say in that history class instead of just in history class, where do I put itu?

In Malay, itu (that/the) usually comes after the noun phrase it modifies.

So:

• kelas sejarah = history class
• kelas sejarah itu = that history class / the history class (previously mentioned, specific)

To match the sentence:

• Di kelas sejarah itu, perbincangan kadang-kadang serius, kadang-kadang lucu.
  = In that history class, the discussions are sometimes serious, sometimes funny.

You generally do not put itu before the noun (itu kelas sejarah is not the usual pattern for “that history class” in standard Malay).

How would I say In my history class, the discussions are sometimes serious, sometimes funny?

You can add a possessive pronoun after kelas sejarah:

• Di kelas sejarah saya, perbincangan kadang-kadang serius, kadang-kadang lucu.
  = In my history class, the discussions are sometimes serious, sometimes funny.

Other examples:

• kelas sejarah kami = our (excluding the listener) history class
• kelas sejarah kita = our (including the listener) history class

The pattern is: kelas + sejarah + [possessive pronoun].