Learn Hardcore Malay: Adik saya benci sayur pahit, tetapi dia cuba makan juga. - My younger sibling hates bitter vegetables, but he/she tries to eat them anyway.

In the sentence “Adik saya benci sayur pahit…”, adik saya simply means “my younger sibling”, and the context would tell you if it’s a brother or sister.

Why is it “Adik saya” and not “saya adik” for “my younger sibling”?

Malay usually puts the thing owned before the owner. So:

adik saya = my younger sibling (literally: “sibling younger I”)
rumah saya = my house
buku saya = my book

“saya adik” would not mean “my sibling” and is ungrammatical in this context.
The pattern is:
[noun] + [possessor pronoun] → adik saya, kawan saya, kereta saya.

Why is there no “is” or “does” in “Adik saya benci…”?

Malay doesn’t use a verb like “to be” (is, am, are) in the same way English does. After a subject, Malay can go straight into the verb or adjective:

Adik saya benci sayur pahit.
= My younger sibling hates bitter vegetables.

There is no need to say “Adik saya adalah benci…”. In fact, that would be wrong.
So you just use:

subject + verb/adjective
- Dia lapar. = He/She is hungry.
- Mereka letih. = They are tired.
- Adik saya benci sayur pahit. = My younger sibling hates bitter vegetables.

How do we know if the sentence is present, past, or future? There’s no tense ending on benci or cuba.

Malay verbs do not change form for tense. Benci can mean hate / hated / will hate depending on context.

“Adik saya benci sayur pahit, tetapi dia cuba makan juga.”

On its own normally means present (because that’s the default reading):

My younger sibling hates bitter vegetables, but he/she tries to eat them anyway.

If you want to be clear about time, you add time words:

tadi (a while ago), semalam (yesterday) → past
- Tadi adik saya benci sayur pahit…
akan, nanti, esok → future
- Esok adik saya akan cuba makan juga. = Tomorrow my younger sibling will try to eat them too.

The verb itself stays the same: benci, cuba, makan.

What does “sayur pahit” literally mean, and why is the adjective after the noun?

Sayur = vegetable(s)
Pahit = bitter

So sayur pahit literally is “vegetable bitter”, but in English we say “bitter vegetables”.

In Malay, adjectives usually come after the noun:

rumah besar = big house
baju baru = new shirt
air sejuk = cold water
sayur pahit = bitter vegetables

Saying “pahit sayur” is not correct for “bitter vegetables”. The normal pattern is noun + adjective.

Does “sayur pahit” mean “a bitter vegetable” or “bitter vegetables”?

It can mean either, depending on context. Malay usually doesn’t mark singular/plural on nouns.

sayur pahit can mean:
- a bitter vegetable
- the bitter vegetable
- bitter vegetables

If you really need to show plural, you can add words like:

banyak sayur pahit = many bitter vegetables
semua sayur pahit = all (the) bitter vegetables

But in most cases, sayur pahit alone is enough, and the listener understands from context.

What is the difference between “tetapi” and “tapi”? Can I use “tapi” here instead?

Both tetapi and tapi mean “but / however”.

tetapi – more formal or neutral
tapi – more informal / conversational

Your sentence:

Adik saya benci sayur pahit, tetapi dia cuba makan juga. – correct, a bit more formal/neutral.
Adik saya benci sayur pahit, tapi dia cuba makan juga. – also correct, more casual speech.

In daily conversation, tapi is very common. In writing or formal speech, tetapi is often preferred.

What does “dia” mean here? How do I know if it’s “he” or “she”?

Dia means “he” or “she”—Malay doesn’t mark gender in third person singular pronouns.

dia = he / she
mereka = they

In “tetapi dia cuba makan juga”, dia refers back to adik saya, but you can’t tell from the word alone whether it’s a boy or a girl. If you really need to be explicit, you’d say something like:

adik lelaki saya… dia… – my younger brother… he…
adik perempuan saya… dia… – my younger sister… she…

But normally, you just use dia and rely on context.

Why is it “cuba makan” with two verbs together? Should there be a word like “to”, e.g. “cuba untuk makan”?

In Malay, it’s very normal to have one verb followed directly by another verb without “to”:

cuba makan = try (to) eat
mahu pergi = want (to) go
boleh buat = can do

So:

dia cuba makan = he/she tries to eat

“Cuba untuk makan” is understandable and not wrong, but it can sound a bit more formal or heavy in simple sentences. In everyday speech and normal writing, “cuba makan” is more natural.

What exactly does “juga” mean in “dia cuba makan juga”? Can I just say “dia cuba makan”?

Juga most often means “also / too / as well / still / anyway”, depending on context.

In “dia cuba makan juga”, it has the nuance of “nonetheless / anyway / even so”:

“he/she tries to eat (it) anyway”
“he/she still tries to eat (it)”

If you remove juga:

Dia cuba makan.
= He/She tries to eat.

The basic meaning is still there, but you lose that “despite hating it, they still make the effort” feeling. Juga connects it more strongly to the first clause (“even though he/she hates it…”).

Where else can “juga” go in the sentence, and does the meaning change?

You can move juga around a bit, and the nuance shifts slightly:

Dia juga cuba makan.
- dia juga = he/she also (as well as someone else) tries to eat.
- Implies comparison to another person who is trying.
Dia cuba juga makan.
- Emphasis on the trying part: he/she still/does actually make the attempt.
- Slight nuance of “at least he/she tries”.
Dia cuba makan juga. (your original)
- Common and natural: “he/she still/anyway tries to eat (it)” in spite of the hate.

All are grammatical, but context decides which feels most natural. The original is very good for “he/she hates it, but still tries to eat it anyway.”

Is there any difference between “benci sayur pahit” and “benci akan/dengan sayur pahit”?

You might see or hear:

benci sayur pahit
benci akan sayur pahit
benci dengan sayur pahit

All are understandable. Differences:

benci sayur pahit – very common, simple, and completely natural.
benci akan – more formal or literary; used more in formal writing.
benci dengan – can be heard in speech, but with benci, many speakers just omit the preposition.

In everyday usage, “benci sayur pahit” (without akan/dengan) is the most straightforward and natural.

What is the basic word order pattern in this sentence?

The sentence follows standard Malay S–V–O (Subject–Verb–Object) word order:

Adik saya – Subject (my younger sibling)
benci – Verb (hates)
sayur pahit – Object (bitter vegetables)

Second clause:

dia – Subject
cuba – Verb 1 (tries)
makan – Verb 2 (eat) acting as the complement of cuba
juga – adverb/particle (also / still / anyway)

So, structurally:

[Subject] + [Verb] + [Object]
[Subject] + [Verb] + [Verb] + [particle]