Yang paling sukar hari ini adalah fokus ketika saya lapar.

The hardest thing today is to focus when I am hungry.

Breakdown of Yang paling sukar hari ini adalah fokus ketika saya lapar.

• saya: I
• adalah: to be
• ketika: when
• hari ini: today
• paling: most
• lapar: hungry
• sukar: difficult
• fokus: to focus
• yang: that which

Questions & Answers about Yang paling sukar hari ini adalah fokus ketika saya lapar.

In the sentence Yang paling sukar hari ini adalah fokus ketika saya lapar, what is the function of yang? Is it like that/which in English?

Yang is a marker that turns what follows into a descriptive clause, and it often works like that/which/who or the one that in English.

In this sentence:

• paling sukar hari ini = the most difficult today
• yang paling sukar hari ini ≈ the thing that is most difficult today / what is most difficult today

You can imagine a hidden noun such as perkara (thing):

• Perkara yang paling sukar hari ini adalah…
  → The thing that is most difficult today is…

Malay can drop that generic noun and just keep yang, so Yang paling sukar hari ini… is still a full subject: What is most difficult today…

What exactly does paling sukar mean, and how is it formed?

• sukar = difficult, hard
• paling = most (superlative marker)

So paling sukar literally means most difficult, i.e. the hardest.

Pattern:

• paling + adjective
  
  • paling besar = biggest
  • paling penting = most important
  • paling menarik = most interesting

Here, paling sukar = hardest / most difficult.

Can I use susah instead of sukar here? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can say:

• Yang paling susah hari ini adalah fokus ketika saya lapar.

Differences:

• sukar

  • More formal or neutral.
  • Common in writing, news, and careful speech.

• susah

  • Very common in everyday conversation.
  • Can also mean troublesome / problematic / unfortunate, not just difficult.

In this sentence both sound natural. Using sukar makes it sound slightly more formal; susah sounds more casual.

Why is hari ini placed after paling sukar and before adalah? Could I move it to another position?

Hari ini is an adverbial phrase (today), and Malay allows some flexibility with its position.

Original:

• Yang paling sukar hari ini adalah fokus ketika saya lapar.
  → Emphasis: Among the things today, the hardest is focusing when I’m hungry.

Other possible word orders (all grammatical):

1. Yang paling sukar adalah fokus ketika saya lapar hari ini.

   • Now hari ini is closer to fokus ketika saya lapar, so it can be heard as focusing when I’m hungry today.

2. Hari ini, yang paling sukar adalah fokus ketika saya lapar.

   • Puts hari ini at the front for emphasis on today.

The original placement makes it clear that the hardest thing today (in general) is focusing when hungry. Moving hari ini can slightly shift what you are emphasizing, but the basic meaning stays similar.

What is the role of adalah, and can I leave it out?

Adalah works like a linking verb (is/are) between two parts of a sentence, usually when both sides are noun-like or phrase-like:

• A adalah B → A is B

In the sentence:

• Yang paling sukar hari ini = subject
• fokus ketika saya lapar = complement
• adalah links them.

Can you omit it?

• In careful, standard style, adalah helps the sentence feel complete and clear.

• In more relaxed or spoken Malay, you can drop it if you adjust the rhythm/punctuation, for example:

  • Yang paling sukar hari ini, fokus ketika saya lapar.
    (Spoken style, with a pause.)

Simply removing adalah and keeping everything else the same:

• ✗ Yang paling sukar hari ini fokus ketika saya lapar.

sounds a bit off in formal writing. It may occur in speech, but the version with adalah is the safest and most natural for learners.

Can I use ialah instead of adalah here? What is the difference?

Both ialah and adalah are linking words similar to is/are, and many native speakers interchange them in everyday use.

Traditional school rule:

• ialah – used when the complement is a noun phrase.
• adalah – used when the complement is an adjective phrase or a more complex explanation.

In this sentence, fokus ketika saya lapar can be understood as a noun-like phrase (focusing when I’m hungry), so:

• Yang paling sukar hari ini ialah fokus ketika saya lapar.
• Yang paling sukar hari ini adalah fokus ketika saya lapar.

Both are commonly heard. As a learner, you won’t go wrong using adalah here, and you will see both forms in real-life texts.

Is fokus here a verb (to focus) or a noun (focus)? Should it be berfokus?

Malay often does not strictly separate noun and verb forms. The bare word can act as either, depending on context.

Here:

• fokus is functioning like to focus / focusing in English.
• You do not need ber- in this sentence.

About berfokus:

• berfokus usually means to be focused / to have a focus, often followed by pada:

  • Projek ini berfokus pada pendidikan.
    = This project is focused on education.

• In your sentence, Yang paling sukar hari ini adalah fokus ketika saya lapar, the simple fokus is perfectly natural and what native speakers commonly say.

Could I say menumpukan perhatian instead of fokus? Does that sound more natural?

Yes, you can. Menumpukan perhatian literally means to focus attention / to concentrate.

So you could say:

• Yang paling sukar hari ini adalah menumpukan perhatian ketika saya lapar.

Nuance:

• fokus – short, modern, very common in speech and informal writing.
• menumpukan perhatian – more descriptive and slightly more formal; often used in essays, exams, or careful speech.

Both are correct; fokus is simpler and very natural.

What does ketika mean exactly? Can I replace it with apabila, bila, or semasa?

Ketika is a conjunction meaning when / at the time that, referring to a time period.

In this sentence:

• ketika saya lapar = when I am hungry / at the time I’m hungry

Alternatives:

• apabila saya lapar

  • Also when I am hungry.
  • More formal/standard; common in writing.

• bila saya lapar

  • Also when I am hungry.
  • Very common in conversation; more informal.
  • In some regions, bila can also mean when? as a question word.

• semasa saya lapar

  • Literally during the time I am hungry / while I’m hungry.
  • Very close in meaning to ketika; slightly more like while.

You could replace ketika with apabila or semasa without changing the meaning much:

• …fokus apabila saya lapar.
• …fokus semasa saya lapar.

All are acceptable; ketika and apabila often feel a bit more formal than bila.

Why is there no word for am in saya lapar? Should it be something like saya adalah lapar?

Malay does not use a separate verb like am/is/are before adjectives.

Pattern:

• subject + adjective
  
  • saya lapar = I am hungry
  • dia penat = he/she is tired
  • mereka sibuk = they are busy

Using adalah before a simple adjective is wrong or extremely unnatural:

• ✗ saya adalah lapar
• ✗ dia adalah penat

Adalah/ialah are used to link more complex phrases or noun phrases, not just a bare adjective. So saya lapar is already complete and correct for I am hungry.

Is lapar an adjective or a verb in Malay?

Malay word classes are flexible, and lapar can be seen as a stative adjective/verb meaning hungry / to be hungry, depending on how you compare it with English.

Functionally:

• saya lapar
  
  • You translate it as I am hungry (adjective in English),
  • but in Malay the state of being hungry is just expressed by lapar.

Related forms:

• kelaparan
  
  • Can mean starving / very hungry, or famine / widespread hunger in some contexts.

In everyday grammar, it is enough to remember:

• Just say saya lapar for I am hungry – no am, no extra verb.

Could I say ketika aku lapar instead of ketika saya lapar? What is the difference between saya and aku?

Yes, you can.

• saya

  • Polite, neutral I.
  • Safe with strangers, elders, in formal situations, writing, etc.

• aku

  • Informal I.
  • Used with close friends, family, or in casual contexts.
  • With the wrong person (e.g., someone older or not close), aku may sound rude or overly familiar.

So:

• Yang paling sukar hari ini adalah fokus ketika saya lapar.
  → Neutral/polite.

• Yang paling sukar hari ini adalah fokus ketika aku lapar.
  → More intimate/casual, suitable when talking about yourself to close friends.

Is it also possible to say Fokus ketika saya lapar adalah yang paling sukar hari ini? How does that change the emphasis?

Yes, that sentence is grammatically correct:

• Fokus ketika saya lapar adalah yang paling sukar hari ini.

Difference in emphasis:

• Yang paling sukar hari ini adalah fokus ketika saya lapar.

  • Starts with the hardest thing today, then identifies it as focusing when I’m hungry.
  • Emphasis: the category “hardest thing today”.

• Fokus ketika saya lapar adalah yang paling sukar hari ini.

  • Starts with focusing when I’m hungry, then states that this is the hardest thing today.
  • Emphasis: the activity “focusing when I’m hungry”.

Both are natural; the choice depends on what you want to highlight first.

Why does the sentence start with Yang instead of a clear noun like Perkara yang paling sukar hari ini?

Malay often omits a generic noun like perkara (thing), hal (matter), or benda (thing) when it is obvious from context.

Longer, more explicit version:

• Perkara yang paling sukar hari ini adalah fokus ketika saya lapar.
  = The thing that is most difficult today is focusing when I’m hungry.

Shortened, natural version:

• Yang paling sukar hari ini adalah fokus ketika saya lapar.

Native speakers easily understand that yang paling sukar hari ini is “the thing that is most difficult today” even without the word perkara.

Can I omit hari ini or ketika saya lapar without breaking the grammar?

Yes, both hari ini and ketika saya lapar are optional modifiers.

Examples:

1. Remove hari ini:

   • Yang paling sukar adalah fokus ketika saya lapar.
     → The hardest thing is focusing when I’m hungry.

2. Remove ketika saya lapar:

   • Yang paling sukar hari ini adalah fokus.
     → The hardest thing today is to focus.

3. Remove both:

   • Yang paling sukar adalah fokus.
     → The hardest thing is to focus.

All are grammatically correct; you just lose some detail about when it is hard and in what situation.