Learn Hardcore Malay: Di kampus, perpustakaan biasanya senyap walaupun di luar bising. - At the campus, the library is usually silent even though it is noisy outside.

Malay normally needs di before a place word if you mean at/in that place.
You can’t say kampus alone to mean at campus; you need di kampus.

Could I say di kampus perpustakaan biasanya senyap without the comma, or is the comma important?

You can write it with or without the comma:

Di kampus, perpustakaan biasanya senyap…
Di kampus perpustakaan biasanya senyap…

The meaning is the same. The comma just makes the pause clearer in writing, like in English:

On campus, the library is usually quiet…

Spoken Malay would naturally have a small pause there, but grammatically, the comma is optional.

Why is there no word for “is” before senyap and bising?

Malay usually omits a verb like to be (am/is/are) before adjectives and nouns. So:

Perpustakaan biasanya senyap
literally: Library usually quiet
= The library is usually quiet.
…walaupun di luar bising
literally: …although outside noisy
= …although it is noisy outside.

You could add adalah in some formal sentences, but not here. With adjectives like senyap and bising, Malay sounds most natural without any “to be” verb.

What exactly does walaupun mean, and where can I use it?

Walaupun means although / even though. It introduces a contrast clause:

Perpustakaan biasanya senyap walaupun di luar bising.
= The library is usually quiet although it is noisy outside.

You can place it:

In the middle, like in this sentence:
- Saya pergi jogging walaupun hujan.
  I go jogging although it’s raining.
At the beginning, followed by a comma:
- Walaupun hujan, saya pergi jogging.
  Although it’s raining, I go jogging.

Synonyms: walau and meskipun are very close in meaning and are often interchangeable in everyday use.

Is walaupun one word or two? I sometimes see walau pun.

In modern standard Malay, the preferred spelling here is one word: walaupun.

You may see walau pun in older texts or casual writing, but walaupun is the normal, dictionary form meaning although / even though in this kind of sentence.

What is the nuance of biasanya here?

Biasanya means usually / generally / as a rule.

So:

Perpustakaan biasanya senyap
= The library is usually quiet (not necessarily always, but most of the time).

Without biasanya, it would sound more like a general, always-true statement:

Perpustakaan senyap = The library is (always) quiet.

The usual position for biasanya is before the adjective or verb it modifies:

Perpustakaan biasanya senyap.
Saya biasanya bangun awal. – I usually wake up early.

Could I say Perpustakaan di kampus biasanya senyap… instead of starting with Di kampus?

Yes, you can. Both are correct:

Di kampus, perpustakaan biasanya senyap…
– Focuses first on location (“On campus…”).
Perpustakaan di kampus biasanya senyap…
– Focuses first on the library, then adds its location (“The library on campus…”).

The meaning is effectively the same; it’s just a shift in emphasis, similar to English.

What’s the difference between senyap, sunyi, and diam?

All relate to quietness, but they’re used a bit differently:

senyap – quiet / silent (about an environment or situation)
- Perpustakaan senyap. – The library is quiet.
sunyi – quiet/lonely, often with a sense of emptiness or isolation
- Kampung itu sangat sunyi. – That village is very quiet/deserted.
diam – silent, not speaking / to stay silent
- Dia diam saja. – He/She just kept quiet.
- Diam! – Be quiet!

In your sentence, senyap is most natural because we’re talking about the library being a quiet place.

Why is there no word for “it” in walaupun di luar bising?

Malay usually drops subject pronouns like it, they when they’re clear from context.

…walaupun di luar bising.
literally: …although outside noisy.
We understand from context that “it” (the outside environment) is noisy.

You could say walaupun di luar itu bising, but itu isn’t necessary and would slightly emphasize “that outside area”. The natural everyday version is the shorter one without it.

Could I say walaupun di luar itu bising or walaupun di luar sangat bising?

Yes, both are grammatical, with slightly different nuances:

walaupun di luar itu bising
– although that outside (area) is noisy
Adds a little emphasis to “that outside there”.
walaupun di luar sangat bising
– although it is very noisy outside
Adds sangat = very to intensify bising.

The basic structure is the same; you’re just adding detail.

Why don’t we say ada before bising, like di luar ada bising?

Because bising is an adjective (noisy), not a noun. You don’t normally use ada before adjectives.

Correct: di luar bising = outside (is) noisy
Incorrect/naturalness issue: di luar ada bising
would sound like there is noisy (thing) outside, which is not how Malay expresses this idea.

Use ada mainly before nouns to mean there is/are:

Di luar ada orang. – There is someone outside.

Is kampus a Malay word or just the English loanword campus?

Kampus is a loanword from English campus, but it is fully accepted and common in Malay. It’s spelled with k to follow Malay spelling rules.

You can use it just like in English:

Saya tinggal di kampus. – I live on campus.
Di kampus, perpustakaan biasanya senyap… – On campus, the library is usually quiet…

If I want to say “The campus library is usually quiet…”, is Perpustakaan kampus biasanya senyap… correct?

Yes, Perpustakaan kampus biasanya senyap walaupun di luar bising is correct, and it sounds like “The campus library is usually quiet although it’s noisy outside.”

Perpustakaan kampus = the campus library (library belonging to the campus)
Perpustakaan di kampus = the library on campus (location focus)

Both are natural, with a very small nuance difference; in everyday conversation they’re usually interchangeable.