Learn Hardcore Malay: Pada hujung minggu, kami suka baring di sofa dan menonton filem. - On weekends, we like to lie on the sofa and watch movies.

In everyday speech, Malaysians and Indonesians often drop pada, so hujung minggu, kami suka… is also fine in casual conversation. In careful or written Malay, pada is preferred.
Di hujung minggu is possible but less common for time; pada hujung minggu sounds more natural for “on weekends”.

What is the difference between kami and kita? Why is kami used here?

Malay has two words for we:

kami = we (excluding the listener)
- used when the speaker’s group does something without the person being spoken to.
- Example: Kami suka baring di sofa = We (but not you) like to lie on the sofa.
kita = we (including the listener)
- used when the speaker’s group includes the listener.
- Example: Kita suka baring di sofa = We (you and I) like to lie on the sofa.

In the sentence given, kami signals that the habit is about the speaker’s group, not necessarily including the person they’re talking to.

Why is there no word like to before baring and menonton, as in “to lie” and “to watch”?

After verbs of liking/wanting such as suka (like), mahu/nak (want), ingin (wish), Malay normally uses the base form of the next verb without a linking word:

saya suka makan = I like to eat / I like eating
dia mahu pergi = he/she wants to go

So kami suka baring dan menonton filem literally is we like lie and watch films. Malay doesn’t need a separate word like English to or -ing ending here.

Is baring correct, or should it be berbaring? What is the difference?

Both baring and berbaring exist and are widely understood:

baring – very common in everyday Malaysian usage; sounds natural and casual.
berbaring – often regarded as slightly more formal or “complete”, and is very common in textbooks and formal writing.

In many contexts they are interchangeable:

Saya suka baring di sofa.
Saya suka berbaring di sofa.

Both mean I like to lie on the sofa; the nuance difference is minor in modern usage.

Why is it di sofa and not atas sofa or di atas sofa?

di is a general preposition meaning at / in / on, so di sofa can mean “on the sofa” in context.

You can make it more explicit:

atas sofa = on top of the sofa (more literally “on the sofa”)
di atas sofa = at/on top of the sofa

All of these are grammatical.

di sofa is short and very common.
di atas sofa sounds a bit more explicit or careful, especially in writing.

Why do we use menonton for movies, not melihat or tengok?

The verbs differ slightly in meaning and formality:

menonton – standard/neutral verb meaning to watch (a movie, TV, performance).
- menonton filem, menonton televisyen.
tengok – very common colloquial verb (especially in Malaysia) for look/watch.
- tengok filem, tengok TV (spoken language).
melihat – more formal to see / to look at, not specifically for watching shows.
- melihat pemandangan = to look at the scenery.

In a standard sentence about movies, menonton filem is the most textbook‑like and neutral choice.

How do we know that filem here means “movies” (plural) when there is no plural ending?

Malay usually does not change the noun’s form for plural. Number is understood from context:

filem can mean a film, the film, or films/movies.

If you want to make it clearly plural, you have several options:

banyak filem = many films
filem-filem = films (reduplication to show plurality)
beberapa buah filem = several films (using classifier buah)

In everyday speech, plain filem is enough; listeners understand from context that you mean “movies (in general)”.

Is the word order fixed? Can I say Kami suka baring di sofa dan menonton filem pada hujung minggu instead?

Both orders are grammatically correct:

Pada hujung minggu, kami suka…
Kami suka… pada hujung minggu.

Malay frequently places time expressions at the beginning for emphasis and clarity, similar to English “On weekends, we …”. Putting pada hujung minggu at the end is also natural and may feel slightly less emphatic on the time.

Why is there a comma after pada hujung minggu?

The comma separates the introductory time phrase from the main clause:

Pada hujung minggu, kami suka…

In Malay, commas after short fronted adverbials are often optional in informal writing, but they are common in careful writing to make the sentence easier to read. You could also write it without a comma in many everyday contexts.

Does suka here mean that we are doing it right now, or that we do it as a habit?

Suka mainly expresses liking / preference, and by extension a habitual action:

Kami suka baring di sofa dan menonton filem =
We like doing this / This is what we tend to do (on weekends).

It does not mean “we are currently lying” right now.
If you want a present continuous meaning, you would say for example:

Sekarang kami sedang baring di sofa dan menonton filem. = Right now we are lying on the sofa and watching a film.

Could we drop suka and just say Pada hujung minggu, kami baring di sofa dan menonton filem?

You can, but the meaning changes slightly:

kami suka baring… = we like to lie… / we enjoy lying…
kami baring… = we (simply) lie… (a factual description of what we do)

The version without suka sounds more like a plain routine description, while the original sentence also highlights that they enjoy doing it.

Are there more casual or slangy ways to say this sentence in spoken Malaysian Malay?

Yes. In casual Malaysian speech you might hear, for example:

Hujung minggu kami suka baring atas sofa sambil tengok filem.
Weekend kami suka baring atas sofa, tengok wayang.

Notes:

tengok instead of menonton (more colloquial).
atas sofa instead of di sofa (also common).
wayang can colloquially mean “movie” in Malaysia, though literally it’s “show / performance”.

The original sentence is neutral and suitable for textbooks, writing, or polite conversation.