Kalendar di telefon saya penuh dengan tarikh temu duga dan mesyuarat.

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Questions & Answers about Kalendar di telefon saya penuh dengan tarikh temu duga dan mesyuarat.

Why is there no word for “is” in this sentence?

In Malay, adjectives can function directly as the predicate without a separate verb like “to be”.

So:

  • Kalendar di telefon saya penuh dengan tarikh…
    literally: Calendar on my phone full with dates…

Here, penuh (full) is an adjective acting as “is full”.
You do not say:

  • Kalendar di telefon saya adalah penuh… (sounds unnatural in everyday speech)

Adalah is only used in more formal or specific structures, usually to link a noun to a noun/phrase, e.g.:

  • Tujuan mesyuarat ini adalah untuk membincangkan bajet.
    The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the budget.

But with adjectives like penuh, besar, cantik, sibuk, you normally just use them directly after the subject.


Why does saya come after telefon instead of before, like in English?

Malay usually puts possessive pronouns after the noun:

  • telefon saya = my phone
  • kalendar saya = my calendar
  • rumah saya = my house

So telefon saya literally means “phone my”, which is how possession is normally expressed.

Alternative (more colloquial / informal):

  • saya punya telefon = my phone (literally I own phone)

But in standard, neutral Malay, the pattern is:

[thing] + [owner]
telefon saya, kereta dia, buku mereka, etc.


What exactly does “kalendar di telefon saya” mean? Is it “my phone’s calendar” or “the calendar in my phone”?

Kalendar di telefon saya literally means “the calendar on/in my phone”.

Nuance:

  • kalendar di telefon saya
    – focuses on location: the calendar that is in/on my phone (the phone’s calendar app)
  • kalendar telefon saya
    – focuses more on possession: my phone’s calendar

In practical terms, for this context, both are understood as “my phone calendar”.
Kalendar di telefon saya just makes the idea of “on my phone” more explicit.


Why is the preposition di used in “di telefon saya”? Could I use dalam or pada instead?

Di is the default preposition for a physical or general location:

  • di rumah – at home
  • di pejabat – at the office
  • di telefon saya – on my phone

Alternatives:

  • dalam telefon saya: literally inside my phone
    – Sometimes used metaphorically for digital content, but di telefon is more natural for “on my phone” in this sentence.

  • pada telefon saya: grammatically possible but sounds more formal/technical and is less common in everyday speech for this meaning.
    Pada is more typical for:

    • time: pada hari Isnin (on Monday)
    • abstract location: pada masa itu (at that time)

So the most neutral, natural choice here is di telefon saya.


What does the structure “penuh dengan” mean? Why do we need dengan?

Penuh = full (adjective).
The phrase penuh dengan X means “full of X”.

  • penuh dengan tarikh temu duga dan mesyuarat
    = full of interview dates and meetings

Why dengan?

  • dengan here works like “with/of”, linking what something is full of.
  • Without dengan, the meaning can sound incomplete or change:

    • kalendar itu penuhthe calendar is full (full, but we don’t say with what)
    • kalendar itu penuh dengan mesyuaratthe calendar is full of meetings

You might see penuh tarikh in some contexts, but the standard, clear pattern for “full of X” is penuh dengan X.


Is penuh an adjective or a verb here?

Penuh is an adjective meaning full.

In Malay, adjectives can function like verbs in the sense that they can form the whole predicate:

  • Kalendar itu penuh.The calendar is full.
  • Bilik ini kosong.This room is empty.
  • Jadual saya sibuk.My schedule is busy.

No separate verb like “is” is required. So penuh is still an adjective, just doing the job that “is full” does in English.


In “tarikh temu duga dan mesyuarat”, is tarikh plural? How do plurals work here?

Malay normally does not mark plural with an ending like English -s. A single word can mean singular or plural depending on context.

  • tarikh = date / dates
  • temu duga = interview / interviews
  • mesyuarat = meeting / meetings

In this sentence:

  • penuh dengan tarikh temu duga dan mesyuarat
    → We naturally understand: full of interview dates and meetings (plural), because a calendar being penuh logically implies more than one.

If you want to make the plural idea clearer or stronger, you can:

  • Add a quantity word:

    • banyak tarikh temu duga – many interview dates
    • berbagai-bagai mesyuarat – various meetings
  • Or reduplicate (less common here, more for emphasis):

    • tarikh-tarikh penting – important dates

Does “tarikh temu duga dan mesyuarat” mean “interview dates and also meetings” or “dates of interviews and dates of meetings”?

By default, Malay speakers will usually understand:

“dates of interviews and dates of meetings”

That is, tarikh applies to both temu duga and mesyuarat:

  • tarikh temu duga dan mesyuarat
    interview dates and meeting dates

If you want to be extra clear, you can say:

  • penuh dengan tarikh temu duga dan tarikh mesyuarat
    – very explicit, but slightly repetitive.

If you only meant “interviews and meetings” (not focusing on dates), you’d typically say:

  • penuh dengan temu duga dan mesyuarat
    full of interviews and meetings (no tarikh).

Why is “temu duga” sometimes written as one word (temuduga) and sometimes as two?

Both temu duga and temuduga are seen in real usage.

  • temu duga: historically reflects two parts:

    • temu – to meet
    • duga – to test / to guess / to try
      → literally a meeting to testinterview
  • temuduga: one-word form that is very common in modern writing, job ads, and everyday usage.

In current practice:

  • In Malaysia, official sources (like Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka) may prefer one form, but both are widely understood.
  • Learners can safely use temuduga or temu duga; meaning is the same.

In your sentence, tarikh temu duga = interview dates (often job interviews, but could be other types too).


What is the difference between temu duga and mesyuarat?

They refer to two different types of events:

  • temu duga / temuduga = interview

    • Often one or several interviewers and one candidate (or a small group)
    • Purpose: to assess someone (for a job, scholarship, admission, etc.)
  • mesyuarat = meeting

    • A group of people discussing and deciding things
    • Could be staff meetings, committee meetings, project meetings, etc.

So tarikh temu duga dan mesyuarat = dates of interviews and meetings – two separate categories.


Could I move “di telefon saya” to the end, like “Kalendar saya penuh dengan tarikh temu duga dan mesyuarat di telefon saya”?

Yes, but the nuance changes slightly.

  1. Kalendar di telefon saya penuh dengan tarikh…

    • Focus: the calendar on my phone (as opposed to some other calendar).
    • di telefon saya clearly modifies kalendar.
  2. Kalendar saya penuh dengan tarikh temu duga dan mesyuarat di telefon saya.

    • Grammatically possible, but di telefon saya can now sound like it modifies mesyuarat (meetings on my phone, e.g. online meetings via phone), or the whole phrase.
    • It’s a bit less clear and a bit more awkward.

If you mean specifically your phone calendar, the original word order is more natural and clearer:

Kalendar di telefon saya penuh dengan tarikh temu duga dan mesyuarat.


How do you pronounce the key words in this sentence?

Approximate English-like pronunciations (Malay stress is usually near-flat, slightly on the second-last syllable):

  • kalendarkah-len-DAR
  • telefonteh-LEH-fon (not TEE-li-fown)
  • penuhpeuh-NUH (short vowels, pe as in pet without the t)
  • tarikhTAH-rikh (the kh is a throaty sound, but many speakers pronounce it like a light k/h)
  • temuTEH-moo
  • dugaDOO-gah
  • mesyuaratme-shu-A-rat
    • syu is like shoo;
    • overall roughly meh-shoo-AH-rat.

You don’t normally reduce vowels as much as in English; each written vowel is clearly pronounced.