Sebelum temu duga, saya mengeluh sekejap kerana saya risau tentang soalan.

Before the interview, I sigh for a moment because I am worried about the questions.

Breakdown of Sebelum temu duga, saya mengeluh sekejap kerana saya risau tentang soalan.

• saya: I
• adalah: to be
• sebelum: before
• soalan: the question
• tentang: about
• kerana: because
• sekejap: for a moment
• mengeluh: to sigh
• temu duga: the interview
• risau: worried

Questions & Answers about Sebelum temu duga, saya mengeluh sekejap kerana saya risau tentang soalan.

Why does the sentence start with Sebelum temu duga and have a comma? Can I also put sebelum in the middle of the sentence?

In Malay, you can put the time clause (the “before/after/when” part) either at the beginning or after the main clause.

• Your sentence:
  • Sebelum temu duga, saya mengeluh sekejap kerana saya risau tentang soalan.
  • Literally: Before the interview, I sighed for a moment because I was worried about the questions.

This is fully correct and natural. The comma separates the introductory time clause from the main clause, just like in English: Before the interview, I…

You can also move it:

• Saya mengeluh sekejap kerana saya risau tentang soalan sebelum temu duga.

This is also correct and means the same thing. The nuance is very slight:

• Starting with Sebelum temu duga puts more focus on when it happened.
• Putting sebelum temu duga later keeps the focus on what you did and why.

What is the difference between temu duga and temuduga? Which one should I use?

Both mean interview (usually a job or formal interview).

• temu duga (with a space)

  • This follows the modern official spelling in Malaysia (Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka).
  • More formal: used in official documents, forms, news.

• temuduga (one word)

  • Older/previous spelling, still very commonly seen and used.
  • Many native speakers write it this way in everyday contexts.

In speech, there is no difference; they sound the same.

For learning and exams, it’s safer to follow the official form: temu duga. But don’t be confused if you see temuduga; it’s very common.

Does mengeluh mean “to complain” or “to sigh”? What kind of feeling does it express?

Mengeluh usually means to sigh in the sense of expressing worry, sadness, or frustration—often non‑verbally or with a short comment.

Typical situations:

• You’re stressed about an exam and let out a long sigh: mengeluh.
• You mutter a short complaint like “Aduh, susahnya…” while exhaling: also mengeluh.

Compare with:

• mengadu – to report/complain to someone (e.g. to your boss, to the authorities).
• merungut – to grumble/complain more verbally, often repeatedly.

In your sentence, saya mengeluh sekejap suggests you let out a brief sigh or small complaint because you were nervous. It’s milder and more internal than full-on complaining.

What is the nuance of sekejap here? How is it different from sebentar, seketika, or sejenak?

All of these mean “for a short while,” but they differ in formality and feel.

• sekejap

  • Very common, everyday, neutral–informal.
  • Fits very well in your sentence.
  • Also used a lot like “just a moment” (e.g. Tunggu sekejap. – “Wait a moment.”)

• sebentar

  • Slightly more formal/polite, but still very common.
  • You could say: Saya mengeluh sebentar… (still natural and correct).

• seketika, sejenak

  • More formal or literary; sound a bit more “written” or poetic.
  • Saya mengeluh seketika / sejenak… is correct, but feels more like written language.

Your original sekejap is a natural choice for everyday speech and neutral writing.

How do I know this sentence is in the past? There is no word like “was” or a past tense marker.

Malay doesn’t change the verb form for tense (past, present, future) the way English does. Mengeluh and risau stay the same.

The time is understood from:

• context (we’re talking about an interview that already took place), and
• time words if needed.

To make it clearly past, you can add time markers:

• Tadi – earlier/just now:
  • Sebelum temu duga tadi, saya mengeluh sekejap…
• Semalam – yesterday:
  • Sebelum temu duga semalam, saya mengeluh sekejap…

To make it clearly future:

• Nanti / esok / akan:
  • Sebelum temu duga nanti, saya mungkin mengeluh sekejap…

But the basic structure doesn’t change; the same sentence can be past or future depending on context.

What is the difference between kerana and sebab? Could I write sebab here instead?

Both mean “because” and can be used similarly.

• kerana

  • Slightly more formal.
  • Common in writing, official speech, school contexts.

• sebab

  • Neutral to informal; extremely common in everyday conversation.
  • Also used as a noun: sebab = “reason”.

Your sentence with sebab:

• Sebelum temu duga, saya mengeluh sekejap sebab saya risau tentang soalan.

This is perfectly correct and sounds a bit more conversational. In writing or exams, kerana is often preferred, but both are accepted.

Why is saya repeated? Can I just say kerana risau tentang soalan without the second saya?

Repeating saya is grammatically fine and quite natural:

• … saya mengeluh sekejap kerana saya risau tentang soalan.

But Malay also often drops the subject when it’s clear from context. So you can definitely say:

• Sebelum temu duga, saya mengeluh sekejap kerana risau tentang soalan.

This is still clear: risau obviously refers to saya.

Nuance:

• With saya repeated: slightly more explicit, a bit more formal or careful.
• Without repeating saya: a bit more fluid and natural in everyday speech.

Both versions are correct.

Is risau an adjective (“worried”) or a verb (“to worry”)? Is saya risau complete on its own?

Risau behaves like an adjective in Malay, but it can also function like “to be worried” in English.

• Saya risau.
  = “I am worried.”

This is a complete and very natural sentence.

You can make it more explicitly “feeling”:

• Saya berasa risau. – “I feel worried.”

But in everyday Malay, Saya risau is more common and simple. In your sentence, kerana saya risau tentang soalan is exactly like “because I was worried about the questions.”

Is tentang the right preposition with risau? Can I say risau akan or risau pasal instead?

All three can appear with risau, but they differ in style:

• risau tentang X

  • Very common and neutral.
  • Good for spoken and written Malay.
  • Your original risau tentang soalan is natural.

• risau akan X

  • A bit more formal or bookish.
  • Often found in more formal writing:
    • Saya risau akan keputusan peperiksaan.

• risau pasal X

  • Informal/colloquial (especially in Malaysia).
  • Common in casual speech:
    • Saya risau pasal soalan-soalan.

For learners, tentang is a safe, neutral choice that works in most situations.

Why is soalan singular? In an interview there are many questions. Should it be soalan-soalan?

Malay doesn’t have to mark plural. A singular noun can mean one or many, depending on context.

• soalan can mean:
  • “a question” or
  • “questions (in general)” depending on context.

If you want to emphasise plurality, you can say:

• soalan-soalan – questions (many)
• semua soalan – all the questions

Examples:

• Saya risau tentang soalan.
  = I was worried about the questions (in general).
• Saya risau tentang soalan-soalan yang bakal ditanya.
  = I was worried about the questions that would be asked.

Your original soalan is already fine and natural; native speakers would understand it as plural here.

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral? How might a more casual spoken version sound?

Your sentence is neutral, suitable for general writing, conversation, or telling a story:

• Sebelum temu duga, saya mengeluh sekejap kerana saya risau tentang soalan.

A more casual Malaysian spoken version might be:

• Sebelum interview tu, saya sempat mengeluh sekejap sebab risau pasal soalan-soalan.

Changes:

• temu duga → interview (English loanword, very common in speech)
• kerana → sebab (more conversational)
• tentang → pasal (informal)
• add tu (that) for a casual feel
• soalan-soalan to emphasise multiple questions (optional)

For learning standard Malay, your original sentence is a good neutral model.

Could I replace mengeluh sekejap with another verb to sound more natural, like tarik nafas panjang or mengadu?

Yes, you can swap mengeluh for other expressions depending on the nuance you want:

• Current:
  • mengeluh sekejap – you sighed/let out a short groan of worry.

Alternative nuances:

• tarik nafas panjang sekejap – “took a deep breath for a moment”

  • Sebelum temu duga, saya tarik nafas panjang sekejap kerana saya risau tentang soalan.
  • Focuses more on calming yourself physically, less on complaining.

• mengadu sekejap – “complained (to someone) for a while”

  • Implies you actually talked to someone about your worries.
  • Would usually need to say to whom:
    • … saya mengadu sekejap kepada kawan saya…

• merungut sekejap – “grumbled a bit”

  • Stronger sense of verbal complaint.

Mengeluh sekejap is a good choice if you want the idea of a brief, stressed sigh rather than a full verbal complaint.