Breakdown of Saya suka belajar tentang alam di perpustakaan.
Questions & Answers about Saya suka belajar tentang alam di perpustakaan.
Saya means I / me. It is the standard, neutral, and polite first‑person pronoun in Malay.
Saya – polite, neutral; you can use it in almost any situation: with teachers, strangers, at work, in writing.
- Example: Saya suka belajar tentang alam di perpustakaan.
Aku – informal; used with close friends, family, or people of the same age in casual contexts.
- Example: Aku suka belajar tentang alam di perpustakaan.
The meaning is the same (I like learning about nature at the library), but aku sounds more intimate or casual, while saya is safer and more polite.
In this sentence, suka most naturally corresponds to like.
- Saya suka belajar... → I like to study / I like studying...
Nuance:
- suka = like, enjoy, be fond of (neutral).
- For stronger emotion like love, Malay often uses sayang or cinta, depending on context:
- Saya sayang keluarga saya. – I love my family.
- Saya cinta negara saya. – I love my country.
So Saya suka belajar tentang alam di perpustakaan is more like I enjoy / I like learning about nature at the library, not I love... in a very strong emotional sense.
Belajar basically covers both to learn and to study, depending on context.
- Saya belajar bahasa Melayu. – I learn / I study Malay.
- Dia belajar setiap malam. – He/She studies every night.
In Saya suka belajar..., belajar works like to learn / to study.
Malay does not need a separate word like English to before verbs. After verbs like suka (like), mahu (want), boleh (can), perlu (need), you usually put the next verb directly:
- Saya suka belajar. – I like to study / I like studying.
- Saya mahu makan. – I want to eat.
- Saya boleh berenang. – I can swim.
So you do not say suka untuk belajar here in normal Malay; suka belajar is the natural form.
Tentang means about / regarding. It introduces the topic you are learning about.
- belajar tentang alam = learn/study about nature
In standard, natural Malay, you should not say:
- ✗ Saya suka belajar alam.
That sounds ungrammatical or very strange, because belajar on its own usually does not take a direct object like that.
To avoid tentang, you would change the verb:
- Saya suka mempelajari alam.
Here mempelajari (from pelajar) is a transitive verb that can take a direct object. Both are correct but have different structure:
- Saya suka belajar tentang alam. – I like to learn about nature.
- Saya suka mempelajari alam. – I like to study nature.
For learners, belajar tentang X is very common and safe.
In this sentence, alam means nature, as in the natural world: plants, animals, environment.
Common meanings of alam:
- nature / the natural world
- alam semula jadi – nature (literally: natural nature)
- world / realm / sphere
- alam kanak-kanak – the world of children
- alam pekerjaan – the working world
- universe in some phrases
- alam semesta – the universe
So belajar tentang alam = learn about nature, not about a specific physical planet or country. Context will tell you which meaning of alam is intended; here it’s clearly the natural environment.
Di is a general location preposition. Depending on context, you can translate it as in, at, or sometimes on.
- di perpustakaan – in the library / at the library
- di rumah – at home / in the house
- di sekolah – at school
- di atas meja – on the table
Malay does not separate in vs at as strictly as English. Di perpustakaan can naturally be translated as:
- at the library (place where you go to study), or
- in the library (inside the building).
Both are acceptable translations depending on how you phrase the English sentence.
Yes, you can change the order of the two phrases (tentang alam and di perpustakaan), and the basic meaning stays the same:
- Saya suka belajar tentang alam di perpustakaan.
- Saya suka belajar di perpustakaan tentang alam.
Both mean you like to learn about nature at/in the library.
Nuance:
Saya suka belajar tentang alam di perpustakaan.
Feels like: the main thing is learning about nature, and this happens at the library.Saya suka belajar di perpustakaan tentang alam.
Slightly emphasises studying at the library, and what you study there is nature.
In everyday speech, the first one (...tentang alam di perpustakaan) is more common and flows more naturally.
Malay verbs, including suka and belajar, usually do not change form for tense. Instead, you add time words or particles.
From your base sentence:
- Saya suka belajar tentang alam di perpustakaan.
→ I like / I like to study / I like studying...
To talk about the past:
- Dulu saya suka belajar tentang alam di perpustakaan.
– I used to like studying about nature at the library. - Semasa kecil, saya suka belajar tentang alam di perpustakaan.
– When I was young, I liked studying about nature at the library.
To talk about the future:
- Saya akan suka belajar tentang alam di perpustakaan. – literally, I will like...
(This is grammatically correct but not very natural in many contexts.)
Usually, for future, you talk about the activity, not the emotion:
- Saya akan belajar tentang alam di perpustakaan.
– I will study / I am going to study about nature at the library.
So: keep suka in the same form, and use time words like dulu (used to), semalam (yesterday), esok (tomorrow), akan (will) to show tense.
The sentence is neutral and polite, and it is totally fine to say it to a teacher or in a classroom.
- Saya – polite/neutral pronoun
- suka belajar – neutral vocabulary
- tentang alam – academic / topic-like
- di perpustakaan – neutral place
This could appear in:
- school or university settings
- simple written compositions
- polite conversation
If you change saya to aku, it becomes more informal and is usually for friends or family:
- Aku suka belajar tentang alam di perpustakaan. – casual.
Yes, in context, Malay often drops pronouns when the subject is already clear from the situation.
So you might hear:
- Suka belajar tentang alam di perpustakaan.
If everyone already knows you are talking about yourself, this can be understood as I like learning about nature at the library.
However, for learners and in clear, complete sentences (especially in writing), it is better to keep the pronoun:
- Saya suka belajar tentang alam di perpustakaan.
Dropping saya is common in casual speech, but can be ambiguous if the context is not clear.
You can modify perpustakaan with extra words, just like in English.
Some examples:
di perpustakaan sekolah – at the school library
Saya suka belajar tentang alam di perpustakaan sekolah.di perpustakaan universiti – at the university library
Saya suka belajar tentang alam di perpustakaan universiti.di perpustakaan itu – at that library
Saya suka belajar tentang alam di perpustakaan itu.di perpustakaan awam – at the public library
Saya suka belajar tentang alam di perpustakaan awam.
The pattern is:
- di + [type of place] + [extra detail]
Just add the extra information after perpustakaan.
Common frequency adverbs in Malay include:
- selalu – always
- sering / kerap – often
- kadang-kadang – sometimes
- jarang – rarely
You usually place them after the subject and before the verb phrase:
- Saya sering suka belajar tentang alam di perpustakaan.
– I often like to study about nature at the library.
More natural is to modify the studying, not the liking:
- Saya suka belajar tentang alam di perpustakaan dengan kerap. – I like to study about nature at the library frequently.
- Saya sering belajar tentang alam di perpustakaan. – I often study about nature at the library.
That last sentence is probably the most natural way to express the idea that you often do this activity.