Saya suka lihat langit biru pada waktu pagi.

I like to look at the blue sky in the morning.

Breakdown of Saya suka lihat langit biru pada waktu pagi.

• saya: I
• suka: to like
• pada: in
• waktu pagi: the morning
• langit: the sky
• biru: blue
• lihat: to look at

Questions & Answers about Saya suka lihat langit biru pada waktu pagi.

What does saya mean, and is it formal or informal? Can I use something else for “I”?

Saya means “I / me” and is neutral and polite, suitable in almost all situations: talking to strangers, in class, at work, etc.

There are other common words for “I”:

• Aku – more informal / intimate, used with close friends, siblings, or sometimes by younger people.
• Beta, patik, etc. – very formal / royal / ceremonial, not used in everyday speech.

In your sentence, Saya suka lihat langit biru pada waktu pagi, saya is the natural, polite choice. Using Aku instead would make it more casual: Aku suka lihat/tengok langit biru pada waktu pagi.

Why is it saya suka lihat and not saya suka untuk melihat or saya suka melihat?

In Malay, after suka (to like), you can:

1. Use a bare verb (no prefix):

   • Saya suka lihat langit biru.
     This is perfectly normal and quite common.

2. Use a meN- verb (with the me- prefix):

   • Saya suka melihat langit biru.
     This sounds a bit more “standard” / bookish but is also completely correct.

3. Not usually use untuk the way English uses “to”:

   • Saya suka untuk melihat… is possible, but it sounds more formal or “written” and is not needed here. Many native speakers would just say suka melihat or suka lihat.

So:

• Everyday speech: Saya suka lihat… or Saya suka tengok…
• More formal/standard: Saya suka melihat…

What is the difference between lihat, tengok, and melihat?

All three are related to “seeing/looking,” but there are differences in style and nuance:

• lihat

  • Basic verb: to see / to look at
  • Neutral, common in both speech and writing.
  • Fits well in your sentence: Saya suka lihat langit biru…

• tengok

  • Very common in casual spoken Malay, especially in Malaysia.
  • Similar meaning to lihat, but sounds more colloquial:
    
    • Saya suka tengok langit biru pada waktu pagi.
  • In informal conversation this might be more natural than lihat.

• melihat

  • The me- form of lihat.
  • Feels a bit more formal / standard, very common in writing, news, essays.
  • Saya suka melihat langit biru… is also correct and sounds more “textbook”.

In short:

• Informal speech: tengok or lihat.
• Neutral: lihat.
• Formal/written: melihat.

Why is it langit biru and not biru langit for “blue sky”?

In Malay, the normal order is “noun + adjective”, opposite of English:

• langit biru = sky blue (literally) → “blue sky”
• rumah besar = “big house”
• buku baru = “new book”

The adjective (biru, besar, baru, etc.) almost always comes after the noun.
Biru langit is not the normal way to say “blue sky”; it would sound odd or poetic at best. Use langit biru.

How do you say “the blue sky” in Malay? Is langit biru definite or indefinite?

Malay does not have articles like “a/an/the”. So langit biru can mean:

• “a blue sky”
• “the blue sky”
• just “blue sky” in general

The context usually tells you whether it’s specific or general.

If you really need to make it clearly “that specific blue sky”, you can add words like:

• itu = “that”
  
  • langit biru itu – “that blue sky / the blue sky (that one)”
• yang
  • itu to emphasize:
    • langit yang biru itu – “that sky which is blue”

But in a simple, general sentence like Saya suka lihat langit biru pada waktu pagi, langit biru is fine and naturally understood as “the blue sky” in English translation.

What does pada mean here, and why not di?

Both pada and di can be translated as “at / on / in”, but they’re used slightly differently:

• di is mainly for physical locations:

  • di rumah – at home
  • di sekolah – at school
  • di langit – in the sky

• pada is often used with time expressions and some abstract things:

  • pada waktu pagi – in the morning
  • pada hari Isnin – on Monday
  • pada tahun 2024 – in 2024
  • pada masa itu – at that time

So in pada waktu pagi, pada is used because we’re talking about time, not a physical place.
If you said di waktu pagi, many people would still understand you, but pada waktu pagi is the more standard/natural form.

What does waktu mean in pada waktu pagi? Can I just say pada pagi?

Waktu literally means “time” or “period”.

• pagi = morning
• waktu pagi = the time/period of morning → “morning time”

In practice:

• pada waktu pagi – very common, slightly more complete/standard-sounding
• pada pagi – also understandable and used, but pada waktu pagi is more typical in careful speech or writing.

You will also hear:

• waktu pagi (without pada):
  
  • Saya suka lihat langit biru waktu pagi.
    (Preposition is just dropped in speech – very common and natural.)

Can I omit pada and just say Saya suka lihat langit biru waktu pagi?

Yes. In everyday spoken Malay, it is very common to drop pada before time expressions:

• Saya suka lihat/tengok langit biru waktu pagi.

This sounds natural and conversational. In more formal writing, you might keep pada:

• Saya suka melihat langit biru pada waktu pagi.

So:

• Informal speech: …waktu pagi
• More formal/standard: …pada waktu pagi

Is there a difference between pagi and pagi-pagi?

Yes:

• pagi = morning (roughly 6–11 a.m.)

  • pada waktu pagi – in the morning

• pagi-pagi = early in the morning / very early morning

  • pagi-pagi emphasises earliness, like “early in the morning” or “first thing in the morning”.

So:

• Saya suka lihat langit biru pada waktu pagi.
  – I like to see the blue sky in the morning. (general)

• Saya suka lihat langit biru pada waktu pagi-pagi.
  – I like to see the blue sky early in the morning. (emphasis on “early”)

You might also hear pagi-pagi buta (very, very early, still dark).

Can I drop saya and just say Suka lihat langit biru pada waktu pagi?

You can, but it depends on context.

Malay often drops pronouns (like saya, dia, mereka) when it’s already clear from context who is doing the action. For example, in a longer conversation:

• A: Apa yang kamu suka buat pada waktu pagi?
  (What do you like to do in the morning?)
• B: Suka lihat langit biru.
  (Like to see the blue sky.)

Notice that B doesn’t repeat saya because the subject is obvious from the question.

But if your sentence is standing alone, it’s better to include saya:

• Saya suka lihat langit biru pada waktu pagi.

How is tense expressed here? How do I say “I liked” or “I will like”?

In Malay, verbs don’t change form for tense. Saya suka can mean:

• I like (present)
• I liked (past)
• I like / usually like (habitual)

Tense is usually shown by time words and context:

• Past:

  • Dulu saya suka lihat langit biru pada waktu pagi.
    – I used to like seeing the blue sky in the morning.
  • Semalam saya suka lihat… – Yesterday I liked seeing…

• Future:

  • Esok saya akan suka lihat langit biru pada waktu pagi.
    (This is a bit unusual because “will like” is unusual even in English, but grammatically: akan marks future.)

More natural future habits:

• Esok pagi saya akan lihat langit biru. – Tomorrow morning I will look at the blue sky.
• Pada masa akan datang, saya masih suka lihat langit biru pada waktu pagi. – In the future, I will still like seeing the blue sky in the morning.

Is this sentence formal, neutral, or informal? How would it sound in casual conversation?

Saya suka lihat langit biru pada waktu pagi.

• Overall, it’s neutral and polite.
• Saya is polite.
• lihat is neutral.
• pada waktu pagi sounds slightly more careful/standard than everyday speech.

In casual conversation, many speakers might say something like:

• Aku suka tengok langit biru waktu pagi.
  
  • Aku instead of saya (more informal).
  • tengok instead of lihat (spoken/casual).
  • Drop pada: waktu pagi.

All of these variations mean essentially the same thing.

Why is there no “to” before “see”? Why isn’t it saya suka untuk lihat or saya suka untuk melihat?

English uses “to” before verbs (to see, to eat, to go). Malay doesn’t need a direct equivalent in this structure.

After suka (like), Malay can go straight to the verb:

• Saya suka lihat langit biru.
• Saya suka membaca. – I like to read / I like reading.
• Saya suka berjalan-jalan. – I like to stroll / walk around.

Untuk means “for / in order to / to (for the purpose of)”. It’s used differently:

• Buku ini untuk membaca. – This book is for reading.
• Saya belajar untuk mendapat kerja yang baik. – I study to get a good job.

So in your sentence, you do not need untuk.
Saya suka lihat… or Saya suka melihat… is correct.

Does langit ever become plural, like “skies”? How would you say that?

Malay usually doesn’t mark plural the way English does. Langit by itself can mean “sky” or “skies”, depending on context.

There is a reduplicated form langit-langit, but:

• In Malay/Indonesian, langit-langit commonly means “ceiling”, not multiple skies.

If you really want to emphasize more than one sky (for example, in a poetic or science-fiction context), you could say:

• beberapa langit – several skies
• tujuh lapis langit – seven layers of sky/heaven (a common religious / literary expression)

But for everyday use, just langit is enough, and English translation will choose “sky” or “skies” as needed.