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Saya biasanya mengulang kaji pada waktu malam selama setengah jam.

Saya biasanya mengulang kaji pada waktu malam selama setengah jam.
I usually revise at night for half an hour.

Breakdown of Saya biasanya mengulang kaji pada waktu malam selama setengah jam.

saya
I
pada
at
waktu malam
the night
jam
the hour
biasanya
usually
mengulang kaji
to revise
selama
for
setengah
half
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Questions & Answers about Saya biasanya mengulang kaji pada waktu malam selama setengah jam.

What does mengulang kaji literally mean, and why is it written as two words?

Mengulang kaji is a two-word verb phrase that literally means “to repeat a review / to review (lessons)”.

Breakdown:

  • ulang = repeat
  • kaji = examine, study, review
  • meng- is a verb prefix that turns ulang into a verb: mengulang = to repeat

In practice:

  • mengulang kaji together is understood as “to revise / to review for study”, especially school or exam-related revision.

It’s very common in Malaysia to talk about studying for exams:

  • mengulang kaji pelajaran = to revise lessons
    You can drop pelajaran in casual speech, which is why you see just mengulang kaji here.
How is mengulang kaji different from belajar?

Both are related to studying, but they’re used differently:

  • belajar = to learn / to study (in general)

    • Saya belajar bahasa Melayu. = I study Malay.
    • Dia sedang belajar. = He/She is studying.

  • mengulang kaji = to revise / to review what you have already learned

    • Saya mengulang kaji untuk peperiksaan. = I revise for the exam.
    • It implies going over material again, not learning it for the first time.

In your sentence:

  • mengulang kaji suggests exam revision or going over notes, not just any studying.
What does biasanya mean, and where can it go in the sentence?

Biasanya means “usually / generally / normally”.

In your sentence:

  • Saya biasanya mengulang kaji... = I usually revise...

Placement options (all natural, with slight emphasis differences):

  1. Saya biasanya mengulang kaji pada waktu malam.
    Neutral: “I usually revise at night.”

  2. Biasanya saya mengulang kaji pada waktu malam.
    Slightly emphasizes usually, like “Usually, I revise at night.”

  3. Saya mengulang kaji pada waktu malam, biasanya.
    More conversational; sounds like “I revise at night, usually.”

All are grammatically correct in everyday Malay.

What does pada waktu malam mean, and can I say it in a shorter way?

Pada waktu malam literally means “at night time”.

Breakdown:

  • pada = at / on / in (a general preposition for time)
  • waktu = time
  • malam = night
    So pada waktu malam = at the time of night → “at night”.

Natural alternatives:

  • pada malam
  • waktu malam
  • malam (by itself, in many contexts)

So you could also say:

  • Saya biasanya mengulang kaji pada malam.
  • Saya biasanya mengulang kaji waktu malam.
  • Saya biasanya mengulang kaji malam. (very common in speech)

All mean roughly “I usually revise at night.”

What is the difference between waktu and masa?

Both relate to time, but they’re used a bit differently:

  • waktu often refers to a specific time period or moment, like:

    • waktu malam = night time
    • waktu pagi = morning time
    • pada waktu itu = at that time

  • masa is more general, like time in the sense of duration or abstract time:

    • Ada masa? = Do you have time?
    • Tak ada masa. = I don’t have (the) time.
    • Pada masa itu = at that time (historical / situational)

In your sentence, waktu malam is more natural than masa malam.

What does selama do here, and could I just say setengah jam without it?

Selama marks the duration of an action. It corresponds to “for (a period of time)”.

  • selama setengah jam = for half an hour

In your sentence:

  • ...selama setengah jam = “...for half an hour.”

Can you drop selama?
Yes, very often in speech:

  • Saya biasanya mengulang kaji pada waktu malam setengah jam.
    This is understandable and used in casual conversation, but adding selama makes the sentence clearer and more standard.

So:

  • selama + time phrase = more explicit and slightly more formal/natural in careful writing.
How do I say “half an hour” and what’s the difference between setengah jam and jam setengah?
  • setengah jam = half an hour (0.5 hour, 30 minutes)
  • jam setengah literally “an hour and a half” in many contexts (1.5 hours) when used as 1 jam setengah, etc.

Be careful:

  • setengah jam (correct for 30 minutes):

    • Saya tunggu setengah jam. = I waited half an hour.

  • satu jam setengah (1.5 hours):

    • Saya belajar satu jam setengah. = I studied for an hour and a half.

So for your sentence, setengah jam is exactly right for “half an hour”.

How do I know this sentence is in the present/habitual tense when there is no tense marker?

Malay does not change the verb form for tense (no -ed, -ing, etc.).
Time is usually shown by:

  1. Time adverbs:

    • biasanya = usually (suggests a habitual action)
    • pada waktu malam = at night

  2. Context.

Your sentence:

  • Saya biasanya mengulang kaji pada waktu malam selama setengah jam.

Because of biasanya (“usually”) and the general time expression, it’s understood as a habitual present:

  • “I usually revise at night for half an hour.”

To explicitly mark past or future, you’d add time words:

  • Dulu saya biasanya mengulang kaji... = I used to usually revise...
  • Esok saya akan mengulang kaji... = Tomorrow I will revise...
Can I omit saya, like in English where we sometimes imply the subject?

You can omit saya if the subject is already clear from context, but doing so changes the style:

  • Saya biasanya mengulang kaji pada waktu malam.
    Clear, neutral: “I usually revise at night.”

If you drop saya:

  • Biasanya mengulang kaji pada waktu malam.
    This sounds like you are describing a general habit, or talking about yourself in a very informal/elliptical way. It can also sound incomplete in writing.

In standard and clear sentences, especially for learners, keep saya.
Dropping the subject is more common in casual conversation when it’s obvious who you mean.

What’s the difference between saya and aku here?

Both mean “I / me”, but differ in formality:

  • saya

    • Polite, neutral, widely used with almost everyone.
    • Suitable for formal and informal situations.

  • aku

    • Informal / intimate; used with close friends, family, or to someone younger.
    • Can sound rude or too casual in the wrong situation.

Your sentence uses saya, so it sounds polite and safe:

  • Saya biasanya mengulang kaji... = good in almost all contexts.

Informal version with friends:

  • Aku biasanya mengulang kaji waktu malam setengah jam.
Is mengulang kaji formal? What would people say in everyday conversation?

Mengulang kaji is standard and common, especially in school or academic contexts. It’s not overly formal, just a bit “schoolish”.

In everyday speech, people might say:

  • study (English verb, code-mixing):
    • Saya usually study malam setengah jam. (very colloquial mixed speech)
  • belajar in a loose sense:
    • Saya biasanya belajar malam. = I usually study at night.

But if you’re talking specifically about revising for exams, mengulang kaji is perfectly natural and clear:

  • Saya mengulang kaji untuk exam. (mixing English exam is common)
  • Saya mengulang kaji untuk peperiksaan. (fully Malay, more formal)
Can the time expressions be moved around, like in English “At night I usually revise for half an hour”?

Yes, Malay word order is flexible with time phrases. All of these are possible:

  1. Saya biasanya mengulang kaji pada waktu malam selama setengah jam.
    (Neutral; subject–adverb–verb–time–duration.)

  2. Pada waktu malam, saya biasanya mengulang kaji selama setengah jam.
    (Fronting the time; “At night, I usually revise for half an hour.”)

  3. Saya biasanya mengulang kaji selama setengah jam pada waktu malam.
    (Duration before the specific time; still natural.)

All are grammatical. The meaning stays the same; the difference is only in emphasis and style. The original order is probably the most typical for learners to follow.

How would I say the same idea in a more casual, spoken way?

A natural informal version might drop some formality and shorten phrases:

  • Saya biasanya ulang kaji malam setengah jam.
    • dropping meng- in relaxed speech (ulang kaji instead of mengulang kaji)
    • malam instead of pada waktu malam
    • optionally omit selama

Even more casual with a friend:

  • Aku biasanya ulang kaji malam, setengah jam je.
    • je = only / just (slangy, very common)

Stick with the original sentence for correct, clear Malay; learn the casual versions for understanding native speech.