Learn Hardcore Malay: Namun, bos menjelaskan sebab dengan adil, jadi saya kurang kecewa. - However, the boss explains the reason fairly, so I am less disappointed.

Namun ≈ however, often used at the start of a sentence and followed by a comma:
- Namun, bos menjelaskan sebab dengan adil…
tetapi ≈ but, usually used in the middle of a sentence:
- Saya kecewa, tetapi bos menjelaskan sebab dengan adil.
walaupun ≈ although / even though, and it usually introduces a subordinate clause:
- Walaupun saya kecewa, bos menjelaskan sebab dengan adil.

In tone:

Namun: slightly more formal / written, good for essays, news, formal speech.
Tetapi: neutral, common in both spoken and written language.
Walaupun: used to express concession rather than simple contrast.

Is bos just the English word boss, and is it appropriate in Malay? Are there more formal alternatives?

Yes, bos is a loanword from English boss, but it is very common and natural in Malay, especially in everyday speech and informal writing.

Possible alternatives, depending on context and formality:

ketua – leader/head (general, can be quite formal)
penyelia – supervisor
pengurus – manager
majikan – employer (more about the one who hires you)
tuan pengarah / puan pengarah – director (specific job titles)

In an office conversation:

Bos is very normal and natural. In a formal letter or report:
You might prefer something like ketua jabatan (head of department), majikan, or pengurus, depending on role.

Why is it menjelaskan sebab, not just jelas sebab or something with jelas?

Jelas by itself is mainly an adjective meaning clear:

Sebab itu jelas. – That reason is clear.

To say explain / clarify, Malay typically uses a meN- verb formed from the root:

menjelaskan – to explain / to clarify
menerangkan – to explain / to make clear (using root terang, “bright/clear”)

So:

Bos menjelaskan sebab… – The boss explained the reason…
Saying Bos jelas sebab… would be wrong in this context; it sounds like “The boss is clear because…” rather than “explained the reason”.

You could also say:

Bos menerangkan sebab dengan adil… – also correct and very natural.

What exactly is sebab here? Can I use kerana instead?

In this sentence, sebab is a noun meaning reason:

bos menjelaskan sebab ≈ “the boss explained the reason”

Key points:

sebab:
- Can be a noun: reason, cause
- Can also be a conjunction: because (especially in informal speech)
kerana:
- Is normally just a conjunction: because
- Not used as a noun.

So:

Correct: bos menjelaskan sebab (the boss explained the reason)
Incorrect: bos menjelaskan kerana (you can’t explain a “because”)

With kerana as a connector, you would rephrase:

Saya kurang kecewa kerana bos menjelaskan sebab dengan adil.
= I was less disappointed because the boss explained the reason fairly.

What does dengan adil literally mean, and is this the usual way to say fairly?

Literally:

dengan = with / by / in (used to form adverbial phrases)
adil = fair, just

So dengan adil = in a fair way / fairly / justly.

Yes, this is a very natural way to say someone did something fairly:

mengadili dengan adil – judge fairly
melayan pekerja dengan adil – treat workers fairly

You can often replace dengan with secara (more “manner” / adverbial):

secara adil – in a fair way

Other common patterns with adil:

berlaku adil – to be fair / act fairly
bersikap adil – to have a fair attitude / be fair

But in your sentence, dengan adil is perfectly idiomatic.

I thought jadi means to become. How is it being used as so here?

Jadi has two common functions:

Verb: “to become / to turn into”
- Dia jadi marah. – He became angry.
- Air jadi sejuk. – The water became cold.
Conjunction: “so / therefore” (that’s the use in your sentence)
- …bos menjelaskan sebab dengan adil, jadi saya kurang kecewa.
  ≈ “…the boss explained the reason fairly, so I was less disappointed.”

How to tell the difference?

As a conjunction, jadi usually appears at the beginning of a clause that follows another clause and often has a comma before it.
As a verb, it behaves like other verbs and can take subjects, objects, etc.

More formal alternatives to conjunction jadi:

oleh itu – therefore
maka – thus (rather literary)
sebab itu – that’s why

Does kurang kecewa mean “less disappointed” or “not very disappointed”? What nuance does kurang + adjective have?

Kurang literally means less / lacking / not enough.

With adjectives, kurang + adjective usually means something like:

less [adjective]
not so [adjective]
not very [adjective] (depending on context)

So saya kurang kecewa can be understood as:

I was less disappointed.
I was not so disappointed anymore.

It doesn’t mean totally not disappointed; it implies the degree of disappointment has gone down.

Other examples:

kurang senang – less comfortable / not so happy (about something)
kurang jelas – not very clear / not clear enough
kurang penting – less important

Why is there no past tense marker for explained or was? How do we know this is in the past?

Malay generally does not mark tense on the verb the way English does. The same verb form can refer to past, present, or future. Time is shown by:

Time words: tadi (earlier), semalam (yesterday), esok (tomorrow), akan (will), sudah/dah (already), etc.
Context: what has already been mentioned.

In your sentence:

bos menjelaskan sebab – can mean explains / is explaining / explained
saya kurang kecewa – can mean I am less disappointed / I was less disappointed

From the overall story context, we interpret it as past. If you want to make it clearly past, you can add markers:

Tadi, bos sudah menjelaskan sebab dengan adil, jadi saya kurang kecewa.
– Earlier, the boss already explained the reason fairly, so I was less disappointed.

Is the comma after Namun and before jadi necessary? How are commas used with these conjunctions?

In practice:

After “Namun” at the start:
It is normal and recommended in writing to put a comma:
- Namun, bos menjelaskan… This works like “However, the boss explained…” in English.
Before “jadi” in the middle:
Also usually separated by a comma, like “…, so …” in English:
- …dengan adil, jadi saya kurang kecewa.

Malay comma rules are somewhat flexible, but in formal writing, it is good style to:

Put a comma after sentence-initial discourse markers like Namun, Oleh itu, Sebaliknya.
Put a comma before coordinating conjunctions like jadi, tetapi when they link two full clauses.

Could I reorder this sentence as “Saya kurang kecewa kerana bos menjelaskan sebab dengan adil”? Is that still natural?

Yes, that sentence is natural and correct, and it is a common way to express the same idea.

Comparison:

Namun, bos menjelaskan sebab dengan adil, jadi saya kurang kecewa.
– Emphasis on:
- First: contrast (Namun)
- Then: what the boss did
- Then: the result (jadi saya kurang kecewa)
Saya kurang kecewa kerana bos menjelaskan sebab dengan adil.
– Emphasis on your feeling first (less disappointed) and then the reason (kerana…).

Both are fine; they just structure the information differently.
In (2), kerana is a conjunction meaning because.

Is saya always the right word for I / me in Malay?

Saya is the default polite, neutral first-person singular pronoun. It is:

Appropriate in most situations: at work, with strangers, in formal contexts.
Gender-neutral (used by men and women).

Other options:

aku – informal, used with close friends, family, or in informal writing / songs.
patik, beta – very formal, used in royal / ceremonial language toward royalty (not used in everyday speech).

In your sentence, saya fits perfectly: it sounds polite and neutral.

How could I make this sentence more formal, or more casual, while keeping the same meaning?

More formal / written:

Namun, ketua saya menjelaskan sebabnya dengan adil, maka saya berasa kurang kecewa.
- ketua saya – my superior
- sebabnya – the reason
- maka – thus (formal)
- berasa – to feel (more formal than just rasa)

More casual / spoken:

Tapi bos dah jelaskan sebab tu dengan adil, jadi saya pun kurang kecewa.
- Tapi – but (informal)
- dah – already (informal for sudah)
- sebab tu – that reason / that’s why (colloquial)
- saya pun – I then / I also (adds a bit of conversational tone)

Your original sentence is already quite natural and neutral, leaning slightly towards written/standard style due to Namun.