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Saya risau tentang kewangan keluarga ketika bajet saya kecil.

Saya risau tentang kewangan keluarga ketika bajet saya kecil.
I worry about the family finances when my budget is small.
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Questions & Answers about Saya risau tentang kewangan keluarga ketika bajet saya kecil.

What does risau mean here, and is it the same as worry in English?

Risau means worried / anxious / concerned. In this sentence, Saya risau = I am worried.

Some nuance:

  • risau – common, neutral word for being worried or anxious.
  • Similar words:
    • bimbang – worried, often a bit stronger or more serious-sounding.
    • khawatir/khuatir – also “worried”, a bit more formal or literary in many contexts.

You could replace risau with bimbang and the sentence would still be natural:

  • Saya bimbang tentang kewangan keluarga… = I am worried about the family finances…

So yes, risau is very close to English to worry, especially in the emotional sense.

Why do we say risau tentang? Can we use other prepositions instead of tentang?

Tentang roughly means about / regarding / concerning.

In this sentence:

  • risau tentang kewangan keluarga = worried about the family finances.

With risau, you’ll commonly see:

  • risau tentang – worried about
  • risau akan – more formal/literary, also “worried about”
  • risau pasal – more colloquial / informal, “worried about” (spoken Malay)

So you might also hear:

  • Saya risau akan kewangan keluarga… (formal-ish)
  • Saya risau pasal kewangan keluarga… (casual speech)

All mean roughly the same thing; tentang is a safe, neutral choice.

What exactly does kewangan keluarga mean? Why is it in that order?

Kewangan keluarga literally means family finances or the finances of the family.

Breakdown:

  • wang = money
  • ke-…-an (prefix + suffix) often turns a root into an abstract noun
  • kewangan = finances / financial matters
  • keluarga = family

Word order in Malay is usually head noun + modifier (opposite of English):

  • kewangan keluarga
    • kewangan (finances) = head noun
    • keluarga (family) = modifier
      → “family finances”

This is like:

  • rumah keluarga = family house
  • kereta syarikat = company car

So kewangan keluarga is the natural Malay order for “family finances”.

Why isn’t it kewangan keluarga saya if it’s “my family’s finances”?

It can be kewangan keluarga saya; that version explicitly adds my.

  • kewangan keluarga = the family’s finances (context may imply it’s your family)
  • kewangan keluarga saya = my family’s finances (more explicit)

So you could say:

  • Saya risau tentang kewangan keluarga saya ketika bajet saya kecil.

Both are grammatically correct. Whether you add saya after keluarga depends on context:

  • If it’s clear you’re talking about your own family, kewangan keluarga alone is often enough.
  • If you want to be explicit or avoid ambiguity, use kewangan keluarga saya.
What does ketika mean, and how is it different from apabila or bila?

Ketika here means when (as a conjunction).

In this sentence:

  • ketika bajet saya kecil = when my budget is small

Comparison:

  • ketika

    • “when”
    • slightly formal / written style, but very common and standard

  • apabila

    • also “when”
    • neutral, standard, very common in both spoken and written Malay

  • bila

    • “when”
    • more informal; also used in questions (“Bila?” = “When?”)

You could say:

  • …ketika bajet saya kecil. (formal-ish, standard)
  • …apabila bajet saya kecil. (neutral, very natural)
  • …bila bajet saya kecil. (more conversational)

All are acceptable; choice depends mainly on formality and preference.

Why bajet saya kecil instead of something like “low” or “limited”?

Bajet saya kecil literally = my budget is small.

  • bajet = budget (loanword from English)
  • saya = my
  • kecil = small, little

Malay often uses kecil for size and for abstract things like amounts:

  • gaji kecil = small salary
  • modal kecil = small capital
  • bajet kecil = small budget

However, in real usage, you might also hear:

  • bajet saya rendah = my budget is low
  • bajet saya terhad = my budget is limited

These can sound a bit more natural in some contexts. But bajet saya kecil is grammatically correct and understandable.

Could I say Saya risau tentang bajet saya kecil and drop kewangan keluarga?

Not in that exact form.

Saya risau tentang bajet saya kecil is not correct because after tentang (about), you need a noun phrase, not a full clause with a verb-like structure.

Correct options:

  1. Focus on budget:

    • Saya risau tentang bajet saya yang kecil.
      = I am worried about my budget, which is small.

  2. Use a clause without tentang:

    • Saya risau apabila bajet saya kecil.
      = I worry when my budget is small.

So either:

  • keep tentang and follow it with a noun phrase (bajet saya yang kecil), or
  • remove tentang and use apabila/ketika
    • clause.
Can I drop Saya and just say Risau tentang kewangan keluarga…?

Yes, you can drop Saya in casual contexts, especially in speech or in informal writing (like messages).

  • Saya risau tentang kewangan keluarga ketika bajet saya kecil.
  • Risau tentang kewangan keluarga ketika bajet saya kecil. (subject implied)

If the context already makes it clear that you are speaking about yourself, omitting Saya is natural.

However, for clear, standard sentences—especially when learning—keep Saya:

  • It makes the structure obvious: [Subject] [verb] [object/complement].
Is bajet the standard Malay word, or is there a more “native” alternative?

Bajet is a loanword from English “budget” but is widely accepted and standard in Malay.

You will see:

  • bajet in everyday speech, media, and even official government contexts (“Bajet 2025”).

There is also:

  • belanjawan – a more formal/native Malay word, commonly used in official or governmental contexts (e.g. Belanjawan Negara = National Budget).

In this personal sentence, bajet is perfectly natural:

  • bajet saya kecil sounds more natural than belanjawan saya kecil in casual contexts.
Is the word order Saya risau tentang kewangan keluarga ketika bajet saya kecil the only correct one, or can I move parts around?

You can move the ketika… clause without changing the meaning much. For example:

  1. Original:

    • Saya risau tentang kewangan keluarga ketika bajet saya kecil.

  2. Time clause at the front:

    • Ketika bajet saya kecil, saya risau tentang kewangan keluarga.
      = When my budget is small, I worry about the family finances.

Both are grammatical. The difference is emphasis:

  • Starting with Saya risau… emphasizes your feeling.
  • Starting with Ketika bajet saya kecil… emphasizes the condition or time.

All parts themselves must stay in their internal order, though. For example, you cannot split kewangan keluarga or reorder it to keluarga kewangan.