Learn Hardcore Malay: Anak saya suka belajar tentang haiwan laut di muzium. - My child likes to learn about sea animals at the museum.

Anak saya = my child
- anak = child
- saya = I / me (here: my)
suka = likes
belajar = to study / to learn
tentang = about
haiwan laut = sea animals / marine animals
- haiwan = animal
- laut = sea
di muzium = at the museum
- di = at / in / on (location)
- muzium = museum

So the Malay word order is actually very close to English in this sentence.

Does anak saya mean my child or my children?

It can mean either, depending on context.

Malay usually does not mark plural with an ending like -s. So:

anak saya can mean:
- my child (one child), or
- my children (more than one)

If you really need to make it clearly plural, you could say:

anak-anak saya = my children (definitely plural)

But in normal conversation, people usually rely on context to know whether it’s one child or several.

Why is saya after anak instead of before it, like saya anak?

In Malay, possessives normally come after the noun:

anak saya = my child
buku saya = my book
kereta saya = my car

If you say saya anak, it does not mean my child. Depending on context, saya anak could mean I am a child (if completed, e.g. Saya anak sulung = I am the eldest child).

So to say my X, the basic pattern is:

noun + saya

Can I say saya punya anak instead of anak saya?

Yes, but it sounds different and is not always interchangeable.

anak saya = neutral, standard, simple my child / my children
saya punya anak ≈ the child(ren) that I have / (I) have a child/children

saya punya literally means I own / I have and is more colloquial or emphatic.
In your sentence, Anak saya suka belajar… is the most natural standard way.
Saya punya anak suka belajar… sounds informal and a bit clumsy.

Why is it suka belajar, not suka untuk belajar or suka ke belajar?

In Malay, when one verb is followed by another verb, you usually just put them together without an extra word:

suka belajar = like to study / like studying
mula bekerja = start working
hendak makan = want to eat

Using untuk before a verb is possible in some structures, but:

suka untuk belajar is grammatically possible, but it sounds more formal and often heavier than needed.
suka ke belajar is wrong in standard Malay. ke is mainly for movement to a place.

So suka + verb is the natural pattern:

Anak saya suka belajar… = My child likes to study…

What is the function of tentang here? Can I omit it?

tentang means about / regarding.

belajar tentang haiwan laut = study about sea animals / learn about sea animals

If you say:

belajar haiwan laut

it can sound more like study sea animals as a subject, and in some contexts it’s acceptable, especially in casual speech. But belajar tentang haiwan laut is clearer and more natural when you mean learn about sea animals as information or a topic.

So tentang explicitly marks haiwan laut as the topic you are learning about.

Does haiwan laut mean sea animal (singular) or sea animals (plural)?

Like anak, the phrase haiwan laut can be singular or plural:

haiwan laut = sea animal / sea animals

Context decides which one is meant.
If you really want to stress that it’s plural, you can say:

haiwan-haiwan laut = sea animals (clearly plural)

However, repeating the noun like this is often used when you want to emphasise plural or variety; in many cases, just haiwan laut is enough and natural.

Why is there no word for the or a (articles) in this sentence?

Malay generally does not use articles like the or a / an.

anak saya can be my child or my children
haiwan laut can be sea animals, the sea animals, sea creatures, etc.
di muzium can be at a museum or at the museum

Specificity (a vs the) is usually understood from the context, not shown by a special word. If needed, you can add other words to clarify, like sebuah muzium (a / one museum), but it’s not required here.

Why is it di muzium and not ke muzium?

di is used for location: at / in / on.
ke is used for movement toward a place: to.

In your sentence:

di muzium = at the museum (location, where the learning happens)

If you wanted to talk about going there, you’d use ke:

Anak saya pergi ke muzium. = My child goes to the museum.

So:

di muzium → where something is
ke muzium → where someone is going

Can I move di muzium to the front of the sentence?

Yes. Malay word order is quite flexible for time and place phrases.

Both are correct:

Anak saya suka belajar tentang haiwan laut di muzium.
Di muzium, anak saya suka belajar tentang haiwan laut.

Putting di muzium at the front can slightly emphasise at the museum, but the meaning is the same.

What is the difference between belajar and mengajar?

belajar = to learn, to study (the student’s action)
- Anak saya suka belajar. = My child likes to study / learn.
mengajar = to teach (the teacher’s action)
- Cikgu mengajar tentang haiwan laut di muzium. = The teacher teaches about sea animals at the museum.

So in your sentence, belajar is correct because the child is the one learning, not teaching.

Does anak saya mean my son or my daughter?

anak by itself is child, without gender.

anak saya = my child (gender not specified)

If you want to be specific:

anak lelaki saya = my son
anak perempuan saya = my daughter

But in many everyday situations, anak saya is enough; if gender matters, people will add extra words or it will be clear from context.