Learn Hardcore Malay: Guru menjelaskan persoalan itu sekali lagi supaya semua orang faham. - The teacher explains that question again so that everyone understands.

guru – teacher
menjelaskan – to explain / to make clear
- root: jelas (clear)
- men- ... -kan: a common verb pattern meaning “to make (something) X” → “to clarify, explain”
persoalan – the question / the issue / the problem
- root: soal (to ask / question)
- soalan = question (neutral)
- persoalan = question/issue (often “problematic issue” or “matter of concern”)
itu – that / the (demonstrative, points to a specific thing already known)
sekali – once / one time
lagi – again / more
- sekali lagi = once again, one more time
supaya – so that / in order that
semua – all / everyone (as a quantifier)
orang – person / people
- semua orang = everyone / all the people
faham – understand / clear (can function as a verb or an adjective)

So a very literal gloss could be: Teacher make-clear-KAN question-issue that once again so-that all people understand.

Why is there no word for the or a before guru? How do I know if it means “the teacher” or “a teacher”?

Malay normally has no articles like a/an or the. The noun guru by itself can be translated as teacher, and English speakers must choose a teacher or the teacher based on context.

In many sentences about a known, specific teacher, guru is translated as the teacher.
If it’s introducing someone new or non-specific, you’d translate as a teacher.

If you really need to make “this teacher” or “that teacher” explicit, you can use:

guru itu – that teacher / the teacher (already mentioned or visible)
guru ini – this teacher (near the speaker)

In your sentence, Guru menjelaskan…, English would usually use The teacher explained… because it sounds like a shared classroom context where the teacher is understood from context.

Where is the past tense in menjelaskan? How do we know it means “explained” and not “explains” or “will explain”?

Malay verbs usually do not change form for tense. Menjelaskan can mean:

explains (present)
explained (past)
will explain (future)

The tense is understood from context or from time words such as:

tadi – a little while ago
semalam – yesterday
akan – will
nanti – later

For example:

Guru menjelaskan persoalan itu sekali lagi tadi.
The teacher explained that question once again just now.
Esok guru akan menjelaskan persoalan itu sekali lagi.
Tomorrow the teacher will explain that question once again.

In your sentence, because English prefers a specific tense, we often translate it as The teacher explained… if we imagine a finished classroom event, or The teacher is explaining… if it’s happening right now. The Malay form itself does not force one tense.

What’s the difference between jelas, menjelaskan, and menjelas?

jelas – clear (adjective)
- Penjelasannya sangat jelas. – The explanation is very clear.
menjelaskan – to make something clear → to explain / clarify
- Guru menjelaskan persoalan itu. – The teacher explains that question.
menjelas – this form is not standard in Malay for this meaning. The correct verb is menjelaskan (with -kan).

Structure:

jelas (clear)
→ add meN- … -kan
→ menjelaskan (to make clear, to explain)

You’ll also see a related noun:

penjelasan – explanation
- Guru memberi penjelasan. – The teacher gives an explanation.

Why does the sentence use persoalan instead of soalan? What’s the difference?

Both are related, but they sound a bit different in nuance:

soalan – question (neutral, common in school/exams)
- soalan peperiksaan – exam question
- Ada soalan? – Any questions?
persoalan – question, issue, matter, often with a sense of a problem or an issue to be discussed
- persoalan moral – moral issue
- persoalan hidup dan mati – matter of life and death

In your sentence:

persoalan itu can sound slightly more like that issue/question (we’re dealing with), not just a single test question.

If it is literally a test or exercise question, soalan itu would also be very natural:

Guru menjelaskan soalan itu sekali lagi supaya semua orang faham.

What is the role of itu after persoalan? Could we leave it out?

Itu is a demonstrative meaning that (and often works like the in English).

persoalan itu – that question / that issue / the question we’re talking about

If you remove itu:

Guru menjelaskan persoalan sekali lagi…

This becomes less specific, more like The teacher explained the question(s)/issue(s) once again, without clearly pointing to a particular, known question. It’s grammatical, but persoalan itu sounds more natural when you are referring to a specific, previously mentioned question/issue.

Does sekali lagi mean the same as “once again”? Are there alternatives like lagi sekali, and do they sound different?

Sekali lagi directly corresponds to once again / one more time.

Guru menjelaskan persoalan itu sekali lagi…
The teacher explained that question once again…

Alternatives:

lagi sekali
- Common in many spoken varieties (especially in Malaysia).
- Meaning is the same: once again / one more time.
- In more formal writing, sekali lagi is preferred, but both are widely understood.
satu kali lagi
- Literally: one time more.
- Slightly more explicit; still perfectly fine.
berulang kali
- Many times / repeatedly (not just once again).

In most standard sentences like this, sekali lagi is the usual choice.

What does supaya do in this sentence? How is it different from agar, untuk, or kerana?

Supaya introduces a purpose or intended result, and is usually translated as so that / in order that.

…sekali lagi supaya semua orang faham.
…once again so that everyone understands.

Comparisons:

supaya – so that (focus on intended outcome)
- Dia belajar keras supaya lulus. – He studies hard so that he passes.
agar – very similar to supaya, slightly more formal/literary, often interchangeable
- Dia belajar keras agar lulus.
untuk – for / to (do something); more like in order to
- verb or for
  - noun
- Dia belajar keras untuk lulus. – He studies hard to pass.
- Buku ini untuk guru. – This book is for the teacher.
kerana – because (gives a reason, not a purpose)
- Dia belajar keras kerana peperiksaan susah. – He studies hard because the exam is difficult.

You cannot replace supaya with kerana here; the meaning would change from so that everyone understands to because everyone understands, which is different.

Why is it faham and not memahami or memaham? What’s the difference?

Faham can be used directly as a verb or as an adjective:

verb: to understand
adjective: understanding / clear (to someone)

In your sentence:

supaya semua orang faham
– so that everyone understands / so that it is clear to everyone.

Memahami is the transitive verb from the same root:

memahami – to understand (something)
- Dia memahami persoalan itu. – He understands that question/issue.

The pattern:

faham (root)
→ memahami (meN- + faham + -i) – to understand (takes an object)

So:

supaya semua orang faham – emphasizes the state: everyone understands / it is clear to everyone.
supaya semua orang memahami persoalan itu – emphasizes the action of understanding that specific issue.

Both are grammatical; the original focuses slightly more on the resulting state of understanding.

Do we really need orang? Could it just be supaya semua faham?

Both are possible:

supaya semua orang faham
- Literally: so that all people understand.
- Very natural, common. Emphasizes “all the people / everyone”.
supaya semua faham
- Literally: so that all understand.
- Also correct. In many contexts, semua is clearly referring to people present.
- Slightly shorter, more casual/colloquial.

Adding orang makes it explicit that you are talking about people. Without orang, it is still clear in a classroom context, but more dependent on context.

Can we change the word order, for example move sekali lagi or the supaya-clause?

Yes, Malay word order is somewhat flexible, though some versions sound more natural than others.

Original:

Guru menjelaskan persoalan itu sekali lagi supaya semua orang faham.

Other acceptable orders:

Move sekali lagi earlier:
- Guru sekali lagi menjelaskan persoalan itu supaya semua orang faham.
  (Slight emphasis on once again.)
Put the purpose clause first:
- Supaya semua orang faham, guru menjelaskan persoalan itu sekali lagi.
  – So that everyone understands, the teacher explained that question once again.
Emphasize the question:
- Persoalan itu dijelaskan guru sekali lagi supaya semua orang faham.
  – That question was explained by the teacher once again so that everyone understands.
  (Here dijelaskan is the passive form.)

All of these are grammatical; the original is the most straightforward neutral order.

Is this sentence formal or informal? How would people say something similar in everyday spoken Malay?

The sentence is neutral to slightly formal, suitable for written Malay or a teacher’s report.

In everyday spoken Malaysian Malay, you might hear:

Cikgu terangkan balik soalan tu sekali lagi supaya semua orang faham.

Notes:

cikgu – very common spoken word for teacher (instead of guru)
terangkan – explain (from terang, clear)
balik – in colloquial Malay, often means again (besides its basic meaning to go back)
soalan tu – that question (tu = colloquial form of itu)

In Indonesian-style colloquial speech, something like:

Guru jelasin lagi soal itu supaya semua orang paham.

Your original sentence is good standard Malay, especially for written or semi-formal usage.