Learn Hardcore Malay: Cuaca hari ini lembap dan panas, jadi saya kurang selesa berjoging. - The weather today is humid and hot, so I feel less comfortable jogging.

Cuaca hari ini lembap dan panas...
Literally: weather today is humid and hot...
This is the most common neutral way to say it. "Hari ini" is specifying which weather.
Hari ini, cuaca lembap dan panas...
Literally: today, the weather is humid and hot...
This emphasizes "today" a bit more, as if contrasting with other days.

So:

"Cuaca hari ini..." = “Today’s weather …” (focus on weather)
"Hari ini, cuaca..." = “Today, the weather …” (focus on today)

They are both natural; the original just makes “weather” the main topic first.

What exactly does "lembap" mean here? Is it the same as "basah"?

In this sentence:

lembap = humid, damp, moist (usually about air, weather, or slightly wet surfaces)
basah = wet, soaked (more clearly, obviously wet)

So:

Cuaca lembap = The weather is humid.
Baju saya basah. = My clothes are wet.

You normally describe weather with lembap, not basah. Saying "Cuaca basah" would sound odd; you’d describe rain itself as lebat (heavy) rather than “wet weather.”

Why is there no word for “is” in "Cuaca hari ini lembap dan panas"?

Malay does not usually use a separate verb like English “is/are” between a subject and an adjective.

Structure here:

Cuaca hari ini – subject (the weather today)
lembap dan panas – predicate adjectives (humid and hot)

So "Cuaca hari ini lembap dan panas" literally is:

Weather today humid and hot.

You simply put the noun phrase and the describing adjectives side by side:

Dia cantik. – She is beautiful.
Makanan itu mahal. – That food is expensive.

Why is "lembap" written with a final p? Is the p pronounced?

Yes, it is written with p, and it is pronounced, but very shortly and without a strong release.

In Malay, final consonants like p, t, k are usually produced as a “stopped” sound.
For "lembap", your lips close for /p/, but you don’t release a big burst of air like in English.

So:

English “lamp” ends with a clear /p/ with a puff of air.
Malay "lembap" ends in a short, unreleased p, almost like you cut the sound off at the lips.

Why do we use "dan" between "lembap" and "panas"? Can Malay have two adjectives in a row without "dan"?

Here, dan simply means “and”, linking two equal adjectives:

lembap dan panas – humid and hot

In Malay, you usually put dan between two separate qualities:

tinggi dan kurus – tall and thin
besar dan mahal – big and expensive

Sometimes Malay stacks adjectives without dan, but that’s usually when:

One word modifies the other more closely, or
Fixed expressions are used (e.g. “merah jambu” – pink, literally red rose).

In this case, lembap and panas are two separate, equal descriptions of the weather, so dan is natural and expected.

What does "jadi" mean here, and is it the same "jadi" as in “to become”?

Malay jadi has two common uses:

As a conjunction = so, therefore, as a result
- That’s how it’s used in this sentence:
  "...lembap dan panas, jadi saya kurang selesa berjoging."
  = ...humid and hot, so I’m not very comfortable jogging.
As a verb = to become, to turn into
- Dia jadi marah. – He/She became angry.
- Air jadi sejuk. – The water becomes cold.

So yes, it’s the same word, but in this sentence it’s functioning as “so / therefore”, not as “become”.

What does "kurang selesa" mean exactly? Why not just say "tidak selesa"?

Nuance:

tidak selesa = uncomfortable / not comfortable (quite strong)
kurang selesa = less comfortable, not very comfortable, a bit uncomfortable

kurang literally means “less / lacking / not enough”. So:

Saya kurang selesa berjoging.
= I’m not very comfortable jogging
(milder, more polite/soft)
Saya tidak selesa berjoging.
= I’m uncomfortable jogging
(sounds stronger, more definite)

In daily speech, kurang selesa is often chosen to soften the statement.

What does "kurang" mean in general, outside this sentence?

kurang is very common and generally means:

less / fewer
lacking / not enough / insufficient
sometimes “not very…” as a softener before adjectives

Examples:

less / fewer
- Kurang gula. – Less sugar.
- Pelajar tahun ini kurang. – There are fewer students this year.
not enough / insufficient
- Masa saya kurang. – My time is not enough / I don’t have much time.
- Dana itu masih kurang. – The funds are still insufficient.
not very… (softening)
- Dia kurang sihat. – He/She is not very well (a bit unwell).
- Saya kurang berminat. – I’m not very interested.

Why is there no "untuk" before "berjoging"? Could I say "kurang selesa untuk berjoging"?

Both are possible, with a small nuance difference:

Saya kurang selesa berjoging.
Literally: I am less comfortable jogging.
Here, berjoging functions directly as a complement to selesa (like English "comfortable jogging").
Saya kurang selesa untuk berjoging.
Literally: I am less comfortable to jog.
This is also acceptable and sounds slightly more formal or explicit, with untuk (“to/for”) linking the comfort to the action.

In everyday speech, dropping untuk (as in the original sentence) is very natural and common.

What is the role of the prefix "ber-" in "berjoging"? Could I just say "joging"?

ber- is a very common Malay verb prefix. Among its uses, one is to form intransitive verbs (often activities or states) from nouns.

joging (loanword, noun/verb-like)
berjoging = to go jogging, to be jogging

You will see many activity verbs with ber-:

berlari – to run
berenang – to swim
berjalan – to walk
bermain – to play

In modern Malay:

berjoging is more standard / formal.
In casual speech, some people just say joging as a verb:
Saya nak joging. – I want to jog.

The original "berjoging" sounds correct and natural, especially in written or neutral style.

Why don’t we repeat "saya" before "berjoging"? Why not "jadi saya kurang selesa saya berjoging"?

Malay does not repeat the subject pronoun when there is a verb or verb phrase that clearly belongs to the same subject.

In this sentence:

saya = subject of kurang selesa (I am less comfortable)
berjoging = activity that describes what I am less comfortable doing

So the structure is:

saya (subject)
kurang selesa (adjective phrase)
berjoging (verb phrase linked to that adjective)

Adding another saya before berjoging ("...saya kurang selesa saya berjoging") would be ungrammatical and redundant. The subject is already clear from the first saya.

How is tense shown in this sentence? How do we know it’s about today and not the past?

Malay usually does not change the verb form for tense (no -ed, -s, etc.). Instead, it relies on:

time words (e.g. hari ini, tadi, semalam, esok),
or context.

Here, "hari ini" = today, so we understand the sentence as about today’s situation.

If you wanted to make past or future more explicit, you’d add different time expressions:

Tadi cuaca lembap dan panas, jadi saya kurang selesa berjoging.
Earlier the weather was humid and hot, so I wasn’t very comfortable jogging.
Kalau cuaca lembap dan panas, saya akan kurang selesa berjoging.
If the weather is humid and hot, I will be less comfortable jogging.

What level of politeness or formality is conveyed by "saya" here? Could I use "aku" instead?

saya = neutral, polite, standard “I”.
Safe in almost all situations: talking to strangers, teachers, colleagues, in writing, etc.
aku = informal, often used:
- with close friends,
- within family,
- in some song lyrics, poems, etc.

So in:

"...jadi saya kurang selesa berjoging."

Using saya is appropriate and sounds polite/neutral.
You could say "...jadi aku kurang selesa berjoging", but that would be more casual, suitable among close friends or in informal writing.