Learn Hardcore Malay: Sila baca nota ini sekali lagi. - Please read this note once again.

Sila baca nota ini sekali lagi.

Please read this note once again.

Breakdown of Sila baca nota ini sekali lagi.

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Questions & Answers about Sila baca nota ini sekali lagi.

Where is the word “you” in this sentence? Why isn’t it written?

Malay often leaves out the subject (I, you, we, etc.) when it’s obvious from context.

In Sila baca nota ini sekali lagi, the subject is understood to be “you”:

(Awak / Anda) sila baca nota ini sekali lagi.
= (You) please read this note again.

Because the verb form baca doesn’t change with person (I/you/they), you don’t need to show “you” unless you want to emphasize who you are talking to, or remove ambiguity. In ordinary instructions or signs, Malay just uses the verb (with sila) and leaves “you” understood.

What exactly does sila mean, and how is it different from tolong?

Both relate to polite requests, but they’re used a bit differently.

sila
- Literally: please (in the sense of “you may / kindly do X”).
- Common in formal or neutral situations: signs, announcements, instructions, office language.
- Feels polite and somewhat official.
- Example: Sila duduk. = Please sit.
tolong
- Literally: help; used like “please (do X for me)”.
- Emphasizes that you’re asking a favour or help.
- More personal, can be formal or informal depending on tone and context.
- Example: Tolong baca nota ini. = Please read this note (do me a favour by reading it).

In Sila baca nota ini sekali lagi, sila gives a polite, neutral instruction, like what a teacher might write, or what you might see in written instructions. If you said:

Tolong baca nota ini sekali lagi.
it sounds a bit more like “Please help by reading this note again.”

Why is it baca and not membaca?

Baca and membaca are related:

baca – the basic verb root: to read.
membaca – the meN- verb form built from baca; in many contexts it’s more formal/complete, but in everyday standard Malay, baca and membaca often overlap.

In imperatives / instructions, Malay usually uses the root form:

Baca buku ini. = Read this book.
Jangan baca itu. = Don’t read that.

So for a polite imperative:

Sila baca nota ini sekali lagi.
sounds natural and is standard.

Sila membaca nota ini sekali lagi is grammatically possible but sounds more stiff/overly formal in most everyday contexts.

What does nota mean here? Is it like note, memo, or lesson notes?

Nota is a loanword from English “note”, and its meaning overlaps with several English uses:

class/study notes: nota kuliah, nota belajar
short written note / memo: nota ringkas, nota untuk staf

In Sila baca nota ini sekali lagi, nota likely refers to:

class notes / study notes (e.g. a handout or written explanation), or
some kind of short written document.

Other related words:

catatan – a written record, entry, jotting; more general “written record”.
mesej – a message (especially text message).
surat – a letter.

You’d usually keep nota for things like study notes, explanatory notes, handouts, or brief memos.

Why is ini after nota and not before it?

In Malay, demonstratives like ini (this) and itu (that) usually come after the noun:

nota ini = this note
nota itu = that note
buku ini = this book
kereta itu = that car

So:

nota ini = this note
not ini nota (which is not standard for “this note”).

Ini can come at the very start of a sentence, but then it usually works like “this is …”:

Ini nota saya. = This is my note.

So:

nota ini = this note
ini nota saya = this is my note (different structure).

What does sekali lagi literally mean, and is it the same as just lagi?

Literally:

sekali = once / one time
lagi = again / more / still

Together:

sekali lagi = once again / one more time / once more

In context:

Sila baca nota ini sekali lagi.
= Please read this note once again / one more time.

Just lagi by itself is more general:

Baca lagi. = Read again / Read more.
Saya nak satu lagi. = I want one more (of it).
Dia belum datang lagi. = He/She hasn’t come yet (still not come).

You might also hear lagi sekali in some varieties and casual speech, but sekali lagi is the more standard order for “once again” in formal Malay.

Can I change the word order, like Sila baca sekali lagi nota ini?

The standard, most natural order is:

Sila baca nota ini sekali lagi.

If you move things around:

Sila baca sekali lagi nota ini.
- Understandable, but sounds a bit unnatural/awkward in standard Malay.
- In speech some people might say it, but it’s not the preferred written form.
Sila sekali lagi baca nota ini.
- Sounds very unnatural.

General pattern in Malay:

[Polite marker] + [verb] + [object] + [adverbial phrase]

So:
Sila (polite marker) + baca (verb) + nota ini (object) + sekali lagi (adverbial “once again”).

How formal or polite is this sentence? Who would say Sila baca nota ini sekali lagi?

The tone is polite and slightly formal/neutral.

Possible contexts:

A teacher writing instructions in notes or slides.
A textbook / exercise instruction.
A notice, email, or document in a school or office setting.

Spoken, a teacher might say:

Tolong baca nota ini sekali lagi. (more personal, still polite)
Sila baca nota ini sekali lagi. (polite, a bit more formal/teacherly)

To sound less formal with a friend, you might just say:

Baca nota ini lagi sekali. (informal speech)
Baca nota ni lagi. (very casual, ni = spoken form of ini)

How would I make this less direct or softer, like “Could you please read this note again?”

You can soften it by:

Adding a pronoun and boleh (can / could):
- Boleh tak awak baca nota ini sekali lagi?
  = Could you read this note again? (informal awak)
Using tolong plus a pronoun:
- Tolong kamu baca nota ini sekali lagi, ya.
- Tolong awak baca nota ini sekali lagi.
  (Please read this note again, okay?)
Combining boleh
- tolong:
- Boleh tolong baca nota ini sekali lagi?
  = Could you please read this note again? (very natural spoken Malay)

Sila baca nota ini sekali lagi is already polite, but sounds like an instruction rather than a personal, tentative request.

How is baca pronounced? Does c sound like English k or s?

Malay spelling is quite regular.

baca is pronounced roughly “BAH-chah”:
- b – as in English bat
- a – like father
- c – always pronounced like “ch” in church
- a – again like father

So:

baca = /ˈbat͡ʃa/ (“BAH-chah”)

Important: in Malay,

c is always the ch sound, never k or s.

There is no tense marker like “will” or “did”. How do I know if it’s past, present, or future?

Malay verbs do not change form for tense (past/present/future). Baca can mean:

read / is reading / will read – you get the time from context.

In Sila baca nota ini sekali lagi, the main idea is an instruction/request, so the time is:

now / in the immediate future: “Please (now) read this note again.”

If you need to be specific, you add time words:

Sila baca nota ini sekali lagi sekarang.
= Please read this note again now.
Sila baca nota ini sekali lagi esok.
= Please read this note again tomorrow.
Tadi saya sudah baca nota ini sekali lagi.
= Earlier I already read this note again. (tadi = earlier, sudah = already)

How would I say “Please don’t read this note again”?

To make a negative command, use jangan before the verb.

Jangan baca nota ini lagi.
= Don’t read this note again.

If you want to keep the polite feel of sila:

Tolong jangan baca nota ini lagi.
= Please don’t read this note again.
(sila is normally not used directly before jangan; tolong is more natural here.)

How would I say the same thing to emphasize a specific person or group, like “Students, please read this note again”?

You can add a vocative (who you’re addressing) at the start:

Pelajar-pelajar, sila baca nota ini sekali lagi.
= Students, please read this note again.

Other examples:

Semua murid, sila baca nota ini sekali lagi.
= All pupils, please read this note again.
Anda semua sila baca nota ini sekali lagi.
= All of you, please read this note again. (more formal/written)