Saya mahu menderma darah di hospital esok.

I want to donate blood at the hospital tomorrow.

Breakdown of Saya mahu menderma darah di hospital esok.

• saya: I
• mahu: to want
• di: at
• esok: tomorrow
• hospital: the hospital
• menderma: to donate
• darah: the blood

Questions & Answers about Saya mahu menderma darah di hospital esok.

What does mahu mean exactly, and is it the same as ingin, hendak, or nak?

Mahu means to want and is neutral, standard Malay.

Other common options:

• ingin – also to want / would like, but sounds a bit more polite or formal.
  
  • Saya ingin menderma darah… = I would like to donate blood…
• hendak – traditional / formal, often in writing or official speech, also to want / intend to.
• nak – very informal, spoken Malay (especially in Malaysia).
  
  • Saya nak derma darah… = I wanna donate blood…

So your sentence Saya mahu menderma darah di hospital esok is perfectly natural and standard. For casual conversation you might often hear nak instead of mahu.

Why is it menderma darah and not just derma darah?

Both appear in real usage, but there is a nuance:

• menderma = verb to donate
• derma = noun donation, but in casual speech it can also act like a verb

More precise:

• Saya mahu menderma darah.
  = I want to donate blood. (fully standard/grammatical)

• Saya mahu derma darah.
  = I want to donate blood. (very common in spoken Malay; verb used without the prefix)

In informal speech, the meN- verb prefix is often dropped, so derma is used instead of menderma. In writing, exams, or formal situations, menderma darah is safer.

What does the meN- prefix in menderma do?

meN- is a common verb-forming prefix in Malay. It usually:

• turns a base word (often a noun or root) into an active verb
• can indicate an action done by the subject

Base: derma (donation) → with meN- → menderma (to donate)

Other examples:

• bantu (help – noun/verb root) → membantu (to help)
• tulis (write) → menulis (to write)

So menderma is the “proper” verb form. Dropping meN- (derma darah) is common in everyday speech, but menderma darah is the fully standard form you’ll see in formal contexts.

Why is it di hospital and not ke hospital? What is the difference between di and ke?

• di = at / in / on (location, where something happens)
• ke = to / towards (direction, where you are going)

Your sentence:

• Saya mahu menderma darah di hospital esok.
  = I want to donate blood at the hospital tomorrow.
  (Focus: the place of the action.)

If you wanted to talk about going there, you could say:

• Saya mahu pergi ke hospital esok.
  = I want to go to the hospital tomorrow.

You could also combine them:

• Esok saya mahu pergi ke hospital untuk menderma darah.
  = Tomorrow I want to go to the hospital to donate blood.

So di hospital is correct because it marks the location where the donation happens.

Where can the word esok go in the sentence? Is the word order flexible?

Yes, it’s quite flexible. All of these are grammatical, with small differences in emphasis:

1. Saya mahu menderma darah di hospital esok.
   – Neutral; most common. “Tomorrow” at the end, like English.

2. Esok saya mahu menderma darah di hospital.
   – Emphasis on tomorrow. “As for tomorrow, I want to donate blood…”

3. Saya esok mahu menderma darah di hospital.
   – Possible, but less natural; used more for contrast in speech.

In daily usage, (1) and (2) are the most natural. As a learner, you can safely stick to (1) or (2).

Can I drop saya and just say Mahu menderma darah di hospital esok?

Yes, in casual spoken Malay, subjects are often dropped when they’re obvious from context:

• Mahu menderma darah di hospital esok.
• Nak derma darah di hospital esok.

Both might be understood as “(I) want to donate blood at the hospital tomorrow,” depending on context.

However:

• In writing, in formal speech, or when context isn’t clear, keep saya.
• For learners, it’s safer to include saya, so your sentence remains clear and complete:
  Saya mahu menderma darah di hospital esok.

How formal or informal is this sentence? How would it sound in very casual speech?

Saya mahu menderma darah di hospital esok. is:

• Standard
• Polite
• Suitable for speaking to hospital staff, writing, exams, etc.

A very casual, spoken version (with friends or family) might be:

• Aku nak derma darah dekat hospital esok.
  
  • aku – very informal “I”
  • nak – informal “want”
  • dekat – spoken di / ke, often used for “at” or “to” in casual speech
    (This is typical colloquial Malaysian Malay.)

So:

• Use your original sentence with saya and mahu in almost all polite contexts.
• Use aku, nak, dekat only with people close to you and in informal settings.

Is hospital a Malay word? Are there other words for “hospital” in Malay or Indonesian?

Hospital is a loanword (from English/French), but it is fully accepted and standard in Malay:

• hospital – the normal modern word in Malay (and widely used in Malaysia)

Other forms:

• Classical/older Malay sometimes used rumah sakit (literally sick house),
  but this is now mainly Indonesian.
• In Indonesian today, the standard term is rumah sakit, while hospital is understood but less common.

So in Malaysian Malay, your use of hospital is exactly right:
Saya mahu menderma darah di hospital esok.

How would I turn this into a question, like “Do you want to donate blood at the hospital tomorrow?”

Malay yes–no questions often just use rising intonation, or a question word like kah or tak / tidak. Some options:

To ask you (formal/polite):

• Adakah anda mahu menderma darah di hospital esok?
  – Very formal, textbook/polite.

• Anda mahu menderma darah di hospital esok?
  – Common spoken question; just use a rising tone.

• Awak nak derma darah dekat hospital esok tak?
  – Informal spoken Malay (using awak, nak, dekat, tak).

For a strict yes–no question in standard Malay, you can also use:

• Adakah kamu mahu menderma darah di hospital esok?
• Or add atau tidak at the end:
  Anda mahu menderma darah di hospital esok atau tidak?
  = Do you want to donate blood at the hospital tomorrow or not?

How would I say “I have to donate blood at the hospital tomorrow” instead of “I want to”?

Change the verb of desire mahu (want) to a verb of obligation:

Common choices:

• perlu – need to
• mesti – must / have to
• harus – must / should (more formal / written)

Examples:

• Saya perlu menderma darah di hospital esok.
  = I need to donate blood at the hospital tomorrow.

• Saya mesti menderma darah di hospital esok.
  = I must / have to donate blood at the hospital tomorrow.

• Saya harus menderma darah di hospital esok.
  = I must / should donate blood at the hospital tomorrow. (more formal)

How would I say “I don’t want to donate blood at the hospital tomorrow”?

Just negate mahu with tidak:

• Saya tidak mahu menderma darah di hospital esok.
  = I don’t want to donate blood at the hospital tomorrow.

In informal speech:

• Saya tak nak derma darah dekat hospital esok.
  – tak = informal tidak
  – nak = informal mahu
  – dekat often used instead of di in casual speech.

Why doesn’t the verb change for “tomorrow”? How is tense shown in Malay?

Malay verbs do not change form for tense (no -ed, -s, -ing, etc.).

Instead, time is shown by:

1. Time words:

   • semalam – yesterday
   • tadi – just now / earlier
   • sekarang – now
   • esok – tomorrow
   • nanti – later

2. Aspect markers (optional):

   • sudah / telah – already
   • sedang – currently / in the middle of
   • akan – will (often omitted if there is a time word)

In your sentence:

• esok (tomorrow) already tells us it is in the future,
• so mahu menderma stays the same; no extra future marking is required.

You could say:

• Saya akan menderma darah di hospital esok.
  = I will donate blood at the hospital tomorrow.

But Saya mahu menderma darah di hospital esok is already fully clear.