Learn Hardcore Malay: Dia bimbang tentang ujian esok, padahal dia sudah banyak berlatih. - He/She is worried about the test tomorrow, even though he/she has practised a lot.

A more formal, respectful version is beliau, usually used for respected people (teachers, officials, older people, etc.), but dia is the normal, neutral pronoun in most contexts.

What nuance does bimbang have, and how is it different from risau or khawatir?

All three can relate to worry, but there are slight nuances and register differences:

bimbang
- Meaning: worried, anxious, uneasy.
- Register: neutral, common in both spoken and written Malay.
- Often about something you’re unsure or afraid might happen:
  - Saya bimbang keputusan ujian. – I’m worried about the exam results.
risau
- Meaning: worried, troubled.
- Register: very common in everyday speech, slightly more informal than bimbang.
- Often used interchangeably with bimbang in conversation:
  - Dia risau pasal ujian esok.
khawatir / khuatir
- Variant spellings (Indonesian: khawatir, Malay often: khawatir or khuatir).
- Meaning: worried, concerned.
- Register: a bit more formal/literary in Malaysian Malay; very common in Indonesian.

In your sentence, bimbang is a natural, neutral choice. In casual speech, you might hear:

Dia risau pasal ujian esok…

Why is tentang used here? Could I say bimbang ujian esok or bimbang akan ujian esok instead?

Tentang is a preposition meaning about / regarding / concerning.

So:

Dia bimbang tentang ujian esok
= He/She is worried about the exam tomorrow.

Options:

bimbang tentang ujian esok – very natural, neutral.
bimbang akan ujian esok – grammatically okay, more formal/literary; you see akan more in writing.
bimbang ujian esok – sounds incomplete or awkward in standard Malay; a preposition is normally expected here.
Colloquial speech often uses pasal instead of tentang:
- Dia risau pasal exam esok.

So, for standard, everyday Malay, bimbang tentang ujian esok is a very good choice.

Why is it ujian esok and not “esok ujian”? How does this word order work?

In ujian esok, the order is:

ujian = exam (head noun)
esok = tomorrow (time word, functioning like a descriptor here)

Malay often puts time-related words or other descriptors after the noun:

ujian esok – tomorrow’s exam
mesyuarat hari ini – today’s meeting
kelas malam – evening class

You can say esok ada ujian (Tomorrow there is an exam), but that’s a different structure:

esok ada ujian = Tomorrow, there is an exam.
ujian esok = the exam (which is) tomorrow.

So in your sentence, tentang ujian esok is specifically “about tomorrow’s exam” as a single noun phrase.

What exactly does padahal mean here? Is it like “although”, “even though”, or “but”?

Padahal is a conjunction that introduces a contrast with an expectation. It carries a feeling of “but actually / even though / whereas”, often implying that the second clause shows something surprising or ironic compared to the first.

In your sentence:

Dia bimbang tentang ujian esok, padahal dia sudah banyak berlatih.
→ He/She is worried about the exam tomorrow, even though he/she has already practised a lot.

The nuance is:

We would expect that having practised a lot would reduce the worry,
padahal highlights that reality is the opposite of what we expect.

So padahal can often be translated as:

even though / whereas / but (actually)

It has a slightly conversational tone and often carries a sense of “kind of ironic, isn’t it?” or mild criticism/surprise.

What is the difference between padahal and walaupun? Could I replace padahal with walaupun here?

Both connect two clauses with a sense of contrast, but they are used differently.

walaupun ≈ although / even though (concessive)
- Typically introduces the unexpected condition:
  - Walaupun dia sudah banyak berlatih, dia tetap bimbang tentang ujian esok.
    → Although he/she has already practised a lot, he/she is still worried about the exam tomorrow.
padahal ≈ even though / whereas / but actually (contrasting expectation, often with a hint of “this is ironic”)
- Often used in the middle, after the first statement:
  - Dia bimbang tentang ujian esok, padahal dia sudah banyak berlatih.

Grammatically, you can rewrite the sentence with walaupun as shown, but:

The structure changes: walaupun prefers to start the clause.
The tone changes slightly: padahal feels more like a comment on the situation (almost like “which is surprising / which doesn’t make sense”), while walaupun is more neutral “although”.

So you can express the same idea with walaupun, but the style and emphasis are a bit different.

What does sudah add here? How is it different from telah or just saying dia banyak berlatih?

Sudah is an aspect marker meaning already, indicating that an action has been completed.

In your sentence:

dia sudah banyak berlatih
= he/she has already practised a lot (the practising happened before now / before the exam)

Comparisons:

sudah – very common in speech and writing; neutral.
telah – more formal, often used in written or formal Malay (news, official documents).
- dia telah banyak berlatih – same meaning, but sounds more formal.
No marker: dia banyak berlatih – can mean “he/she practised a lot” or “he/she practises a lot” depending on context, but it doesn’t stress the “already (completed)” idea as clearly.

So sudah here gives the sense of “has already done so (by now)”, which is important for the contrast with bimbang.

How does banyak berlatih work grammatically? Is banyak an adjective or an adverb here?

In banyak berlatih, the structure is:

banyak = many / much / a lot
berlatih = to practise

Here, banyak functions like an adverbial quantifier modifying the verb berlatih:

banyak berlatih = practise a lot / practise a great deal

Compare:

banyak berlatih – focuses on the amount of practising (the action)
- Dia sudah banyak berlatih. – He/She has practised a lot.
banyak latihan – focuses on the number of practice sessions / exercises (the noun)
- Dia sudah buat banyak latihan. – He/She has done a lot of practice exercises.

Both are natural, but:

banyak berlatih emphasises the repeated action of practising.
banyak latihan emphasises the quantity of practice tasks.

Malay has no verb tenses like English. How does this sentence express “has practised a lot” (present perfect)?

Malay doesn’t change the verb form to show tense. Instead, it uses:

time expressions (yesterday, tomorrow, last week, etc.)
aspect markers like sudah / telah (already), sedang (in the middle of), akan (will), etc.

In your sentence:

dia sudah banyak berlatih
- dia – he/she
- sudah – already (completed aspect)
- banyak berlatih – practise a lot

This combination naturally corresponds to English present perfect (“has practised a lot”) or simple past (“practised a lot”), depending on context.

So, the idea of “has practised (already, before now)” comes from sudah, not from a change in the verb form.

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral? How might it sound in casual spoken Malay?

The original sentence is neutral and suitable for most contexts (written and spoken):

Dia bimbang tentang ujian esok, padahal dia sudah banyak berlatih.

In casual spoken Malaysian Malay, you might hear more colloquial choices:

Dia risau pasal exam esok, padahal dia dah banyak practice.

Changes:

risau instead of bimbang – more colloquial.
pasal instead of tentang – everyday speech.
exam instead of ujian – English loanword, very common in informal speech.
dah instead of sudah – colloquial contraction.
practice instead of berlatih – English verb used in speech.

The original form, however, is good, standard Malay that you can safely use in writing and in polite conversation.