Learn Hardcore Malay: Mesyuarat mingguan kelab belajar membantu kami mengurus masa dalam minggu yang padat. - The study club’s weekly meeting helps us manage our time in a busy week.

Both are correct. Mingguan sounds a bit more compact and slightly more formal, while setiap minggu is more explicit and very common in everyday speech. The meaning is essentially the same here.

How is the noun phrase mesyuarat mingguan kelab belajar structured? Which word modifies which?

The structure is:

mesyuarat = meeting (head noun)
mingguan = weekly (adjective describing mesyuarat)
kelab belajar = study club (a noun phrase that further specifies mesyuarat)

So literally: meeting (mesyuarat) + weekly (mingguan) + of the study club (kelab belajar)
= the weekly meeting of the study club.

The modifier order is: head noun → adjective → “owner”/specifier.
Malay usually puts modifiers after the noun they describe, unlike English.

Why is it kelab belajar and not kelab pelajar? What’s the difference?

kelab belajar literally means study club – a club whose main activity is studying/learning.
kelab pelajar literally means students’ club – a club for students (could be about anything, not necessarily studying).

Here belajar (to study/learn) is used almost like a noun to show the club’s activity.
So kelab belajar focuses on what the club does.
Kelab pelajar focuses on who the club is for.

Can the word order be changed to mesyuarat kelab belajar mingguan?

That word order is not natural.

In Malay, adjectives like mingguan typically come directly after the noun they describe:

mesyuarat mingguan (weekly meeting) ✔
mesyuarat kelab belajar mingguan ✖ (sounds wrong/confusing)

If you want to emphasize the club, you can say:

mesyuarat mingguan untuk kelab belajar (weekly meeting for the study club)

But mesyuarat mingguan kelab belajar is the most natural compact form.

Why is it membantu kami mengurus masa and not membantu kami untuk mengurus masa? Is untuk needed?

Both are possible:

membantu kami mengurus masa
membantu kami untuk mengurus masa

In this structure, untuk is optional.
After membantu, it’s very common to go straight to another verb:

membantu saya faham (help me understand)
membantu kita merancang (help us plan)

Using untuk adds a tiny bit of formality or emphasis, but there is no real difference in meaning here. The version without untuk is slightly more natural and smoother.

What exactly does mengurus mean here? How is it different from mengatur or mengendalikan?

Mengurus generally means to manage / to handle / to take care of something in an organized way.

mengurus masa = manage one’s time

Comparison:

mengurus – manage, handle overall (broader sense)
mengatur – arrange, schedule, organize (often about putting things in order)
mengendalikan – control, operate (often about controlling machines, systems, or situations)

For time management, mengurus masa and mengatur masa are both used, but mengurus masa matches very well with the idea of time management.

Why is the preposition dalam used in dalam minggu yang padat? Could we use pada or semasa instead?

Dalam here means something like in / within a period of time.

You could also say:

pada minggu yang padat – on / in the busy week
semasa minggu yang padat – during the busy week

Nuances:

dalam minggu yang padat – quite natural; highlights the time frame within a busy week.
pada minggu yang padat – grammatically fine; sounds a bit more like pointing to that week as a point in time.
semasa minggu yang padat – more clearly “during that busy week”.

In everyday use, dalam and semasa both work well here; dalam is very common.

What is the function of yang in minggu yang padat? Why not just minggu padat?

Yang introduces a descriptive clause or phrase, similar to “that is / which is” in English.

minggu yang padat = a week that is packed/busy

You can say minggu padat, and people will understand, but:

minggu yang padat sounds more natural and complete, especially in written or slightly formal Malay.
Without yang, padat feels more like a simple adjective.
With yang, it feels like “the week that is busy/packed”, slightly more descriptive and specific.

So minggu yang padat is the more standard-sounding choice.

Could we make minggu plural, like minggu-minggu yang padat? How would that change the meaning?

Yes:

minggu yang padat = a busy week / the busy week
minggu-minggu yang padat = busy weeks / the busy weeks

Malay doesn’t always mark plural, and context often makes it clear. Doubling (minggu-minggu) is used when you want to emphasize that you are talking about many weeks, not just one. In this sentence, the singular feels more natural unless you specifically mean a long period of many busy weeks.

What’s the difference between kami and kita here? Why is kami used?

Both mean we / us, but:

kami = we (excluding the listener)
kita = we (including the listener)

Using kami suggests:

The speaker is talking about their group, and the listener is not part of that group (for example, explaining to an outsider about the club).

If the speaker and the listener are all members of this club and the speaker wants to include the listener in we, they might say:

… membantu kita mengurus masa …

In the given sentence, kami is correct if the listener is not part of the club, or the speaker chooses to exclude the listener.

Could this sentence be made more casual for spoken Malay? What might that look like?

Yes, in casual spoken Malay, you might hear something like:

Mesyuarat kelab belajar tiap-tiap minggu ni memang tolong kami urus masa dalam minggu yang sangat padat.

Changes:

tiap-tiap minggu instead of mingguan (more colloquial)
tolong instead of membantu (more informal)
Possibly adding particles like ni (this) or intensifiers like sangat (very) for a natural spoken feel.

The original sentence is correct and sounds neutral-formal, suitable for writing or more careful speech.