Learn Hardcore Malay: Saya kenal bos di pejabat itu.

Kenal means to know someone personally / to be acquainted with someone or something.
In this sentence, Saya kenal bos di pejabat itu = I know (am acquainted with) the boss at that office.

Tahu means to know (a fact, information, that something is true).

Saya tahu bos di pejabat itu garang = I know (that) the boss at that office is strict.

So:

kenal + person → you know them personally.
tahu + fact/information → you know information about something.

Could you also say Saya tahu bos di pejabat itu with the same meaning?

Normally, no.

Saya tahu bos di pejabat itu sounds incomplete and odd, because tahu expects a fact or a clause after it. Native speakers would wait for something like:

Saya tahu bos di pejabat itu baik. (I know the boss at that office is kind.)

To say I know the boss, you should use kenal, not tahu.

What does bos mean exactly, and how formal is it?

Bos is a common, everyday word meaning boss / superior / manager.
It is widely used in Malaysia and understood in Indonesia as well. It is informal–neutral, very common in speech, and acceptable in many written contexts that aren’t extremely formal.

More formal options (depending on context) include:

pengurus – manager
ketua – leader/head
majikan – employer

But in normal conversation, bos is very natural.

Does Saya kenal bos di pejabat itu mean the boss or a boss?

Malay does not have articles like a and the, so you infer it from context.

In most contexts, bos di pejabat itu is understood as the boss at that office (a specific, known person).
If you really wanted to stress that it is just a boss among several, you would normally add extra words to clarify, for example:

Saya kenal seorang bos di pejabat itu. – I know a boss at that office.

Without such markers, bos di pejabat itu usually feels definite: the boss.

What does itu add to the meaning of pejabat? Could we drop itu?

Itu literally means that, and it makes pejabat (office) more specific:

pejabat – office (in general)
pejabat itu – that office / the aforementioned office

Saya kenal bos di pejabat itu implies a particular office that the listener can identify from context.

You can say Saya kenal bos di pejabat without itu, but then it’s looser and can sound like I know the boss in the office (some office in general, or the one we’re currently talking about), without pointing as clearly to a specific known office.

What does the preposition di do here, and why is it not dari or pada?

Di is the basic preposition for in / at / on (location).

di pejabat itu = at / in that office

Dari means from, so dari pejabat itu would mean from that office (origin, not location).
Pada is used more for at / on (time, abstract location, some formal contexts) and would sound unnatural here.

So di is the correct choice to indicate physical location.

Is the word order fixed? Could I say Saya kenal di pejabat itu bos?

The natural word order is:
Saya kenal [bos di pejabat itu].

The phrase bos di pejabat itu is one noun phrase (the boss at that office).
Putting di pejabat itu before bos as Saya kenal di pejabat itu bos is ungrammatical.

You can rearrange within limits:

Saya kenal bos itu di pejabat. – I know that boss at the office. (slightly different nuance: focus on that boss, not that office)
But you cannot break the structure in the way you suggested.

Can I leave out Saya and just say Kenal bos di pejabat itu?

In casual spoken Malay, yes, you might hear Kenal bos di pejabat itu.

Dropping Saya:

is common in conversation when the subject is obvious from context,
is less natural in more formal or written Malay.

However, the full sentence Saya kenal bos di pejabat itu is always safe and clear, especially for a learner.

Is Saya mengenali bos di pejabat itu also correct? How does it differ from Saya kenal…?

Saya mengenali bos di pejabat itu is grammatically correct, but it sounds more formal or literary.

kenal is short, common, and very natural in everyday speech.
mengenali is the formally derived verb and can sound like written Malay, news, or more careful speech.

In ordinary conversation, people overwhelmingly say Saya kenal bos di pejabat itu.

Can I add dengan and say Saya kenal dengan bos di pejabat itu?

Yes, Saya kenal dengan bos di pejabat itu is used in many varieties of Malay and is understood as I know the boss at that office.

Nuance:

Saya kenal bos di pejabat itu. – base, neutral.
Saya kenal dengan bos di pejabat itu. – often feels a bit more interpersonal, like I’m acquainted with / I have dealings with the boss at that office.

Both are acceptable; without dengan is slightly simpler and more textbook‑neutral.

How do I make this sentence negative: I don’t know the boss at that office?

Use tidak before the verb:

Saya tidak kenal bos di pejabat itu. – I don’t know the boss at that office.

You do not use bukan here, because bukan negates nouns and noun phrases, while tidak negates verbs and adjectives. Here, kenal is a verb, so tidak is correct.

How would I say I know my boss at that office versus I know the boss at that office?

To say my boss, you add saya after bos:

Saya kenal bos saya di pejabat itu. – I know my boss at that office.

The original sentence:

Saya kenal bos di pejabat itu. – I know the boss at that office.

So:

bos saya = my boss
bos di pejabat itu = the boss at that office (whoever that is).

Does this sentence express present tense only, or can it also mean I already know / I have known the boss?

Malay verbs do not change form for tense, so Saya kenal bos di pejabat itu can cover:

I know the boss at that office.
I already know the boss at that office.

Context decides whether you mean present, past experience, or a general fact.

If you want to emphasise already, you can add sudah:

Saya sudah kenal bos di pejabat itu. – I already know the boss at that office.

If you want to emphasise past experience at least once, you can use pernah:

Saya pernah kenal bos di pejabat itu. – I once knew / have at some point known the boss at that office.