Learn Hardcore Malay: Dia suka melihat langit merah pada waktu senja. - He/She likes to look at the red sky at dusk.

It can mean he or she.
It can also sometimes mean it, especially for animals or when the gender is not important.
Context usually tells you whether dia is male, female, or just “someone”.

If you need to be very clear about gender, you add extra words, e.g.:

dia lelaki itu – that man (he)
dia perempuan itu – that woman (she)

Why isn’t there any word for to in suka melihat? In English we say likes to look, but here it’s just suka melihat.

Malay doesn’t need a separate word like to before a verb the way English does.

suka = to like
melihat = to look / to see

When one verb follows another, you can just put them together:

suka melihat – likes to look
suka makan – likes to eat
suka membaca – likes to read

So Dia suka melihat… literally feels like He/She likes look(ing)…, but it’s the normal way to say likes to look in Malay.

What is the difference between lihat and melihat? Why is it melihat here?

Both are related to seeing/looking, but:

lihat is the base form.
melihat is the meN- verb form built from lihat.

In modern colloquial Malay:

lihat and melihat are often interchangeable in meaning.
melihat can sound a bit more formal or “complete”.
lihat can sound simpler, sometimes more casual.

In this sentence, you could say:

Dia suka melihat langit merah… (perfectly fine, slightly more standard/formal)
Dia suka lihat langit merah… (also fine, a bit simpler/colloquial)

Both are understandable and natural.

Could I leave out melihat and just say Dia suka langit merah pada waktu senja?

You can say it, but the meaning changes.

Dia suka melihat langit merah… – He/She likes to look at the red sky at dusk.
Dia suka langit merah… – He/She likes red sky / red skies at dusk.

Without melihat, it sounds more like:

They like the red sky as a thing, in general (an opinion), not specifically the action of looking at it.

To keep the idea of the activity (enjoys watching the sky), it’s better to keep melihat (or lihat).

Why is langit merah and not merah langit? In English we say red sky, adjective before noun.

In Malay, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe:

langit merah – red sky (literally: sky red)
baju biru – blue shirt (shirt blue)
rumah besar – big house (house big)

So:

langit = sky
merah = red

merah langit is not the normal way to say red sky. It would sound wrong or at least very odd in standard Malay. The default pattern is noun + adjective.

Does suka show tense? How do we know this is not liked (past) or will like (future)?

suka itself has no tense. Malay verbs do not change form for past, present, or future.

Dia suka melihat… can mean:
- He/She likes to look… (general/habit)
- He/She liked to look… (in the past)
- He/She will like to look… (with the right context)

To make tense/time clear, Malay relies on time words or context, for example:

Dulu dia suka melihat… – In the past, he/she liked to look…
Sekarang dia suka melihat… – Now he/she likes to look…
Nanti dia akan suka melihat… – Later he/she will like to look…

In isolation, this sentence is naturally understood as a general habit/preference: he/she likes to do this (in general, now).

What does pada waktu senja literally mean, and can I change this phrase?

Literally:

pada – at / on / in (a general preposition)
waktu – time
senja – dusk / twilight

So pada waktu senja = at the time of dusk → at dusk.

Common variations you might hear:

pada senja – at dusk (dropping waktu, still correct)
waktu senja – at dusk (often used without pada in speech)
pada waktu petang – in the evening / late afternoon
pada waktu malam – at night

All are grammatical, but pada waktu senja is a neat, standard way to say at dusk.

Can I leave out pada and just say Dia suka melihat langit merah waktu senja?

Yes, that’s common in everyday speech.

pada waktu senja – a bit more complete/formal.
waktu senja – still correct and very natural.

So:

Dia suka melihat langit merah pada waktu senja. (standard)
Dia suka melihat langit merah waktu senja. (also standard and very natural in conversation)

Both are fine and widely used.

Do we need a preposition like at or to after melihat, e.g. melihat ke langit merah?

With melihat, you usually go directly to the object; no extra preposition is needed:

melihat langit – look at the sky
melihat bunga – look at the flower

So:

Dia suka melihat langit merah… is already natural.

You might sometimes see melihat ke in some contexts:

melihat ke arah langit – to look towards the sky

But that adds a sense of direction (towards), not just simple looking at. For the basic idea of looking at the red sky, you do not need ke.

Is there any nuance in using merah vs a form like kemerahan for the sky?

Yes, there’s a small nuance:

merah – red, a straightforward color:
- langit merah – red sky
kemerahan – reddish, having a red tint:
- langit yang kemerahan – a reddish sky / sky with a reddish hue

So:

langit merah – suggests the sky is clearly red.
langit yang kemerahan – suggests the sky has a red tone, maybe mixed with orange/pink, more descriptive.

Both can fit sunset imagery; merah is simpler and very common.

Could we use beliau instead of dia here?

You can, but the tone changes.

dia – normal, neutral he/she, used for almost anyone.
beliau – respectful he/she, usually for:
- older people,
- people with higher status (teachers, officials, leaders),
- when you want to sound polite/formal in writing.

So:

Dia suka melihat langit merah… – neutral, general statement.
Beliau suka melihat langit merah… – polite, respectful; talking about someone you respect.

Grammatically both work; choose based on how respectful/formal you want to be.

Is this sentence formal or informal? Is it okay for everyday conversation?

Dia suka melihat langit merah pada waktu senja. is:

Fully grammatical.
Neutral enough for written and spoken use.
Slightly on the standard side (because of melihat and pada waktu), but still natural in speech.

In more casual conversation, people might shorten or simplify slightly:

Dia suka tengok langit merah waktu senja.

But your original sentence is perfectly natural and widely acceptable in both speech and writing.