Learn Hardcore Malay: Anak perempuan itu sangat berbakat bermain gitar, tetapi dia juga rajin buat senaman. - That girl is very talented at playing the guitar, but she also diligently does exercise.

anak perempuan together is the common way to say “girl (daughter / female child)”.
itu makes it definite: a specific girl already known in the context, so it works like “the” or “that”.
Without itu, you would usually add a classifier for an indefinite girl, for example:
- Seorang anak perempuan = a girl / one girl.

So anak perempuan itu ≈ “that (specific) girl / the girl.”

Why is there no word like “is” before sangat berbakat? In English we say “The girl is very talented”, but in Malay it’s just anak perempuan itu sangat berbakat.

Malay does not use a separate verb like “to be” (is, am, are) before adjectives.

The pattern is simply:

[subject] + [adverb, if any] + [adjective]

So:

Anak perempuan itu sangat berbakat
= literally “That girl very talented”
= “That girl is very talented.”

This is normal and correct. You only add a verb when needed for other tenses/aspects or different meanings, for example:

Anak perempuan itu akan menjadi sangat berbakat.
= That girl will become very talented.

But in the basic descriptive sentence, there is no “is”.

What is the function of sangat in sangat berbakat, and are there other similar words?

sangat is an adverb meaning “very” or “highly”. It intensifies an adjective:

berbakat = talented
sangat berbakat = very talented / highly talented

Common similar intensifiers:

amat – very (often slightly more formal)
- amat berbakat
terlalu – too / excessively
- terlalu berbakat can sound funny in some contexts, but grammatically means “too talented”
begitu – so (to that extent)
- begitu berbakat = so talented

Position: they usually come before the adjective:

sangat rajin, amat cantik, terlalu mahal

What is the difference between bakat and berbakat, and why do we use berbakat here?

bakat is a noun = talent.
- Dia ada bakat. = He/She has talent.
berbakat is an adjective formed with the prefix ber-. It means “talented / having talent.”
- Dia berbakat. = He/She is talented.

In this sentence:

sangat berbakat describes the girl’s quality, so we need an adjective, not a noun.
Saying anak perempuan itu sangat bakat would be wrong; use berbakat.

You could rephrase with the noun:

Anak perempuan itu ada bakat besar dalam bermain gitar.
= That girl has great talent in playing guitar.

But the original uses the simpler adjective: sangat berbakat.

Why is it bermain gitar instead of just main gitar or something like memainkan gitar?

All of these forms exist, but they differ slightly in formality and nuance.

bermain gitar
- bermain = to play (intransitive / general)
- bermain gitar = to play the guitar
- Neutral and correct in standard Malay.
main gitar
- main is the bare root (from bermain).
- Very common in informal speech.
- You’ll often hear: Dia pandai main gitar.
- In writing or formal contexts, bermain gitar is safer.
memainkan gitar
- From the meN-…-kan pattern.
- Grammatically possible, but people almost never say memainkan gitar in everyday language.
- You’re far more likely to hear memainkan lagu (play a song), where lagu is the direct object.

So bermain gitar is the most natural standard form for “play the guitar.”

What is the difference between tetapi and tapi, and is the comma before tetapi necessary?

tetapi = but / however
- More formal and standard.
tapi = shortened form of tetapi
- Very common in informal speech.

In writing:

For a sentence like this, tetapi is the more neutral / standard choice.
You can also write …, tetapi dia juga rajin… with a comma, just like in English:
- “…, tetapi …” = “… but …”

The comma is normal and recommended, but you will also see it omitted in less strict writing.

In speech:

tapi is extremely common:
- … tapi dia juga rajin buat senaman.

Does dia mean “he” or “she” here, and how does Malay handle gender in pronouns?

dia is gender‑neutral. It can mean “he” or “she”:

dia = he / she
mereka = they

Malay normally does not mark gender in the pronoun itself. Context tells you whether dia is male or female.

In this sentence, we know dia refers back to anak perempuan itu (the girl), so in English we translate it as “she.”

For politeness:

beliau can be used instead of dia when referring respectfully to someone of higher status or someone being honored (teachers, leaders, etc.).

But in everyday speech about a girl, dia is standard.

What exactly does rajin mean in this sentence? Does it mean “often” or “diligent”?

rajin is an adjective meaning essentially “diligent / hardworking / industrious.”

It often carries the idea of:

Doing something regularly and with effort
Being disciplined about an activity

Examples:

Dia rajin belajar. = He/She studies diligently.
Dia rajin bekerja. = He/She works hard.

In this sentence:

dia juga rajin buat senaman
= She is also diligent about doing exercise / regularly makes the effort to exercise.

It does not simply mean “often”.
For “often” you would usually use selalu or kerap:

Dia selalu buat senaman. = She often exercises.

Here, rajin emphasizes her good habit and effort, not just frequency.

Is buat senaman correct, and how does it differ from bersenam or melakukan senaman?

All three can be heard, but there are differences in register and style.

buat senaman
- buat = do/make
- senaman = exercise (noun)
- Literally: “do exercise.”
- Very common in informal speech.
- This is what appears in the sentence:
  - rajin buat senaman = diligent about doing exercise.
bersenam
- ber-
  - senam (root)
- A single verb meaning “to exercise”.
- Common and sounds slightly more standard/compact.
- You could say:
  - Dia juga rajin bersenam. = She is also diligent about exercising.
melakukan senaman
- melakukan = to do / to carry out
- More formal and a bit heavier.
- Used in health articles, official guidelines, etc.:
  - Anda digalakkan melakukan senaman setiap hari.

So yes, buat senaman is natural, especially in everyday Malay, but you should also recognize bersenam as the neat single‑verb alternative.

Where should juga go in the sentence, and could we move it somewhere else?

In the given sentence:

… tetapi dia juga rajin buat senaman.
= “… but she also diligently does exercise.”

Here juga = also / too, and its usual place is:

after the subject and before the main adjective/verb:
- Dia juga rajin…
- Dia juga belajar.

Other possible positions and nuances:

Dia rajin juga buat senaman.
- Sounds less natural; could be read as “She’s diligent, and also (by the way) does exercise.”
Dia rajin buat senaman juga.
- Emphasizes that exercise is another thing she does, often with a sense like “as well” at the end of the statement.

The most straightforward and natural placement in neutral speech is exactly what you see:

dia juga rajin buat senaman.

Can we drop itu and just say anak perempuan sangat berbakat…?

Normally, you wouldn’t leave it like that. You have three main patterns:

Definite (“the girl / that girl”)
- anak perempuan itu
- Refers to a specific girl known to speaker and listener.
Indefinite (“a girl”)
- seorang anak perempuan
- seorang is a classifier meaning “one (person).”
Generic/plural sense
- Context-dependent and often needs more wording.

If you just say:

Anak perempuan sangat berbakat…

it sounds incomplete or ungrammatical in most contexts, as if something is missing. You’d usually choose either:

Anak perempuan itu sangat berbakat… = That girl / the girl is very talented…
Seorang anak perempuan sangat berbakat… = A girl is very talented…

So in this sentence, itu is what makes it naturally refer to that specific girl.

Is there any difference between anak perempuan, gadis, and wanita?

Yes, they differ in age range and nuance:

anak perempuan
- Literally “female child”, so girl / daughter.
- Emphasizes being someone’s child or being under adult age.
gadis
- Often means “young unmarried woman” / “young girl”.
- Can have a slightly literary or descriptive feel.
- Example: gadis itu, seorang gadis manis.
wanita
- Means “woman” (adult female).
- Used in formal contexts: hak wanita (women’s rights), kaum wanita (women as a group).

In this sentence, anak perempuan itu clearly paints her as a girl / young daughter‑type figure, which fits nicely with the idea of her learning guitar and exercising.