Learn Hardcore Malay: Kami makan mi panas di kantin selepas kelas. - We eat hot noodles at the canteen after class.

In Kami makan mi panas…, the speaker is saying that they ate without including the listener in that group. If the listener was also part of the group that ate, you would say Kita makan mi panas di kantin selepas kelas.

There’s no word for ate or are eating. How do I know the tense of makan here?

Malay verbs, including makan (to eat), normally do not change form for tense. The time is understood from context or from time words.

In this sentence, selepas kelas (after class) suggests a past action in a typical classroom story, so makan is likely understood as “ate”.
If you needed to be very clear, you could add time words like:

tadi → Kami makan mi panas di kantin tadi selepas kelas. (We ate … just now after class.)
sedang for ongoing → Kami sedang makan mi panas… (We are eating hot noodles…)

Why is the adjective panas after the noun mi? Can I say panas mi?

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

mi panas = hot noodles
kantin besar = big canteen
kelas baru = new class

So mi panas is correct and natural.
Panas mi would sound wrong in standard Malay; that order isn’t used for normal adjective–noun phrases.

There is no word for the or some in mi panas. How do I know if it means the hot noodles or some hot noodles?

Malay generally does not use articles like a, an, the. A bare noun phrase like mi panas is flexible and can mean:

hot noodles
some hot noodles
the hot noodles

The exact English translation depends on context. If you really need to be specific, you can add other words, for example:

beberapa mangkuk mi panas = several bowls of hot noodles
mi panas itu = that hot noodles / those hot noodles (more like “those hot noodles”)

Is mi the same as mee? I see both spellings.

Yes, they refer to the same thing: noodles (usually egg noodles, often of Chinese origin).

mi is the standard spelling in modern Malay.
mee is older / informal and still very common in menus, shop signs, or casual writing.

So Kami makan mi panas… and Kami makan mee panas… are understood the same, but mi is the spelling you’ll see in formal writing and dictionaries.

Can I drop kami and just say Makan mi panas di kantin selepas kelas?

Yes, you can drop the subject when it is clear from context.

Kami makan mi panas… is explicit: We ate hot noodles…
Makan mi panas di kantin selepas kelas. could mean [We/They/I] ate hot noodles… depending on context.

In conversation, people often omit kami, kita, saya, etc., if everyone already knows who is being talked about. In a textbook example, they usually keep kami to make it clear.

What’s the role of di in di kantin? Could I say just kantin selepas kelas?

Di is a preposition meaning “at / in / on (location)”.

di kantin = at the canteen
di rumah = at home
di sekolah = at school

You cannot normally drop di in this kind of sentence.
Kami makan mi panas kantin selepas kelas would be wrong or at least confusing. You need di to mark the place: Kami makan mi panas di kantin selepas kelas.

What is the difference between selepas and lepas? Which one should I use?

Both can mean after:

selepas is more formal/standard.
lepas is more casual/colloquial and very common in speech.

So you can say:

Kami makan mi panas di kantin selepas kelas. (standard)
Kami makan mi panas di kantin lepas kelas. (colloquial, very natural in everyday speech)

For writing in exams, textbooks, or formal contexts, prefer selepas.

Could selepas kelas mean “after the class (in general)” or “after class (today)”? How specific is it?

Selepas kelas is inherently vague about which class and which time. It just means “after class”.

The exact meaning comes from context:

Talking about a routine: it could mean after class (every day / usually).
Talking about a specific day: it’s understood as after class (today / just now).

To be more specific, you add extra information, for example:

selepas kelas tadi = after class just now
selepas kelas esok = after class tomorrow
selepas kelas Bahasa Melayu = after the Malay class

Why is it makan, not memakan? What’s the difference?

Both come from the same root makan (to eat), but:

makan is the everyday verb form for to eat.
memakan is a meN- prefixed form that sounds more formal/literary, often used when you want to emphasize that something consumes or takes up something else (time, money, space), e.g.
- Projek itu memakan masa dua tahun. = That project took two years.

For normal “eating food”, people almost always use makan, so:

Kami makan mi panas… is natural.
Kami memakan mi panas… sounds overly formal or stylistically strange in everyday conversation.

Is makan only used for eating food, or can it mean other things?

Makan mainly means to eat (food or drink in a broad sense), but it can also be used metaphorically:

ubat makan = oral medicine (literally medicine for eating)
makan gaji = to be salaried (“eat salary” → have a paid job)
makan angin = literally eat wind, idiomatically go for a trip/holiday

In this sentence, though, it has the straightforward meaning: to eat (noodles).

What does kantin refer to exactly? Is it like a café, restaurant, or canteen?

Kantin is closest to English canteen. It usually refers to:

A place inside a school, office, or institution where people buy simple food and drinks.

For a general eating place outside, you’d more often hear:

kedai makan = food stall / simple eatery
restoran = restaurant

So di kantin suggests they are probably in a school or workplace setting.

Does kelas always mean class (the lesson), or can it mean classroom too?

Kelas can mean both, depending on context:

The lesson / session:
- Saya ada kelas pukul 8. = I have class at 8 o’clock.
The classroom (less common, but used):
- Dia masuk ke kelas. = He / she entered the classroom.

In selepas kelas, it’s most naturally understood as “after (the) class/lesson”, not the physical room.

Is mi panas understood as “noodles that are hot in temperature” or could it also mean “spicy noodles”?

Literally, panas means hot (temperature), so mi panas is hot/warm noodles.

For “spicy”, Malay normally uses pedas:

mi pedas = spicy noodles

In real life, hot noodles are often also spicy, but strictly speaking:

mi panas → hot in temperature
mi pedas → spicy in taste