Learn Hardcore Malay: Ibu menggalakkan saya menabung sedikit setiap bulan. - Mother encourages me to save a little every month.

In this sentence, Ibu most naturally means (my) mother. It’s a respectful, fairly neutral way to refer to or address your own mother in standard Malay.

Some notes:

In everyday speech, people might also say Mak, Emak, Mama, Ummi, etc., depending on region and background.
Ibu can also mean Ma’am / Madam as a polite address for an older woman, but with saya in the sentence, the default reading is my mother.
To make my mother explicit, you could also say ibu saya, but often Ibu alone is understood from context.

Why is it menggalakkan and not just galak? What do the prefixes and suffixes do?

Galak by itself is an adjective meaning eager, spirited, excited, and in some contexts aggressive.

To turn it into a verb to encourage (someone), Malay adds:

the prefix meN- → here it becomes meng- because the root starts with g
the suffix -kan

So: meN- + galak + -kan → menggalakkan = to encourage / to promote / to stimulate.

The double kk is just the spelling result of galak + kan → galakkan (both k sounds stay).

How does the part menggalakkan saya menabung work? Why are there two verbs together?

The pattern here is:

menggalakkan = to encourage (verb 1)
saya = me / I (object of menggalakkan)
menabung = to save (money) (verb 2)

Structurally, saya menabung is like a small clause (I save). The verb menggalakkan takes that clause as its idea:

Ibu menggalakkan [saya menabung sedikit setiap bulan].
Mother encourages [me to save a little every month].

Malay often puts two verbs like this in sequence, where the first verb (menggalakkan) controls the action of the second (menabung), without any extra linking word.

Do we need untuk before menabung? Can we say Ibu menggalakkan saya untuk menabung…?

Both forms are possible:

Ibu menggalakkan saya menabung sedikit setiap bulan.
Ibu menggalakkan saya untuk menabung sedikit setiap bulan.

Differences:

Without untuk is very natural and slightly more concise.
With untuk sounds a bit more explicit and slightly more formal or careful in style.

In sentences like this (verb + person + verb), untuk before the second verb is usually optional, not required.

What exactly does menabung mean? Is it different from just menyimpan duit?

Menabung specifically means to save money, especially with the idea of setting it aside regularly, like in a bank account or a piggy bank.

Compare:

menabung – to save (money), often implying a habit or plan
menyimpan duit – literally to keep/put away money, can be used similarly but slightly broader (just putting money aside, not necessarily in a formal savings account)

In your sentence, menabung is the natural verb because the context is about a regular saving habit every month.

What does sedikit do here? Is it modifying menabung or the amount of money?

Here sedikit means a little / a small amount and it describes the amount of money saved, not the action itself.

The full idea is really:

menabung sedikit (wang/duit) = to save a little (money)

The word wang/duit (money) is omitted because it’s obvious from context.

Also:

sedikit is the standard form.
In informal speech, you’ll often hear sikit instead of sedikit:
- …sikit setiap bulan.

Why is sedikit placed after menabung? Could we put it before, like sedikit menabung?

The normal order in Malay is: verb + amount. So:

menabung sedikit = save a little

Putting sedikit before the verb would sound wrong here; sedikit menabung is not a natural phrase. Compare:

makan sedikit – eat a little
baca sedikit – read a little
tidur sedikit – sleep a little

The pattern is consistent: [verb] + [sedikit], never the other way around in this meaning.

What is the role of setiap in setiap bulan, and how is it different from tiap or tiap-tiap?

Setiap means every / each, so setiap bulan = every month.

You can also say:

tiap bulan – very common and natural, slightly more informal
tiap-tiap bulan – adds emphasis, like each and every month

In most everyday contexts, setiap bulan and tiap bulan are interchangeable. Setiap is often seen as a bit more formal or bookish, but both are correct.

Can we change the word order, like Ibu setiap bulan menggalakkan saya menabung sedikit or Ibu menggalakkan saya setiap bulan menabung sedikit?

Some shifts are possible, but not all sound equally natural.

Most natural:

Ibu menggalakkan saya menabung sedikit setiap bulan. (original)
Setiap bulan, ibu menggalakkan saya menabung sedikit. (moving the time phrase to the front)

Less natural or awkward:

Ibu setiap bulan menggalakkan saya menabung sedikit. – understandable, but feels stiff and less smooth.
Ibu menggalakkan saya setiap bulan menabung sedikit. – sounds odd; listeners may need to re-parse the sentence.

As a rule, time expressions like setiap bulan are usually placed either:

at the end: …menabung sedikit setiap bulan, or
at the start: Setiap bulan, …

How do we know the tense here? Could it mean encourages, encouraged, or has encouraged?

Malay verbs don’t change form for tense, so menggalakkan on its own is tenseless.

The tense or time reference comes from context and from time words like semalam (yesterday), akan (will), sudah (already), etc. In your sentence, setiap bulan suggests a habit or regular action.

Possible English renderings, depending on context, include:

My mother encourages me to save a little every month. (habit)
My mother has been encouraging me to save a little every month. (ongoing)

All of these are compatible with the same Malay sentence.

Could we replace saya with aku, or even drop the pronoun altogether?

You can replace saya with aku if the relationship and situation are informal enough:

Ibu menggalakkan aku menabung sedikit setiap bulan.

Differences:

saya – polite, neutral, safe in almost all situations.
aku – informal, intimate; used with close friends, siblings, sometimes with parents depending on family style.

Completely dropping the pronoun here is not natural:

Ibu menggalakkan menabung… sounds incomplete; menggalakkan normally needs a clear object (saya / kami / anak-anak, etc.).

How would you say this in the passive, like I am encouraged by my mother to save a little every month?

A natural passive version is:

Saya digalakkan oleh ibu untuk menabung sedikit setiap bulan.

Breakdown:

Saya – I
digalakkan – passive of menggalakkan (di- passive prefix + galak
- -kan)
oleh ibu – by my mother
untuk menabung sedikit setiap bulan – to save a little every month

You can often omit oleh in speech:

Saya digalakkan ibu untuk menabung sedikit setiap bulan.

This shifts the focus from what the mother does to what happens to me (I am the one being encouraged).