Learn Hardcore Malay: Guru saya sangat tegas di kelas. - My teacher is very strict in class.

Guru saya sangat tegas di kelas.

My teacher is very strict in class.

Breakdown of Guru saya sangat tegas di kelas.

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Questions & Answers about Guru saya sangat tegas di kelas.

In Guru saya sangat tegas di kelas, why is there no word for “is” like in English?

Malay usually does not use a separate verb for “is / am / are” in simple descriptive sentences.

Guru saya sangat tegas di kelas.
Literally: Teacher my very strict in class.
Meaning: My teacher is very strict in class.

The link “is” is understood from the structure [subject] + [adjective]:

Dia tinggi. → He/She is tall.
Makanan itu sedap. → That food is delicious.

You can sometimes see adalah used as a linking word, but:

It’s more formal.
It is more natural before a noun phrase, e.g.
Guru saya adalah seorang yang tegas.
My teacher is a strict person.

For your sentence, Guru saya sangat tegas di kelas is the normal everyday way to say it; you do not add “is”.

Why is it guru saya and not saya guru for “my teacher”?

In Malay, possessive pronouns like saya (my), awak (your), dia (his/her) normally come after the noun they possess.

guru saya = my teacher
buku saya = my book
rumah saya = my house

If you put saya first, the meaning changes:

saya guru = I am a teacher (subject saya
- noun guru)

So:

Guru saya sangat tegas di kelas. = My teacher is very strict in class.
Saya guru yang tegas. = I am a strict teacher.

Same words, but different word order and meaning.

Does guru saya mean one teacher or can it also mean “my teachers”?

Malay usually does not mark plural with an ending like -s. Guru saya can mean:

one teacher: my teacher
more than one teacher: my teachers

The number is normally clear from context. If you want to be explicit:

guru saya – my teacher / my teachers (context-dependent)
guru-guru saya – my teachers (emphatically plural)
semua guru saya – all my teachers

Examples:

Guru saya sangat tegas di kelas.
→ Usually understood as My teacher is very strict in class (one specific teacher).
Guru-guru saya sangat tegas di kelas.
→ My teachers are very strict in class.

Does guru tell you if the teacher is male or female? How do you say “male/female teacher”?

Guru by itself is gender‑neutral. It just means teacher.

If you want to specify gender, you add another word:

guru lelaki – male teacher
guru perempuan – female teacher

You could say:

Guru lelaki saya sangat tegas di kelas.
My male teacher is very strict in class.
Guru perempuan saya sangat tegas di kelas.
My female teacher is very strict in class.

But in many situations, guru saya is enough, and the gender is either known from context or not important.

What exactly does tegas mean here? Is it always negative, like “mean”, or can it be positive?

Tegas means firm, strict, decisive about rules or principles. It is often neutral or even positive in tone.

Dia tegas tetapi adil.
He/She is strict but fair.

It suggests someone who:

enforces rules,
does not easily compromise on discipline,
is clear and firm in their decisions.

Compare with some related words:

garang – fierce, scary, often harsher; more like stern / fierce / intimidating
Cikgu itu garang. – That teacher is fierce/scary.
keras – hard/harsh/strict in manner or punishment
Dia terlalu keras dengan murid-murid. – He/She is too harsh with the students.

So:

tegas: firm, strict (often seen as a good trait if combined with fairness)
garang / keras: can sound more negative, harsh, or scary

Where does sangat go in the sentence? Could I also say Guru saya tegas sangat di kelas?

Sangat is a common word for “very” and the standard position is before the adjective:

sangat tegas – very strict
sangat besar – very big
sangat penat – very tired

So your sentence:

Guru saya sangat tegas di kelas.
is fully standard and natural.

In casual spoken Malay, you might also hear tegas sangat:

Guru saya tegas sangat di kelas.

This sounds more informal and, depending on tone, can sometimes feel like “too strict” rather than just “very strict”, similar to how English speakers might stress very.

Other common alternatives to sangat:

amat tegas – very strict (more formal/literary)
sungguh tegas – really strict
terlalu tegas – too strict (explicitly “too much”)

What is the difference between di kelas, dalam kelas, and di dalam kelas?

All three can be translated as “in class / in the classroom”, but there are small nuances:

di kelas
- Very common and natural.
- Can mean in class / during class / in the classroom.
- Focuses more on the situation or setting of class.
- Guru saya sangat tegas di kelas.
  → My teacher is very strict in class / when we’re in class.
dalam kelas
- Literally inside the classroom / within the class.
- Emphasises being inside something, rather than just the “context of lessons”.
- Used more when you want to contrast inside vs outside.
di dalam kelas
- Combines the location di with dalam (inside).
- Feels a bit more explicit: “inside the classroom”.
- More likely in careful or formal speech, or when you really want to stress inside.

In many everyday situations:

di kelas, dalam kelas, and di dalam kelas can all be understood as “in class”, but di kelas is the most typical, natural choice for your sentence.

Can I move di kelas to the front, like Di kelas, guru saya sangat tegas? Does the meaning change?

Yes, you can move di kelas for emphasis. Malay word order is fairly flexible with time/place phrases.

All of these are possible:

Guru saya sangat tegas di kelas.
Di kelas, guru saya sangat tegas.
Guru saya di kelas sangat tegas.

Nuances:

Guru saya sangat tegas di kelas.
- Neutral order.
- Focus is on the teacher being very strict, with “in class” as extra information.
Di kelas, guru saya sangat tegas.
- Puts “in class” in the spotlight.
- Often implies contrast: maybe in class the teacher is strict, but not necessarily outside class.
Guru saya di kelas sangat tegas.
- Grammatically okay, but can feel slightly less smooth.
- Can be heard as “My teacher (in class) is very strict”, as if contrasting that teacher with some other teacher (e.g., a sports coach).

For clear, neutral, everyday speech, Guru saya sangat tegas di kelas and Di kelas, guru saya sangat tegas are the best choices.

Why is there a space in di kelas? I thought di can also be joined to a word, like ditulis.

Malay has two different uses of “di”:

Preposition “di” = at / in / on (location)
- It is written as a separate word.
- Examples:
  - di rumah – at home
  - di sekolah – at school
  - di kelas – in class / in the classroom
Prefix “di-” = passive prefix attached to a verb
- It is written joined to the verb.
- Examples:
  - ditulis – written
  - dibaca – read (was read)
  - diberi – given

In your sentence, di is the preposition of place, so it must be separate:

✅ di kelas (correct: at/in class)
❌ dikelas (wrong in this meaning)

Remember: location → separate “di”; passive verb → attached “di-”.

Could I say Cikgu saya sangat tegas di kelas instead of Guru saya? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say Cikgu saya sangat tegas di kelas, and it is very natural.

Difference in nuance:

guru
- More formal/neutral word for teacher.
- Used in writing, official contexts, or when referring to the profession in general.
- Guru saya is fine in any setting.
cikgu
- More informal and affectionate, common in Malaysia, especially for school teachers.
- Often used as a title when addressing the teacher directly:
  - Cikgu, boleh saya tanya soalan? – Teacher, may I ask a question?

So:

Guru saya sangat tegas di kelas.
Cikgu saya sangat tegas di kelas.

Both mean My teacher is very strict in class.
Cikgu sounds a bit more like how students actually speak about their school teacher in everyday conversation.

Why don’t we say Dia guru saya yang sangat tegas di kelas with dia as a subject?

Malay often does not repeat the subject with a pronoun if the noun is already there. Using both dia and guru saya together can sound redundant.

Guru saya sangat tegas di kelas.
→ Subject is guru saya (my teacher). No pronoun needed.
Dia sangat tegas di kelas.
→ Subject is dia (he/she). The teacher is understood from context.

If you say:

Dia guru saya yang sangat tegas di kelas.

it sounds more like a specific identifying sentence:

He/She is my teacher who is very strict in class.

This is grammatical, but it’s a bit longer and is used when, for example, you are pointing someone out or distinguishing between several people. For a simple statement about your teacher, Guru saya sangat tegas di kelas is the most natural and direct form.