Saya lebih suka teman yang setia dan jujur daripada teman yang popular tetapi sombong.

I prefer friends who are loyal and honest to friends who are popular but arrogant.

Breakdown of Saya lebih suka teman yang setia dan jujur daripada teman yang popular tetapi sombong.

• saya: I
• suka: to like
• teman: the friend
• lebih: more
• dan: and
• tetapi: but
• daripada: than
• yang: who/that
• jujur: honest
• setia: loyal
• sombong: arrogant
• popular: popular

Questions & Answers about Saya lebih suka teman yang setia dan jujur daripada teman yang popular tetapi sombong.

What does the structure “lebih suka … daripada …” mean, and can I use it with other verbs, not just suka?

The pattern “lebih X … daripada …” is a comparative structure:

• lebih suka A daripada B = like A more than B / prefer A to B
• lebih tinggi = taller / higher
• lebih cepat = faster

In your sentence:

• Saya lebih suka teman A daripada teman B
  = I prefer friend type A to friend type B.

You can use lebih … daripada … with many adjectives and some verbs:

• lebih suka makan nasi daripada roti – prefer eating rice to bread
• lebih baik – better
• lebih penting – more important

So the structure is:

Subject + lebih + adjective/verb + (noun) + daripada + comparison.

Why do the adjectives setia, jujur, popular, sombong all come after teman instead of before it like in English?

In Malay, adjectives normally come after the noun:

• teman setia – loyal friend
• rumah besar – big house
• baju baru – new clothes

So your sentence follows the normal pattern:

• teman yang setia dan jujur – friends who are loyal and honest
• teman yang popular tetapi sombong – friends who are popular but arrogant

Putting adjectives before the noun (like setia teman) is not standard Malay and sounds wrong in everyday speech.

What is the function of yang in “teman yang setia dan jujur” and “teman yang popular tetapi sombong”? Is it like “who/that” in English?

Yes, yang works very much like “who / that / which” in English in this kind of structure.

• teman yang setia dan jujur
  Literally: friend *who is loyal and honest*

• teman yang popular tetapi sombong
  Literally: friend *who is popular but arrogant*

Here, yang introduces a relative clause that describes the noun teman.

Without yang, the phrase is still possible but can sound less clear or more like a fixed expression:

• teman setia – loyal friend (more compact, like a label)
• teman yang setia – a friend who is loyal (slightly more descriptive/explicit)

In your full sentence, using yang is natural and helps the sentence flow clearly.

Is teman singular or plural here? Should it be teman-teman if I mean “friends”?

Malay usually doesn’t mark plural if it’s already clear from context.

• teman can mean friend or friends, depending on context.
• teman-teman clearly means friends (plural), but is often not necessary.

In your sentence:

• Saya lebih suka teman yang setia dan jujur…
  This is normally understood as friends (in general), not just one friend.

You could say:

• Saya lebih suka teman-teman yang setia dan jujur… – also correct, but a bit heavier; it emphasizes the plural more strongly.

In everyday speech, teman alone is completely natural for a general statement like this.

What’s the difference between teman, kawan, and rakan? Are they interchangeable?

All three roughly mean “friend”, but there are nuance and usage differences:

• teman

  • Neutral, can be everyday or slightly literary/formal.
  • Can also mean companion/partner in some contexts (e.g. teman hidup – life partner).

• kawan

  • Very common in informal and everyday speech.
  • Neutral in tone, like “friend / buddy”.
  • Example: Dia kawan saya. – He’s my friend.

• rakan

  • More formal, often used in writing or official contexts.
  • Often appears in set phrases: rakan sekerja (colleague), rakan kongsi (business partner).

In your sentence, you could replace teman with kawan:

• Saya lebih suka kawan yang setia dan jujur…

That would sound slightly more casual, but still natural.

What is the difference between suka and lebih suka here? Could I just say Saya suka teman yang setia dan jujur…?

• suka = to like
• lebih suka = to like more / to prefer

So:

• Saya suka teman yang setia dan jujur.
  – I like loyal and honest friends. (No direct comparison.)

• Saya lebih suka teman yang setia dan jujur daripada…
  – I prefer loyal and honest friends to … (explicit comparison.)

Because your sentence compares two kinds of friends, lebih suka … daripada … is the natural choice.

You’ll also see:

• gemar – also “like/enjoy”, often for hobbies/activities
  
  • Saya gemar membaca. – I like reading.
  • But lebih suka is still the usual way to say prefer.

Why is daripada used here and not dari? When do I use each one?

Daripada and dari both roughly translate as “from”, but they are used in different situations.

Use daripada mainly for:

1. Comparison

   • lebih suka A daripada B – prefer A to B
   • lebih besar daripada – bigger than

2. Origin involving people/abstract source

   • Hadiah ini daripada ibu. – This present is from my mother.

In your sentence, it’s a comparison, so daripada is correct:

• Saya lebih suka … daripada teman yang popular…

Dari is used more for physical place/time:

• Saya datang dari Kuala Lumpur. – I come from KL.
• Dari pagi tadi, dia di sini. – Since this morning, he’s been here.

As a simple rule:

• Comparison or “from (a person/opinion)” → daripada
• Place/time → dari

What is the difference between tetapi and tapi in “popular tetapi sombong”?

Both mean “but/however”, but they differ in formality:

• tetapi

  • More formal and complete.
  • Common in writing, speeches, careful conversation.

• tapi

  • More informal/colloquial, like “but” in casual speech.
  • Very common in everyday conversation.

You could say:

• … teman yang popular tetapi sombong. (neutral or slightly formal)
• … teman yang popular tapi sombong. (more casual)

Grammatically both are fine; choice depends on tone and context.

Can I drop saya here, or is the subject pronoun necessary?

You can drop saya, especially in informal contexts, if it’s clear who is speaking:

• (Saya) lebih suka teman yang setia dan jujur…

In conversation, if the topic “I” is already clear, people might just say:

• Lebih suka teman yang setia dan jujur…

However, in a full standalone sentence (especially in writing or exercises), including saya makes it clearer:

• Saya lebih suka… – preferred in neutral/standard examples like this.

Why is there dan between setia and jujur, but tetapi between popular and sombong? Could I use commas instead?

The conjunctions show different relationships:

• dan = and (same “side”, both positive qualities)

  • setia dan jujur – loyal and honest

• tetapi = but (contrast/opposition)

  • popular tetapi sombong – popular but arrogant

If you just put a comma, Malay usually still expects a linking word, especially between adjectives:

• setia, jujur (rare in simple descriptive phrases; more common in lists)
• popular, sombong (would sound like just listing two traits without contrast)

To express that the good quality contrasts with a bad one, you really need tetapi (or tapi in casual speech), not just a comma.

Does sombong always mean “arrogant”? Could it also mean “proud” in a positive way?

Sombong is almost always negative, closer to:

• arrogant
• conceited
• stuck-up
• looks down on others

Examples:

• Dia sangat sombong. – He’s very arrogant.
• Jangan sombong. – Don’t be stuck-up.

For positive “proud” (as in satisfied, dignified), Malay usually uses other words:

• bangga – proud (positive/neutral)
  
  • Saya bangga dengan kamu. – I’m proud of you.

So in your sentence, sombong clearly criticizes that type of friend.

If I only want to talk about one positive quality, how would I change the sentence? For example, only “loyal” instead of “loyal and honest”.

You simply remove the extra adjective and the dan:

• Original:
  Saya lebih suka teman yang setia dan jujur daripada teman yang popular tetapi sombong.

• Only “loyal”:
  Saya lebih suka teman yang setia daripada teman yang popular tetapi sombong.

• Only “honest”:
  Saya lebih suka teman yang jujur daripada teman yang popular tetapi sombong.

The structure teman yang + adjective stays the same; you just adjust the list of adjectives and conjunctions.