Learn Hardcore Malay: Semasa musim hujan, saya jarang duduk di luar. - During the rainy season, I rarely sit outside.

Ketika musim hujan – also during / when it is the rainy season
Apabila musim hujan – more like when it is the rainy season (often for events that happen when that condition is true)

You could also say:

Pada musim hujan – literally at the rainy season, but used to mean during the rainy season

In this sentence, Semasa, Ketika, and Pada would all be acceptable in everyday Malay, with only small style/formality differences.

Is the word order “Semasa musim hujan, saya jarang duduk di luar” fixed, or can I move parts around?

Malay word order is flexible, especially for time expressions. All of these are grammatical:

Semasa musim hujan, saya jarang duduk di luar.
Saya jarang duduk di luar semasa musim hujan.
Pada musim hujan, saya jarang duduk di luar.

The most common patterns are:

[Time] + , + [subject] + [verb] + [rest of sentence]
[Subject] + [adverb of frequency] + [verb] + [rest of sentence + time]

So you don’t have to keep the time phrase at the beginning, but it’s a very natural place for it.

What exactly does jarang mean? How often is that?

Jarang is an adverb of frequency that means rarely / seldom.

It suggests that something happens, but not very often. It’s weaker than tidak pernah (never), and less frequent than kadang-kadang (sometimes).

Rough frequency scale (very rough, just for feeling):

Selalu – always / very often
Kerap / Sering – often / frequently
Kadang-kadang – sometimes
Jarang – rarely / seldom
Tidak pernah – never

So saya jarang duduk di luar = I rarely sit outside (I do it, but not much).

In “saya jarang duduk di luar”, is jarang an adverb? Where does it usually go in the sentence?

Yes, jarang functions like an adverb of frequency (like often, usually, rarely in English).

The most common placement is:
[Subject] + [jarang] + [verb phrase]

Examples:

Saya jarang makan nasi pada waktu malam. – I rarely eat rice at night.
Dia jarang pergi ke sana. – He/She rarely goes there.

You can sometimes front it for emphasis:

Jarang saya duduk di luar. – Literally Rarely do I sit outside. (a bit more stylistic / emphatic)

But the neutral pattern is the one in your sentence: saya jarang duduk…

Does duduk here mean literally “to sit”, or more like “to stay / be” outside?

Literally, duduk means to sit (as in sitting down).

However, in Malay (especially in many dialects and informal use), duduk can also have a broader sense like stay / reside / be in a place, depending on context:

Saya duduk di Kuala Lumpur. – I live in Kuala Lumpur.
Dia duduk di rumah saja. – He/She just stays at home.

In saya jarang duduk di luar, the most straightforward interpretation is:

I rarely sit outside (e.g. on a chair, on the porch, in the yard).

But in everyday speech, many people might also understand it loosely as:

I rarely spend time / stay outside (vs staying indoors).

If you want to be clearly about being outside (not the physical act of sitting), you could also say:

Saya jarang berada di luar. – I’m rarely outside.
Saya jarang di luar. – Very colloquial: I’m rarely outside.

Why do we need di before luar? Can I just say jarang duduk luar?

In standard Malay, locations usually take a preposition like di (at/in/on):

di luar – outside
di dalam – inside
di rumah – at home
di sekolah – at school

So the standard form is duduk di luar.

In casual spoken Malay, many people drop di sometimes and say duduk luar, pergi kedai, etc., but this is informal. For writing and standard speech, keep di:

Saya jarang duduk di luar. ✅ (standard)
Saya jarang duduk luar. ⚠️ (very colloquial; not for formal writing)

What’s the difference between saya and aku here? Could I say Aku jarang duduk di luar?

Both saya and aku mean I / me, but they differ in formality and social context:

Saya – polite, neutral, safe for talking to strangers, older people, in formal situations, in writing.
Aku – informal, intimate: with close friends, family, people your age or younger, in casual speech.

So:

Semasa musim hujan, saya jarang duduk di luar. – Neutral/polite.
Masa musim hujan, aku jarang duduk kat luar. – Very casual / colloquial (also note the other slang changes).

If you’re unsure, saya is the safest choice.

Does Malay need something like “the” before musim hujan, like the rainy season?

No. Malay doesn’t use articles like the or a/an.

Musim hujan on its own can mean:

the rainy season, a rainy season, or just rainy season in a general sense, depending on context.

So Semasa musim hujan naturally corresponds to During the rainy season in English, even though there is no word for the in Malay.

Can I omit saya and just say Semasa musim hujan, jarang duduk di luar?

In casual spoken Malay, people sometimes drop the subject when it is obvious from context, but it’s less common than, for example, in Spanish.

Semasa musim hujan, jarang duduk di luar.
This is understandable, but it sounds like very casual, clipped speech (like During the rainy season, rarely sit outside with no clear subject).

For clear, standard Malay—especially as a learner—it’s much better to keep the subject:

Semasa musim hujan, saya jarang duduk di luar. ✅

How would I make this sentence into a question, like “Do you rarely sit outside during the rainy season?”

To turn it into a question, you mainly change saya to awak / kamu / anda (you) and use rising intonation in speech. You don’t need an auxiliary like do.

Examples:

Semasa musim hujan, awak jarang duduk di luar?
Awak jarang duduk di luar semasa musim hujan?

Both can mean: Do you rarely sit outside during the rainy season?

For a more formal yes–no question, you can add Adakah at the front:

Adakah awak jarang duduk di luar semasa musim hujan? – More formal, written style.