Learn Hardcore Malay: Saya takut buat kesilapan dalam ujian esok. - I am afraid of making mistakes in tomorrow’s test.

✅ Saya takut buat kesilapan dalam ujian esok.
I’m afraid of making mistakes in the exam tomorrow.
❌ Saya takut kesilapan dalam ujian esok.
This sounds like I am afraid mistakes (in the exam tomorrow), but with no verb. It’s ungrammatical.

In more formal Malay, you might see membuat kesilapan or melakukan kesilapan, but you still need that verb.

What’s the difference between buat, membuat, and melakukan in this context?

All three can combine with kesilapan and are understood as make a mistake.

buat kesilapan
- Common, everyday, neutral.
- Slightly more informal / simple.
membuat kesilapan
- More formal or careful speech/writing.
- Literally to make, from the verb base buat.
melakukan kesilapan
- Also formal; often used in writing, reports, apologies.
- Slight nuance of to carry out / commit a mistake.

All of these are grammatical in the sentence:

Saya takut buat kesilapan dalam ujian esok.
Saya takut membuat kesilapan dalam ujian esok.
Saya takut melakukan kesilapan dalam ujian esok.

The meaning is effectively the same; it’s mainly a register/style choice.

What’s the difference between kesilapan, silap, and tersilap?

They are related but used differently:

kesilapan (noun)
- Means a mistake / mistakes / error.
- Used like English a mistake:
  - Saya takut buat kesilapan. – I’m afraid of making mistakes.
silap (adjective / verb-like)
- Means wrong / mistaken or to be wrong.
- Examples:
  - Jawapan kamu silap. – Your answer is wrong.
  - Maaf, saya silap. – Sorry, I was wrong / I made a mistake.
tersilap (verb with ter-)
- Often means to make a mistake unintentionally / by accident.
- Example:
  - Saya tersilap kira. – I miscalculated / I counted wrongly (by mistake).

You could also say:

Saya takut tersilap dalam ujian esok.
This focuses more on accidentally making a mistake.

Can I say Saya takut akan kesilapan dalam ujian esok? What’s the difference with takut buat kesilapan?

Yes, Saya takut akan kesilapan dalam ujian esok is grammatical, but the structure is different:

takut + verb phrase
- Saya takut buat kesilapan…
- Literally: I am afraid (to) make mistakes…
- Focuses on the action of making a mistake.
takut akan + noun
- Saya takut akan kesilapan…
- Literally: I am afraid of mistakes…
- Focuses on mistakes as a thing you fear.

In everyday speech, takut + verb (takut buat kesilapan) sounds more natural and less stiff than takut akan kesilapan.

Why is esok placed after ujian (as ujian esok) and not before?

In Malay, time words often come after the noun they describe, like an adjective or a specifier:

ujian esok – tomorrow’s exam
mesyuarat hari ini – today’s meeting
kelas malam – evening class / night class

So ujian esok literally feels like the exam (that is) tomorrow.

You could move esok to the front to emphasise the time:

Esok saya ada ujian. – Tomorrow I have an exam.
Esok saya takut buat kesilapan dalam ujian. – Tomorrow I’m afraid I’ll make mistakes in the exam.

But inside the noun phrase, the normal order is ujian esok, not esok ujian.

What exactly does dalam mean here? Why dalam ujian, not just ujian esok?

dalam usually means in / inside / within, but here it has the sense of during:

dalam ujian esok ≈ in / during the exam tomorrow

You often see dalam used this way with events:

dalam mesyuarat – during the meeting
dalam peperiksaan – during the exam
dalam pertandingan – during the competition

You could drop dalam in some contexts and still be understood, but dalam ujian esok clearly marks the exam as the situation or time period where the mistakes might happen. It sounds natural and idiomatic.

Could I use masa instead of dalam, like masa ujian esok?

Yes, you can:

Saya takut buat kesilapan masa ujian esok.

masa literally means time, and in colloquial Malay it works like during / when:

Masa kecil, saya tinggal di kampung. – When I was small, I lived in the village.
Masa mesyuarat tadi, dia diam saja. – During the meeting just now, he was silent.

Nuance:

dalam ujian esok – slightly more neutral/standard.
masa ujian esok – a bit more colloquial/relaxed.

Both are commonly used and understood.

Why isn’t there a word like “will” here? How do we know it’s about the future?

Malay usually doesn’t need an extra word like will. Time is shown by context and time expressions like esok (tomorrow), nanti (later), semalam (yesterday), etc.

Saya takut buat kesilapan dalam ujian esok.
Because of esok, we automatically understand this as I’m afraid I’ll make mistakes in the exam tomorrow.

You can use akan for will, but it’s not required here and sounds heavy:

Saya takut akan buat kesilapan dalam ujian esok. – understandable, but less natural in everyday speech.

Most of the time you just rely on esok to show the future.

Is ujian singular or plural here? How would I say exams?

Malay nouns usually don’t mark plural; ujian can mean exam or exams, depending on context.

Saya ada ujian esok. – I have an exam / I have exams tomorrow (context tells you).

If you really want to emphasise many exams, you can:

Use reduplication:
- ujian-ujian – exams
- beberapa ujian – several exams
Add a number or quantity:
- tiga ujian – three exams
- banyak ujian – many exams

In your sentence, ujian esok is naturally understood as the exam tomorrow (probably a specific one big test).

Can saya be dropped? Would Takut buat kesilapan dalam ujian esok still be okay?

Yes, in casual spoken Malay, subjects like saya are often dropped when clear from context.

(Saya) takut buat kesilapan dalam ujian esok.
If you’re clearly talking about yourself, this is fine in conversation.

However:

In writing, in exams, or in formal speech, it’s better to keep Saya.
Dropping Saya is more common in informal, friendly situations or quick chats.

How is takut pronounced? Is the final k fully released?

In standard Malay pronunciation (especially in Malaysia), final k is usually a glottal stop and not fully released like in English “tuck”.

takut is pronounced roughly as ta’ut:
- ta as in tub but shorter
- final k becomes a brief catch in the throat before ut

So you don’t strongly say ta-kut with a clear k sound; it’s more clipped: ta’ut.

In some careful or formal speech (or in some regions), you may hear a clearer [k], but the glottal stop style is very common.

Is there a softer or more natural way to say I’m worried instead of I’m afraid?

Yes, you can use bimbang or risau, which are closer to worried/anxious than afraid:

Saya bimbang saya akan buat kesilapan dalam ujian esok.
Saya risau saya akan buat kesilapan dalam ujian esok.

Nuances:

takut – afraid / scared, a bit stronger, more emotional.
bimbang – concerned / worried, feels slightly more formal/neutral.
risau – worried / anxious, very common in everyday speech.

You can also shorten in casual talk:

Saya risau buat kesilapan dalam ujian esok.
Risau lah, takut buat silap dalam exam esok. (very informal)

What would a more formal version of this whole sentence look like?

A more formal, exam- or writing-style version might be:

Saya bimbang akan membuat kesilapan dalam peperiksaan esok.

Changes:

bimbang instead of takut – sounds more formal/neutral.
akan membuat – more explicit, careful verb phrase.
peperiksaan instead of ujian – often used for major exams.

All of these are optional stylistic shifts; your original sentence is perfectly correct for general use.