Learn Hardcore Malay: Di perpustakaan, kita duduk diam supaya orang lain boleh belajar. - In the library, we sit quietly so that other people can study.

In this sentence, kita includes both the speaker and the person being spoken to (and, by extension, everyone in the library). It has the same feel as English “we” when giving a shared rule or reminder: “In the library, we sit quietly so others can study.” Using kami would sound like “we (but not you) sit quietly…”, which doesn’t fit the idea of a general rule.

What exactly does duduk diam mean? Why not just diam?

duduk = to sit
diam = silent, still, not making noise / not moving much

Together, duduk diam is a natural collocation meaning to sit quietly / sit still.

If you said only diam, it just means be quiet or keep silent, and doesn’t say anything about sitting. For example:

Duduk diam. – Sit still / sit quietly.
Diam. – Be quiet / don’t make noise.

So duduk diam gives both posture (sitting) and manner (quietly).

Is diam here a verb or an adjective?

Diam can function as both, depending on context.

In kita duduk diam, many teachers will simply say it acts like an adverb in English: it describes how we sit. Structurally, Malay doesn’t always separate verbs/adjectives/adverbs the way English does, so you can think of:

duduk = main action (sit)
diam = quality of the action (quietly / still)

Other similar patterns:

jalan perlahan – walk slowly
baca kuat-kuat – read aloud

Why does the sentence start with Di perpustakaan? Could it also come later?

Yes, it could also be:

Kita duduk diam di perpustakaan supaya orang lain boleh belajar.

Starting with Di perpustakaan puts the place first for emphasis and sets the scene, like English: “In the library, we sit quietly…” Both word orders are grammatically correct; the original just highlights where the rule applies.

Do we really need the comma after perpustakaan?

The comma is not absolutely required but is common and recommended.

When a sentence begins with a location or time phrase, Malay often uses a comma to separate that phrase from the main clause:

Di sekolah, kami belajar.
Pada waktu malam, saya berehat.

Without the comma, it’s still understandable, but the comma makes the structure clearer, especially in writing.

What does supaya do here? How is it different from untuk?

Supaya introduces a purpose clause and is usually translated as “so that”:

…kita duduk diam supaya orang lain boleh belajar.
→ …we sit quietly so that other people can study.

Key points:

supaya is followed by a full clause with its own subject and verb:
supaya orang lain boleh belajar (subject = orang lain, verb = boleh belajar).
untuk is more like “for / to” and is typically followed by a verb or noun, without introducing a new subject:
- untuk belajar – to study
- untuk orang lain – for other people

You could say …duduk diam untuk membolehkan orang lain belajar, but that sounds more formal and wordy.

Why is boleh used? Can we just say supaya orang lain belajar?

boleh = can / may / are allowed to / are able to

Supaya orang lain boleh belajar means so that other people can study (they have the possibility or opportunity to study).

If you drop boleh and say supaya orang lain belajar, it’s grammatically okay but slightly different in nuance, more like so that other people study (focusing on the action, less on permission/ability). In this context—library rules—boleh is natural because the idea is “we are quiet so that others can study undisturbed.”

Is orang lain singular or plural?

Malay doesn’t mark plural with -s like English. Orang lain literally means “other person/people”, and the number is understood from context.

Here, orang lain clearly refers to other people in the library, so we translate it as “others / other people”.
If you really wanted to stress the plural, you could say orang-orang lain, but it’s not necessary in everyday speech.

What’s the difference between orang lain and lain orang?

Word order matters:

orang lain – other people (general group different from us/the main group)
lain orang – literally different person / a different person, often used in contexts like choosing between individuals.

Examples:

Kita kena hormat orang lain. – We must respect other people.
Saya tak mahu yang ini, saya mahu lain orang. – I don’t want this one, I want a different person.

In the sentence you gave, we want the general idea of other people, so orang lain is correct.

Could we drop kita and just say Di perpustakaan, duduk diam supaya orang lain boleh belajar?

You can say that, but the nuance changes.

Di perpustakaan, kita duduk diam… – a descriptive statement or shared rule: In the library, we sit quietly… (includes speaker and listener).
Di perpustakaan, duduk diam… – sounds more like an instruction or rule written on a sign: In the library, sit quietly… (an implied “you”).

Both are grammatically fine; the original suggests a shared behavior (“we do this”), not just a command.

What tense is kita duduk diam? There’s no tense marker.

Malay does not have verb tenses like English does. Duduk stays the same form for present, past, and future. Time is shown by context or by adding time words:

Semalam di perpustakaan, kita duduk diam… – Yesterday in the library, we sat quietly…
Nanti di perpustakaan, kita duduk diam… – Later in the library, we will sit quietly…

In your sentence, without explicit time words, it can describe a general rule or habitual action, which we naturally translate with English present simple: In the library, we sit quietly so that others can study.