Learn Hardcore Malay: Di kelas seni, mereka belajar tentang lukisan, muzik, dan tarian tradisional. - In art class, they learn about painting, music, and traditional dance.

Di kelas seni = In art class or In the art class
You use di before a place:
- di rumah – at home
- di sekolah – at school
- di pejabat – at the office

So here, di is best translated as in or during:

Di kelas seni, mereka belajar… → In art class, they learn…

What does kelas seni literally mean? Is seni an adjective or a noun?

Kelas seni is literally art class.

kelas = class
seni = art

In Malay, the describing word usually comes after the main noun:

kelas seni – art class
buku sejarah – history book
guru muzik – music teacher

So here seni is a noun (art) used to describe the type of class.

Can I say di seni kelas instead of di kelas seni?

No. That would sound wrong to Malay speakers.

Malay noun order is generally:
[main noun] + [describing noun/adjective]

So:

kelas seni (correct) – art class
seni kelas (wrong or at least very unnatural in this meaning)

Therefore, di kelas seni is the correct word order.

What does mereka mean exactly? Is it “they” or “them”?

Mereka means they (third person plural).

Malay doesn’t change the form for subject vs object like English does:

Mereka datang. – They come / They are coming.
Saya nampak mereka. – I see them.

In both cases, the word is mereka. The function (they/them) is understood from position and context, not from changing the form.

Could I drop mereka and just say Di kelas seni, belajar tentang lukisan…?

In standard Malay, you normally keep the subject, so:

Di kelas seni, mereka belajar… is standard and clear.

In very casual spoken Malay, people sometimes drop the subject if it’s obvious from context, but in writing or careful speech, you should keep mereka (or another subject like kami, pelajar etc.).

So for learners, it’s best to keep mereka here.

What does belajar mean, exactly? Is it “learn” or “study”?

Belajar covers both learn and study, depending on context.

Examples:

Saya belajar Bahasa Melayu. – I learn / I study Malay.
Mereka belajar di universiti. – They study at university.

Malay doesn’t sharply separate learn vs study like English does; belajar can usually be used for either.

Why do we need tentang after belajar? Can I just say mereka belajar lukisan?

Tentang means about / regarding.

mereka belajar tentang lukisan – they learn about painting
mereka belajar lukisan – they learn painting / they study painting (as a subject)

The difference is subtle:

With tentang, you emphasize learning information/topics about something.
Without tentang, it feels more like studying that thing as a subject or skill.

In this sentence, both are grammatically possible, but:

belajar tentang lukisan, muzik, dan tarian tradisional sounds like they are learning about the topics of painting, music, and traditional dance.

What exactly does lukisan mean? Is it “painting” as a noun or “to paint” as a verb?

Lukisan is a noun, not a verb. It means:

a painting (a finished piece)
paintings (plural, from context)
sometimes drawing / illustration (depending on usage)

The verb to paint / to draw is usually melukis.

Saya melukis. – I am drawing / painting.
Ini lukisan saya. – This is my drawing / painting.

Is muzik exactly the same as English “music”?

Pretty much, yes. Muzik is a Malay word borrowed from English (or from European languages generally). It means music in the general sense.

muzik tradisional – traditional music
muzik moden – modern music

Pronunciation is close to English music but spelled muzik and usually pronounced with a clear z sound.

What does tarian mean, and how is it related to tari?

tari – to dance (verb root / basic form)
tarian – a dance / dances (noun)

So:

Mereka menari. – They are dancing.
Ini tarian tradisional. – This is a traditional dance.

In the sentence:

tarian tradisional = traditional dance(s) (as a type or category).

Is tradisional a Malay word or a loanword? How is it used?

Tradisional is a loanword (from English “traditional”), adapted to Malay spelling and pronunciation.

It works like an adjective:

tarian tradisional – traditional dance
makanan tradisional – traditional food
pakaian tradisional – traditional clothing

In Malay, adjectives usually come after the noun, so you say tarian tradisional, not tradisional tarian.

How do we know that lukisan, muzik, dan tarian tradisional is a list? Is the comma before dan required?

This is a list of three things:

lukisan – painting(s)
muzik – music
tarian tradisional – traditional dance(s)

The word dan means and.

With lukisan, muzik, dan tarian tradisional, the comma before dan is like the Oxford comma in English. In Malay, it is optional, and many writers leave it out:
- lukisan, muzik dan tarian tradisional (also correct)

The important part is dan marking the last item in the list.

How do we know these words are plural (paintings, dances) when there is no -s?

Malay usually does not mark plural with an ending like English -s. Number is understood from context.

So:

lukisan can mean a painting or paintings
tarian tradisional can mean a traditional dance or traditional dances

If you really need to emphasize plural, Malay sometimes uses reduplication:

lukisan-lukisan – paintings
tarian-tarian tradisional – traditional dances

But in many sentences, including this one, simple lukisan, muzik, dan tarian tradisional is natural and already understood as “painting, music, and traditional dance” as areas/subjects rather than countable individual items.

Is the word order in the whole sentence fixed, or can I move parts around?

The basic order here is:

[Location] + [Subject] + [Verb] + [Object]
→ Di kelas seni, mereka belajar tentang lukisan, muzik, dan tarian tradisional.

You could also put the location after the verb:

Mereka belajar tentang lukisan, muzik, dan tarian tradisional di kelas seni.

Both are correct. The difference is emphasis:

Starting with Di kelas seni emphasizes the setting (in art class).
Starting with Mereka emphasizes who is doing the learning.

For learners, both word orders are good to know and use.