Namun, banyak iklan di media sosial nampak palsu dan berlebihan.

However, many advertisements on social media look fake and exaggerated.

Breakdown of Namun, banyak iklan di media sosial nampak palsu dan berlebihan.

• dan: and
• di: on
• namun: however
• banyak: many
• nampak: to look
• palsu: fake
• media sosial: the social media
• iklan: the advertisement
• berlebihan: exaggerated

Questions & Answers about Namun, banyak iklan di media sosial nampak palsu dan berlebihan.

What does Namun mean, and how is it used in a sentence?

Namun means however / nevertheless. It’s used to contrast with what was said in the previous sentence, just like English however.

It usually appears at the beginning of the sentence and is often followed by a comma:

• Namun, banyak iklan di media sosial nampak palsu dan berlebihan.
  = However, many ads on social media seem fake and exaggerated.

You can think of it as similar in function to tetapi or tapi (but), but namun is slightly more formal and typically starts a new sentence.

What is the function of banyak here? Does it mean “many” or “a lot”?

Banyak means many / a lot (of). It doesn’t change form for singular or plural; Malay doesn’t mark plural on the noun itself.

• banyak iklan = many advertisements / a lot of advertisements

You can use banyak with countable or uncountable nouns, depending on context:

• banyak orang = many people
• banyak masa = a lot of time

Does iklan mean “advertisement”? How do you make it plural in Malay?

Yes, iklan means advertisement / ad. In Malay, the plural is usually understood from context, so iklan can mean advertisement or advertisements.

• banyak iklan already clearly means many ads, so you don’t need to change the noun.

You can say iklan-iklan to emphasize plurality, but in everyday speech banyak iklan is more natural than banyak iklan-iklan.

Why is di used in di media sosial? Could you also say pada media sosial or dalam media sosial?

Di is the basic preposition for in / at / on (a place), and here media sosial is treated as a place or platform. So di media sosial is like “on social media” or “in social media platforms”.

• di media sosial = on social media

Pada media sosial is grammatically possible but sounds more formal and less natural in this context.
Dalam media sosial would sound off; dalam usually suggests being inside something physically or conceptually, not on a platform. For this sentence, di media sosial is the standard choice.

Why is the word order media sosial and not sosial media, like in English “social media”?

Malay usually puts the main noun first, followed by a describing element. Here:

• media (main noun) + sosial (adjective)

So media sosial literally means “social media”, but in Malay structure it’s “media (that is) social”. The English-looking order sosial media is not standard Malay.

What does nampak mean here? Is it “look”, “seem”, or “appear”?

In this sentence, nampak means seem / appear / look (in the sense of “They seem fake”).

• iklan … nampak palsu = the ads seem/look fake

Grammatically, nampak is a verb, and it often functions like English to seem or to look:

• Dia nampak penat. = He/She looks tired.
• Rumah itu nampak besar. = That house seems/looks big.

What’s the difference between nampak, kelihatan, and tampak? Can they all replace each other?

All three can mean seem / appear / be visible, but there are differences in tone and commonness:

• nampak – very common and neutral, used in everyday conversation and writing.
• kelihatan – slightly more formal or careful, common in writing and in more polite speech.
• tampak – also more formal / literary; heard in news, essays, or formal descriptions.

In this sentence, you could say:

• … iklan di media sosial kelihatan palsu dan berlebihan.
• … iklan di media sosial tampak palsu dan berlebihan.

Both are correct, but nampak is the most natural in casual, conversational style.

How do palsu and berlebihan work grammatically? Why are there two adjectives in a row?

Malay generally puts adjectives after the noun, and you can join multiple adjectives with “dan” (and), just like in English.

• iklan … palsu = ads that are fake
• iklan … berlebihan = ads that are excessive / over the top
• iklan … palsu dan berlebihan = ads that are fake and excessive

No extra word like yang is needed here because they’re just simple adjectives describing the same noun.

What exactly does palsu mean, and how is it different from words like bohong or tipu?

Palsu means fake / false / counterfeit—it usually describes things, not people’s statements.

• berita palsu = fake news
• dokumen palsu = forged document

Bohong means to lie / lying, and tipu means to cheat / deceive. Those focus more on actions and behavior, while palsu focuses on the fake nature of an object or claim.

What does berlebihan mean, and how is it formed?

Berlebihan means excessive, over the top, too much. It often carries a negative nuance, like something is overdone.

It’s formed from lebih (more) with the prefix ber-, which often indicates “having/being in a state”. So berlebihan is like “being in a state of too much”.

Examples:

• Makan gula berlebihan tidak baik untuk kesihatan.
  = Eating too much sugar is not good for health.
• Gayanya berlebihan.
  = His/Her style is over the top.

How would this sentence change in a more formal or more casual version?

A more formal version might use kelihatan and a slightly fuller phrase:

• Namun, banyak iklan di media sosial kelihatan palsu dan terlalu berlebihan.
  (However, many advertisements on social media appear fake and overly excessive.)

A more casual version could sound like something you’d say to friends:

• Tapi banyak iklan kat media sosial nampak macam palsu dan over.
  (Tapi = but, kat = at/on (colloquial for di), macam = like, over = borrowed English)

Both keep the same basic meaning but shift tone and word choice.