Learn Hardcore Malay: Saya mahu ubah rutin belajar supaya malam saya tidak terlalu padat. - I want to change my study routine so that my nights are not too packed.

saya
- More polite and neutral.
- Used in most situations: with strangers, elders, teachers, at work, in writing.
- Safe default if you’re not sure which to use.
aku
- More informal and intimate.
- Used with close friends, family, or people your own age in casual settings.
- Can sound rude or overly familiar if used with someone you don’t know well or who is higher status.

The sentence uses saya because it sounds polite and neutral, which is the usual style for example sentences and formal or semi-formal contexts.

What is the difference between mahu, hendak, and nak for “want”?

All three relate to “want / want to”, but they differ in formality and region:

mahu
- Common in Malaysia.
- Semi-formal, often used in spoken and written Malay.
- Example: Saya mahu ubah rutin belajar. (I want to change my study routine.)
hendak
- A bit more formal / traditional.
- Very common in written Malay (books, articles, exams).
- In speech, it can sound formal or old-fashioned in some contexts.
- Example: Saya hendak ubah rutin belajar.
nak
- Colloquial (informal speech).
- Shortened from hendak.
- Very common in casual conversation.
- Example: Saya nak ubah rutin belajar. / Aku nak ubah rutin belajar.

In your sentence, mahu is polite and natural, good for both spoken and written Malay.

Why is it mahu ubah and not mahu mengubah? Are both correct?

Both are grammatically possible, but there is a nuance:

mahu ubah
- Informal / neutral spoken style.
- In everyday speech, people often use the base verb after mahu / hendak / nak.
- Sounds natural in conversation.
mahu mengubah
- More formal and bookish.
- Uses the meN- verb form (mengubah), which is common in writing or more formal speech.
Meaning-wise, they are the same: “want to change”.
In conversation: Saya mahu ubah rutin belajar sounds very natural.
In a formal essay: Saya mahu mengubah rutin belajar might be preferred.

What is the difference between ubah and tukar? Could I say tukar rutin belajar?

Both can translate as “change”, but there’s a subtle difference in typical usage:

ubah
- To alter / modify / adjust something.
- Often about changing the way something is done, methods, attitudes, schedules, etc.
- Very natural with rutin (routine), gaya hidup (lifestyle), sikap (attitude), peraturan (rules).
tukar
- To switch / exchange / replace one thing with another.
- Often used with physical things or one-off replacements:
  - tukar baju (change clothes)
  - tukar kerja (change job)
  - tukar bateri (change battery)

You can encounter tukar rutin belajar, but ubah rutin belajar is more idiomatic because you’re adjusting / modifying your study routine, not just swapping one object for another. So ubah is the better choice here.

How should I understand rutin belajar? Why not rutin pembelajaran?

rutin belajar
- Literally: “study routine”.
- belajar = to study / to learn.
- Sounds very natural and conversational.
- Focuses on your personal study habits (when, how, how long you study).
rutin pembelajaran
- Literally: “learning routine / learning schedule”.
- pembelajaran is a noun (the process of learning), more formal.
- Sounds more academic / institutional, like a school’s learning program or a structured curriculum.

In this sentence, you’re talking about your own daily study routine, so rutin belajar is the best, most natural phrase.

What does supaya do in this sentence, and how is it different from kerana or jadi?

supaya links cause and effect with the sense of purpose / intention, similar to “so that / in order that” in English.

In the sentence:

Saya mahu ubah rutin belajar
→ I want to change my study routine
supaya malam saya tidak terlalu padat
→ so that my evenings are not too packed

So the structure is [I want to do X] supaya [Y will happen / not happen].

Comparison:

supaya = so that / in order that (expresses purpose / goal)
- Saya ubah jadual belajar supaya saya boleh tidur awal.
  I changed my study schedule so that I can sleep early.
kerana = because (gives a reason)
- Saya ubah jadual belajar kerana malam saya terlalu padat.
  I changed my study schedule because my evenings are too packed.
jadi = so / therefore (gives a result)
- Malam saya terlalu padat, jadi saya ubah jadual belajar.
  My evenings are too packed, so I changed my study schedule.

Here, supaya is correct because you’re stating a purpose: the goal is to make your evenings less packed.

Why is it malam saya, and not pada waktu malam or pada waktu malam saya?

All of these are understandable, but they have different feels:

malam saya
- Literally “my night / my evenings”.
- In context, it means “my evenings” (the night period of my day).
- More personal and a bit more casual / natural in this context.
pada waktu malam
- Literally: “at night / during the night”.
- More general time expression, not specifically “my night”.
- Example: Saya suka belajar pada waktu malam.
  I like to study at night.
pada waktu malam saya
- Sounds awkward / unnatural in Malay.
- You rarely attach saya to waktu malam like this in normal speech.

In this sentence, malam saya fits nicely because you’re talking about how packed your own evenings are as part of your daily life.

What exactly does padat mean here, and how is it different from sibuk?

Both can be translated as “busy”, but they’re used a bit differently:

padat
- Literally: dense / packed / tightly filled.
- Often used for schedules, programs, timetables:
  - Jadual saya sangat padat. (My schedule is very packed.)
  - Program hari ini padat. (Today’s program is packed.)
- In your sentence, malam saya tidak terlalu padat =
  “my evenings are not too packed / not too full (of activities)”.
sibuk
- Busy in the sense of being occupied with a lot to do.
- Often describes a person:
  - Saya sangat sibuk hari ini. (I’m very busy today.)
  - Dia sibuk dengan kerja. (He/She is busy with work.)

You could say malam saya tidak terlalu sibuk, and it would be understood, but padat sounds more natural when referring to a schedule being packed rather than you personally being busy.

Why is it tidak terlalu padat and not tidak padat? What’s the nuance of terlalu here?

tidak padat = “not packed” at all.
tidak terlalu padat = “not too packed” / “not overly packed”.

terlalu means “too / excessively”. So:

terlalu padat = too packed / overly packed.
tidak terlalu padat = not too packed (acceptable, not excessive).

Saying tidak padat sounds like you want your evenings completely free, with nothing scheduled.
tidak terlalu padat is more moderate: you may still have some activities, but you don’t want them to be excessive. That matches the natural idea of “I don’t want my evenings to be too packed.”

Is the word order malam saya fixed, or can I say saya malam?

You must say malam saya, not saya malam.

In Malay, possessive pronouns like saya usually come after the noun:

buku saya = my book
kereta saya = my car
rutin belajar saya = my study routine
malam saya = my evening(s)

saya malam would sound wrong; it doesn’t express possession and doesn’t make sense in this context.

Could I drop saya and just say Mahu ubah rutin belajar supaya malam tidak terlalu padat?

Yes, in casual conversation, people often drop the subject pronoun when it’s obvious from context. So:

(Saya) mahu ubah rutin belajar supaya (malam saya) tidak terlalu padat.

becomes

Mahu ubah rutin belajar supaya malam tidak terlalu padat.

This would usually be understood as “(I) want to change the study routine so that (my) evenings aren’t too packed.”

However:

In formal writing, it’s usually better to keep saya for clarity and correctness.
In dialogues, texts, or relaxed speech, dropping saya is very common and natural.