Learn Hardcore Malay: Adik saya makan epal merah sambil minum susu panas. - My younger sibling eats a red apple while drinking hot milk.

Makan just means “eat / eats / ate / is eating / was eating,” depending on context. Same with minum (“drink / drinks / drank / is drinking / was drinking”).

You show tense with:

Time words: tadi (earlier), semalam (last night), sekarang (now), nanti (later), etc.
Sometimes aspect markers like sedang (in the middle of doing).

For example:

Adik saya sedang makan epal merah… – My younger sibling is eating a red apple…
Tadi adik saya makan epal merah… – Earlier, my younger sibling ate a red apple…

Why is it epal merah and not merah epal? What’s the usual word order for adjectives?

In Malay, adjectives (like “red,” “big,” “hot”) usually come after the noun.

So:

epal merah – red apple
buku besar – big book
rumah baru – new house
susu panas – hot milk

Merah epal would be wrong in this context. The normal pattern is noun + adjective.

Do I need a word like “a” before epal merah? Why is there no article?

Malay normally doesn’t use articles like “a / an / the.”

Epal merah can mean:

a red apple
the red apple
red apple (in general)

The exact English article is understood from context. If you need to be very clear that it’s one apple, you can add a numeral classifier:

sebiji epal merah – one red apple

But in everyday speech, simply epal merah is very common and natural.

What is the function of sebiji in something like sebiji epal merah, and why isn’t it used here?

Se- means “one,” and biji is a classifier for round or smallish objects like fruits, eggs, and some small items.

satu epal – one apple (just using the number)
sebiji epal – one apple (with a classifier, more natural in many contexts)

In the given sentence, the speaker doesn’t need to emphasize the quantity, so epal merah (without sebiji) is fine and natural. Classifiers are often omitted when the quantity is clear or not important.

What exactly does sambil mean, and how is it different from words like sementara or ketika?

Sambil means “while” in the sense of doing two actions at the same time, by the same subject, often with a feeling of doing one thing as you’re doing another.

In the sentence:

makan epal merah sambil minum susu panas
= eating a red apple while drinking hot milk (same person, simultaneous actions).

Rough comparison:

sambil – while doing X, (the same person) does Y; often everyday simultaneous actions.
sementara – while/whereas; can contrast two different subjects or situations.
ketika / sewaktu – when/while; more neutral, for time.

Examples:

Dia menyanyi sambil memasak. – She sings while cooking. (same subject)
Saya membaca surat khabar sementara isteri saya memasak. – I read the newspaper while my wife cooks. (two subjects)

Why is there no dia (he/she) before minum? Can I say sambil dia minum susu panas?

Malay often omits the subject in the second clause when it’s the same as in the first clause. So:

Adik saya makan epal merah sambil minum susu panas.
= My younger sibling eats/ate a red apple while (he/she) drinks/drank hot milk.

We understand that the same person is doing both actions.

You can say:

Adik saya makan epal merah sambil dia minum susu panas.

This is grammatically acceptable, but it sounds a bit heavier and is less common in casual speech. The shorter version without dia is more natural.

Does susu panas mean “hot milk” or “warm milk”? Does panas ever mean spicy?

Panas literally means “hot” in terms of temperature.

susu panas – hot / warm milk (in practice, it can cover a range from warm to quite hot)
air panas – hot water
cuaca panas – hot weather

For “spicy,” the usual word is pedas:

makanan pedas – spicy food

So susu panas is about heat, not spiciness.

What’s the difference between makan and memakan? Could I say memakan epal merah here?

Both come from the same root makan (eat).

makan – the common, everyday verb “to eat”
memakan – more formal or literary, sometimes emphasizes the act of consuming or taking up (time, resources, etc.)

In everyday speech for eating food, you almost always use makan:

Adik saya makan epal merah… – normal, natural.

Memakan can sound formal or be used in other senses:

Projek itu memakan masa tiga tahun. – That project took three years.
Api memakan seluruh bangunan. – The fire consumed the entire building.

So in your sentence, makan is the best choice.

How can I specify that it’s my younger brother or my younger sister, not just “younger sibling”?

You add a gender word after adik:

adik lelaki saya – my younger brother
- adik (younger sibling) + lelaki (male) + saya (my)
adik perempuan saya – my younger sister
- adik
  - perempuan (female) + saya

Full sentences:

Adik lelaki saya makan epal merah sambil minum susu panas.
Adik perempuan saya makan epal merah sambil minum susu panas.

How would I say “is eating” and “is drinking” to make it clearly present continuous?

Use sedang before the verb to show an action happening right now.

Adik saya sedang makan epal merah sambil minum susu panas.

This is understood as:

My younger sibling is eating a red apple while drinking hot milk.

You usually don’t repeat sedang before minum because it’s the same time frame and same subject:

sedang makan … sambil minum … – both are in progress now.

Could this sentence also describe a habit? How would I say “My younger sibling often eats a red apple while drinking hot milk”?

Yes, the basic form makan/minum can describe a single event or a habitual action, depending on context.

To make the habit clear, add an adverb of frequency, such as:

selalu – always / often
sering – often (more common in Indonesian, but understood)
kerap – frequently
setiap pagi – every morning

Examples:

Adik saya selalu makan epal merah sambil minum susu panas.
– My younger sibling always/often eats a red apple while drinking hot milk.
Setiap pagi, adik saya makan epal merah sambil minum susu panas.
– Every morning, my younger sibling eats a red apple while drinking hot milk.

How would I make it plural, like “my younger siblings eat a red apple while drinking hot milk”?

To show plural for people, you can repeat the noun:

adik-adik saya – my younger siblings

The verb makan stays the same; it doesn’t change for plural.

Full sentence:

Adik-adik saya makan epal merah sambil minum susu panas.
– My younger siblings eat red apples while drinking hot milk.

If you want to be explicit about plural apples, you can say:

Adik-adik saya makan beberapa biji epal merah sambil minum susu panas.
– My younger siblings eat several red apples while drinking hot milk.

If I want to say “the red apple” specifically, not just “a red apple,” how do I show that in Malay?

Malay doesn’t have a special word for the like English. Epal merah can mean:

a red apple
the red apple (if both speaker and listener know which one)

To emphasize that it’s a specific apple already known in the conversation, you can use:

epal merah itu – that red apple / the red apple

Example:

Adik saya makan epal merah itu sambil minum susu panas.
– My younger sibling ate the red apple while drinking hot milk.