Learn Hardcore Malay: Doktor nasihatkan saya supaya jangan makan terlalu banyak gula kerana gigi dan mulut saya sensitif. - The doctor advises me not to eat too much sugar because my teeth and mouth are sensitive.

When you add meN- … -kan and say menasihatkan or, in a more informal style like your sentence, just nasihatkan, it becomes a verb meaning to advise (someone).

Doktor nasihatkan saya
= The doctor advised me.

You could also say:

Doktor beri nasihat kepada saya.
= The doctor gave advice to me.

Both are correct. Nasihatkan (or menasihatkan) is a bit more compact and clearly marks saya as the object of the advising action.

Why do we need supaya in nasihatkan saya supaya jangan makan…?

Supaya introduces a purpose or result clause, similar to so that, in order that, or sometimes that in English.

In this sentence:

Doktor nasihatkan saya
= The doctor advised me
supaya jangan makan terlalu banyak gula
= so that (I) would not eat too much sugar / not to eat too much sugar

So the structure is:

[Main clause] + supaya + [what the doctor wants me to do / not do]

You could say just Doktor nasihatkan saya jangan makan terlalu banyak gula, and many speakers would accept it, but supaya makes the connection “the content or purpose of the advice” very clear and natural.

How does Malay express “not to eat” here? Why supaya jangan makan instead of something like “supaya tidak makan”?

In Malay, to say “(someone) not to do something” as part of a request, instruction, or advice, a very common pattern is:

supaya + jangan + verb

So:

supaya jangan makan terlalu banyak gula
= (so that I will) not eat too much sugar / not to eat too much sugar

Jangan is used for prohibitions / telling someone not to do something.

Tidak is the general negator for verbs and adjectives (is not / does not / did not), not for giving orders or advice. So:

Saya tidak makan gula.
= I do not eat sugar. (a statement)
Jangan makan gula.
= Don’t eat sugar. (an instruction / prohibition)

In an advice context with supaya, jangan is the natural choice.

What is the difference between jangan, tidak, and bukan? Why is jangan used here?

They are three different negatives:

jangan – used for commands, requests, advice, meaning “don’t”
- Jangan makan terlalu banyak gula.
  = Don’t eat too much sugar.
tidak – used to negate verbs and adjectives in statements
- Saya tidak makan gula.
  = I do not eat sugar.
- Mulut saya tidak sensitif.
  = My mouth is not sensitive.
bukan – used to negate nouns and noun phrases, or to correct identity/definition
- Dia bukan doktor.
  = He/She is not a doctor.
- Ini bukan gula, ini garam.
  = This is not sugar, it’s salt.

In your sentence, the doctor is telling you not to do something, so jangan is the correct negator: supaya jangan makan…

Why is the word order makan terlalu banyak gula? Could I say makan gula terlalu banyak instead?

The most natural and common order is:

makan terlalu banyak gula
literally: eat too much sugar

The pattern is:

verb + (degree word) + quantifier + noun
→ makan terlalu banyak gula

Makan gula terlalu banyak is understandable and not strictly wrong, but it sounds less natural and can put extra emphasis on gula (sugar), as if contrasting with some other food.

Some other acceptable variants, with slightly different rhythm:

jangan makan gula terlalu banyak
jangan makan gula banyak sangat

However, for learners, makan terlalu banyak gula is the safest and most standard-sounding word order.

What exactly does terlalu mean here, and how is it different from sangat or banyak?

In this phrase:

terlalu banyak gula
= too much sugar

Breakdown:

banyak = much / many / a lot
terlalu = too / excessively

So terlalu banyak means excessively many/much, i.e. too much.

Compare:

banyak gula = a lot of sugar (not necessarily bad)
terlalu banyak gula = too much sugar (implies it’s bad / excessive)

Sangat means very:

sangat banyak gula = very much sugar
(strong, but not automatically “too much” in the negative sense)

Here, because the doctor is warning you, terlalu banyak gula is more appropriate: it clearly implies excess.

Can I replace kerana with sebab? Do they mean the same thing?

Yes, kerana and sebab both mean because and are often interchangeable.

Your sentence with sebab:

… jangan makan terlalu banyak gula sebab gigi dan mulut saya sensitif.

Differences in feel:

kerana – slightly more formal / neutral, often used in writing.
sebab – slightly more informal / colloquial, very common in speech.

Grammatically, both are fine here. You can also move the clause:

Kerana gigi dan mulut saya sensitif, doktor nasihatkan saya supaya jangan makan terlalu banyak gula.
Sebab gigi dan mulut saya sensitif, doktor nasihatkan saya supaya jangan makan terlalu banyak gula.

Is sensitif a normal Malay word, or just copied from English “sensitive”? Could I use something else?

Sensitif is a very common and accepted Malay word, borrowed from English but fully integrated.

In this sentence:

gigi dan mulut saya sensitif
= my teeth and mouth are sensitive

It sounds natural and is used in medical and everyday contexts.

Alternative wordings (with slightly different nuances):

gigi dan mulut saya mudah sakit
= my teeth and mouth easily become painful
gigi dan mulut saya cepat terasa sakit
= my teeth and mouth quickly feel pain
gigi dan mulut saya sangat sensitif
= my teeth and mouth are very sensitive (stronger)

But sensitif by itself is perfectly good Malay in this context.

How do we know if this sentence is past, present, or future? There’s no tense marker.

Malay does not mark tense the way English does. The verb form itself does not change.

Doktor nasihatkan saya…
can mean:
- The doctor advised me… (past)
- The doctor is advising me… (present)
- The doctor advises me… (habitual / repeated)

The actual time is understood from context or from time words:

Semalam doktor nasihatkan saya…
= Yesterday the doctor advised me…
Tadi doktor nasihatkan saya…
= Earlier just now the doctor advised me…
Selalu doktor nasihatkan saya…
= The doctor often advises me…

So your sentence by itself is “tense-neutral” until more context is added.

In gigi dan mulut saya sensitif, does saya belong to both gigi and mulut? Why is it placed at the end?

Yes. In Malay, when you have two nouns joined by dan and then a pronoun, that pronoun usually applies to both nouns:

gigi dan mulut saya
= my teeth and my mouth

This structure is very common:

ibu dan bapa saya = my mother and (my) father
adik dan abang saya = my younger sibling and (my) older brother

Placing saya at the end is normal and natural. If you repeat saya, it sounds heavier and is not needed:

gigi saya dan mulut saya sensitif
(understandable but wordy; usually no need to repeat saya)

Can the pronoun saya after nasihatkan be omitted? For example, Doktor nasihatkan supaya jangan makan…?

Yes, in context where it is clear who is being advised, Malay often allows the object pronoun to be dropped:

Doktor nasihatkan saya supaya jangan makan terlalu banyak gula.
Doktor nasihatkan supaya jangan makan terlalu banyak gula.

The second sentence is still natural, especially if it is obvious that the doctor is talking to you.

However, keeping saya makes the sentence explicit and is safer for learners, especially in written or isolated sentences.

Why is the speaker using saya and not aku? What is the difference?

Both mean I / me, but they have different levels of formality and social usage:

saya
- polite, formal, or neutral
- used in most situations with people you don’t know well, or with people you respect (like a doctor).
aku
- informal, more intimate
- used with close friends, family, or in certain informal youth speech.

Because this is about talking to or about a doctor, saya is the appropriate, polite choice:

Doktor nasihatkan saya…
sounds respectful and natural in that context.

Using aku here would sound too casual unless the doctor is also a close friend and the situation is very informal.

Is there any difference between saying gigi dan mulut saya sensitif and adding something like sangat or amat?

Yes, adding words like sangat or amat intensifies the adjective:

gigi dan mulut saya sensitif
= my teeth and mouth are sensitive
gigi dan mulut saya sangat sensitif
= my teeth and mouth are very sensitive
gigi dan mulut saya amat sensitif
= my teeth and mouth are very / extremely sensitive (slightly more formal)

So your original sentence states plain sensitivity. If you want to emphasize how strong it is, you can insert an intensifier before sensitif.