Learn Hardcore Malay: Guru berkata, “Walaupun soalan ini susah, teruskan cuba sampai kamu faham.” - The teacher says, “Even though this question is difficult, keep trying until you understand.”

walaupun introduces a contrast: “X happens, even though Y is true.”
It usually comes at the start of the clause it introduces:
- Walaupun dia penat, dia terus belajar.
  “Even though he is tired, he keeps studying.”
You can also place that clause after the main clause:
- Teruskan cuba walaupun soalan ini susah.
  “Keep trying even though this question is difficult.”

So it doesn’t have to be at the very beginning of the whole sentence, but it normally starts its own clause.

Why is there no word like “is” between soalan ini and susah? Could I say soalan ini adalah susah?

In Malay, you usually do not need a separate word for “is/are” when linking a noun to an adjective.

soalan ini susah
literally: “this question difficult”
meaning: “this question is difficult”

Using adalah here is possible but less natural:

soalan ini adalah susah
Grammatically okay, but sounds formal, heavy, or like emphasis (e.g. in written, academic, or rhetorical style).
Everyday speech would almost always just say soalan ini susah.

General rule of thumb:

Noun + adjective: no “is” needed
- Buku itu mahal. = That book is expensive.
- Filem ini menarik. = This film is interesting.

Adalah is used more:

With noun = noun:
- Dia adalah guru saya. = He/She is my teacher.
In formal writing and definitions.

So in this sentence, soalan ini susah is the most natural form.

What’s the difference between susah, sukar, and payah? Could the teacher use any of them here?

All three can mean “difficult”, but they differ slightly in tone and usage:

susah
- Very common, everyday word.
- Can mean “difficult”, but also “troublesome” or “hard” in general life:
  - Kerja rumah ini susah. = This homework is difficult.
  - Hidup susah. = Life is hard.
- Fits well in the sentence you gave.
sukar
- More formal / written.
- Often used in exams, news, or formal speech:
  - Soalan ini sukar. = This question is difficult. (more formal)
- Teacher could say this, especially in a more formal context.
payah
- Similar to susah, but often with a sense of effort / strain:
  - Kerja ini payah. = This work is tough/hard-going.
- Can also be slightly more colloquial depending on region.

In your sentence, a teacher could say:

Walaupun soalan ini susah/sukar/payah, …

All are understandable. Susah is the safest, most neutral everyday choice.

In teruskan cuba, what does -kan do, and why not just say terus cuba?

The suffix -kan often makes a verb transitive (taking an object) or gives it a causative/“do something to X” feel.

terus = to continue / carry on
teruskan = to continue (something)

In teruskan cuba:

teruskan (continue)
cuba (trying) is the “thing” being continued.

So it’s like saying: “continue your trying” / “keep up the trying.”

Compare:

Terus cuba.
= “Continue trying.” (more like two verbs in sequence)
Teruskan cuba.
= “Keep (on) trying.” (explicitly treating trying as the activity you must continue)

Both are grammatically fine and very natural.

Terus cuba is slightly simpler and extremely common as an instruction.
Teruskan cuba adds a tiny sense of “maintain the effort you’ve already started,” but in practice, most speakers feel them as almost the same.

Is teruskan cuba correct, or should it be teruskan mencuba?

Both are acceptable, but they sound a bit different:

teruskan cuba
- Literally: “continue (the) try(ing)”
- Uses the base form cuba.
- Natural in speech, slightly more informal-feeling.
teruskan mencuba
- Literally: “continue to try / continue trying”
- Uses the meN- form mencuba.
- A bit more formal or “complete” sounding.

In normal spoken Malay from a teacher to students, you would most often hear:

Terus cuba sampai kamu faham.
Or Teruskan cuba sampai kamu faham.

Teruskan mencuba is not wrong; it’s just slightly more formal or heavier.

What does sampai mean in this sentence, and can I replace it with sehingga or hingga?

Here, sampai means “until”:

… teruskan cuba sampai kamu faham.
= “… keep trying until you understand.”

You can replace it with:

sehingga
hingga

Both also mean “until”:

Teruskan cuba sehingga kamu faham.
Teruskan cuba hingga kamu faham.

Differences in feel:

sampai
- Very common in spoken Malay.
- Neutral, everyday tone.
sehingga / hingga
- Slightly more formal or written.
- Often seen in texts, official messages, signs, etc.

All three are correct here; the choice is mostly about style/register.

Why is kamu used here? Is it formal, informal, singular, or plural?

kamu is a second-person pronoun (“you”). In practice:

Often taught as “you (plural)” in some school contexts,
But widely used as “you (singular)” as well, especially in:
- Teachers speaking to students
- Friendly and neutral situations

Rough guide to similar pronouns:

awak
- Also means “you” (singular).
- Friendly, everyday. Can feel more personal/intimate in some regions.
anda
- Polite, semi-formal “you”.
- Used in customer service, advertisements, formal writing.
engkau / kau
- Informal, can feel rough or very close; depends on tone and region.

In this sentence, kamu:

is appropriate for a teacher addressing students,
feels neutral and not rude,
can refer to one student or the group; context decides.

So the teacher is essentially saying “you (student/s)” in a neutral way.

Why is there a comma after walaupun soalan ini susah?

The comma marks the end of a subordinate (dependent) clause that comes before the main clause.

Structure:

Walaupun soalan ini susah, → subordinate clause (“Even though this question is difficult,”)
teruskan cuba sampai kamu faham. → main clause (“keep trying until you understand.”)

When a walaupun-clause comes first, it’s common and stylistically recommended to use a comma:

Walaupun dia letih, dia pergi bekerja.

If the walaupun-clause comes after the main clause, you usually don’t use a comma:

Dia pergi bekerja walaupun dia letih.

So the comma here is normal and helps readability. It’s similar to English punctuation in “Although X, Y.”

Why is ini placed after soalan (soalan ini) instead of before, like in English “this question”?

In Malay, demonstratives like ini (this) and itu (that) normally come after the noun they describe:

soalan ini = “this question”
soalan itu = “that question”
buku ini = “this book”
meja itu = “that table”

If you put ini before a noun, the meaning changes:

ini soalan = “this is a question”
- Here, ini is the subject (“this”), and soalan is a noun complement.

So:

soalan ini susah = “this question is difficult.”
ini soalan susah = “this is a difficult question.” (slightly different structure/emphasis)

In your sentence, soalan ini susah is the correct pattern for “this question is difficult.”

Is Guru berkata complete without itu or seorang? How do I know if it means “the teacher” or “a teacher”?

Guru berkata literally is “teacher said.” Malay often drops articles like “a” or “the”.

On its own:

guru = teacher (could be “a teacher” or “the teacher”)
Guru berkata could be understood as “The teacher said” or “A teacher said” depending on context.

You can add words if you want to be more specific:

Seorang guru berkata… = “A (certain) teacher said…”
Guru itu berkata… = “That teacher / the teacher said…”

In many narratives or classroom contexts, just Guru berkata will be naturally taken as “The teacher said” because:

there is usually one relevant teacher in the context,
Malay doesn’t need to mark definiteness as strictly as English.

So yes, Guru berkata is complete and natural.

Could the teacher also say cubalah? What does the -lah ending do?

Yes, the teacher could add -lah for a softer, more encouraging tone:

Teruskan cuba sampai kamu faham.
Teruskan cubalah sampai kamu faham. (less common word order)
More natural: Cubalah sampai kamu faham.

The particle -lah:

softens commands,
makes them more friendly / encouraging / persuasive,
can signal warmth or patience rather than strictness.

Compare:

Cuba lagi. = “Try again.” (neutral imperative)
Cubalah lagi. = “Do try again.” (gentler, more encouraging)

In a classroom, a teacher might say:

Cubalah lagi sampai kamu faham.
= “Keep trying until you understand (okay?).”

So -lah doesn’t change the core meaning, but changes the tone to be more polite or caring.

Is the word order inside the quotes fixed, or could you say Teruskan cuba walaupun soalan ini susah sampai kamu faham?

Malay word order is fairly flexible, so you can move clauses around as long as it stays clear.

Some possible variants:

Original:
- Walaupun soalan ini susah, teruskan cuba sampai kamu faham.
  (Concession first, then instruction + “until” clause.)
Main clause first:
- Teruskan cuba sampai kamu faham walaupun soalan ini susah.
Concession moved to the middle:
- Teruskan cuba walaupun soalan ini susah sampai kamu faham.
  This is understandable, but can feel a bit crowded in the middle.

Most natural for teaching or encouragement are versions where:

the concession (walaupun…) goes first or after the whole instruction:
- Walaupun soalan ini susah, teruskan cuba sampai kamu faham.
- Teruskan cuba sampai kamu faham walaupun soalan ini susah.

Your alternative is not wrong, but the original order is clearer and more typical.