Learn Hardcore Malay: Saya telefon tukang rumah kerana bumbung rumah saya rosak. - I call the handyman because the roof of my house is damaged.

Saya telefon tukang rumah. – I phoned / I am phoning / I phone the handyman.
Tadi saya telefon tukang rumah. – I phoned the handyman just now.
Esok saya telefon tukang rumah. – Tomorrow I will phone the handyman.

You can add particles like sudah (already) or akan (will) for clarity:

Saya sudah telefon tukang rumah. – I have (already) phoned the handyman.
Saya akan telefon tukang rumah. – I will phone the handyman.

Is telefon here a noun (“telephone”) or a verb (“to phone”)?

In this sentence, telefon is a verb meaning “to phone / to call by phone.”

Malay often uses the same borrowed word as both noun and verb:

Saya ada telefon. – I have a phone. (noun)
Saya telefon tukang rumah. – I phone the handyman. (verb)

Context and position in the sentence tell you which one it is.

What’s the difference between telefon and menelefon?

Both can mean “to phone / to call (by phone).”

telefon – shorter, very common in speech, slightly informal.
- Saya telefon dia semalam. – I called him/her yesterday.
menelefon – more formal / standard, often seen in writing, news, formal speech.
- Saya menelefon dia semalam.

Both are correct; telefon is very natural in everyday conversation.

Could I say Saya hubungi tukang rumah instead of Saya telefon tukang rumah?

Yes, but the nuance changes slightly:

telefon – specifically “call by phone.”
- Saya telefon tukang rumah. – I phoned the handyman.
hubungi – more general “contact / get in touch with.” (by phone, email, message, etc.)
- Saya hubungi tukang rumah. – I contacted the handyman.

In everyday speech, if you mean a phone call, telefon (or call in Manglish) is the most transparent.

What exactly does tukang rumah mean? Is it “handyman,” “builder,” or “contractor”?

Tukang is a general word for a craftsman / tradesperson / repair person.
Rumah means house.

So tukang rumah literally = “house tradesperson”, and in practice it can be:

a handyman who fixes things around the house
a builder
a renovation guy
a small contractor who does house work

It’s more informal and general than kontraktor (contractor) or jurubina (builder/architect). In context, it usually means the person who does repair or construction work on houses.

Why is it kerana here? How is kerana different from sebab?

In this sentence, kerana is a conjunction meaning “because.”

Saya telefon tukang rumah kerana bumbung rumah saya rosak.
I phoned the handyman because my house roof is damaged.

kerana and sebab are very close in meaning:

kerana – slightly more formal / written, but also common in speech
sebab – very common in spoken Malay, slightly more casual

You could replace it with sebab here without changing the meaning:

Saya telefon tukang rumah sebab bumbung rumah saya rosak.

Can I put kerana at the beginning of the sentence, like in English “Because my roof is damaged, I called…”?

Yes. Both word orders are correct:

Saya telefon tukang rumah kerana bumbung rumah saya rosak.
Kerana bumbung rumah saya rosak, saya telefon tukang rumah.

The second one puts more emphasis on the reason (because my roof is damaged), just like in English. Both sound natural.

Why is it bumbung rumah saya and not bumbung saya rumah?

Malay noun groups usually go left to right from the main noun to its “describers”:

bumbung – roof (main noun)
rumah – house (tells you what kind of roof)
saya – my (possessor)

So bumbung rumah saya is literally “roof (of the) house my”
= “the roof of my house / my house roof.”

You can’t say bumbung saya rumah; that’s ungrammatical.
The possessor (saya) always comes last in such a chain:

kereta saya – my car
bumbung rumah saya – the roof of my house
pintu bilik dia – the door of his/her room

Could I just say bumbung saya rosak instead of bumbung rumah saya rosak?

Yes, but the meaning is slightly different:

bumbung saya rosak – my roof is damaged.
(listener has to guess it’s the roof of your house)
bumbung rumah saya rosak – the roof of my house is damaged.
(explicit: it’s your house roof, not something else)

In everyday speech, if it’s obvious you’re talking about a house roof, many people might still just say bumbung bocor (the roof is leaking) or bumbung rosak.

What does rosak cover? Is it only “broken,” or also “spoiled,” “damaged,” etc.?

Rosak is very flexible and means something like “damaged / broken / not functioning / spoiled.” It’s used for:

Physical damage:
- Bumbung rumah saya rosak. – My house roof is damaged.
- Kereta saya rosak. – My car broke down.
Electronics / machines not working:
- Telefon ini rosak. – This phone is broken / not working.
Food spoiled:
- Makanan ini sudah rosak. – This food has gone bad.

So here it means the roof is in a bad condition / damaged / not OK.

Why is there no word like “is” before rosak? Why not bumbung rumah saya adalah rosak?

In Malay, you usually do not use a copula (“is/are”) before adjectives or many adjectival predicates.

So:

Bumbung rumah saya rosak. – The roof of my house is damaged.
Dia penat. – He/She is tired.
Makanan ini sedap. – This food is delicious.

Words like adalah/ialah are used differently:

Typically before nouns in more formal statements:
- Dia ialah doktor. – He/She is a doctor.
Or for emphasis in formal writing.

Saying bumbung rumah saya adalah rosak sounds unnatural or overly formal/awkward in most contexts.

If I drop saya at the beginning, can I just say Telefon tukang rumah kerana bumbung rumah saya rosak?

If you drop saya at the start, it changes the feel of the sentence:

Saya telefon tukang rumah… – a statement: I phoned the handyman…
Telefon tukang rumah… – sounds like an imperative: Call the handyman…

Malay often drops pronouns in conversation when context is clear, but starting with a bare verb usually sounds like a command.

So for a neutral statement, keep Saya:
Saya telefon tukang rumah kerana bumbung rumah saya rosak.