Learn Hardcore Malay: Kami tinggal di utara bandar sekarang.

to live / reside:
- Saya tinggal di Kuala Lumpur. = I live in Kuala Lumpur.
to stay (temporarily):
- Kami tinggal di hotel itu seminggu. = We stayed at that hotel for a week.
to remain / be left:
- Cuma dua orang yang tinggal. = Only two people are left.

Here, with a place (di utara bandar) and sekarang, the natural interpretation is “We live (reside) in the north of the city now.”

What is the difference between kami and kita, and why use kami here?

Malay has two words for “we”:

kami = we (NOT including the person you’re talking to)
Use this when you are talking about your group, and the listener is not part of that group.
kita = we (INCLUDING the person you’re talking to)
Use this when the listener is part of the “we”, or in a general sense like “we people”.

So:

Kami tinggal di utara bandar sekarang.
= We (not including you) live in the north of the city now.

If you said:

Kita tinggal di utara bandar sekarang.
it would mean You and I (and maybe others) live in the north of the city now.

The original sentence assumes the listener does not live there with the speaker, so kami is appropriate.

What does the preposition di mean, and how is it different from ke and dari?

di is a basic location preposition. Roughly:

di = at / in / on (static location)
- di rumah = at home
- di sekolah = at school
- di utara bandar = in the north of the city

Compare with:

ke = to / towards (movement to a place)
- pergi ke sekolah = go to school
- berpindah ke utara bandar = move to the north of the city
dari = from (starting point)
- datang dari selatan bandar = come from the south of the city

In Kami tinggal di utara bandar sekarang, di is correct because it describes a location where we live, not movement.

How does di utara bandar work grammatically? Could I say di bandar utara instead?

di utara bandar is built as:

di (at / in) + utara (north) + bandar (city)

Literally: “at north (of) city”, which corresponds to “in the north of the city”.

About alternatives:

di utara bandar = in the northern part of that city (a region within the city)
di bandar utara sounds like “in a northern city/town” (a city which itself is in the north, compared to other cities), not “the north of this city”.

So to match “in the north of the city”, di utara bandar is the natural structure, not di bandar utara.

In English we say “in the north of the city”. Why is there no word for “of” or “the” in Malay?

Two points:

No article “the/a” in Malay
Malay doesn’t have separate words for “the” or “a”.
- bandar can mean “a city” or “the city”, depending on context.
  If you want to be specific, you can add:
- bandar ini = this city
- bandar itu = that/the city (already known)
“of” often disappears in noun–noun structures
English “north of the city” becomes a noun phrase utara bandar:
- utara (north) + bandar (city) = “north (part) of the city”
  Malay frequently links nouns directly without an explicit “of”:
- ibu bapa Ali = Ali’s parents (literally “parents Ali”)
- peta negara = map of the country

So di utara bandar = “at the north (of) city” → “in the north of the city”, with “of” and “the” understood from the structure and context, not spelled out.

Where can I put sekarang in the sentence? Must it go at the end?

sekarang means “now”, and it’s quite flexible in position. All of these are grammatical:

Kami tinggal di utara bandar sekarang.
Neutral, very common. Time word at the end.
Sekarang kami tinggal di utara bandar.
Emphasises the change now, as in “Now we live in the north of the city (not where we used to).”
Kami sekarang tinggal di utara bandar.
Also possible; slightly more emphasis on the current state, often in contrast with the past.

All three are correct; placing sekarang at the end (version 1) is probably the most “default” everyday style.

Can I leave out kami and just say Tinggal di utara bandar sekarang?

Yes, in casual speech or writing, Malay often drops the subject when it’s clear from context. Then:

Tinggal di utara bandar sekarang.
≈ “(We) live in the north of the city now.”

However:

It becomes ambiguous; it could mean “I/we/they live…”, depending on the context.
In neutral, clear sentences (textbooks, formal writing, or when introducing new information), it’s better to keep the subject:
- Kami tinggal di utara bandar sekarang.

So you can drop kami in conversation, but for learners and for clarity, keeping kami is recommended.

Do I have to say sekarang to show the present tense, or is Kami tinggal di utara bandar enough?

You do not have to say sekarang to show the present.

Malay verbs don’t change for tense, so:

Kami tinggal di utara bandar.
by default is understood as present: “We live in the north of the city.”

Context or extra time words show past/future:

Dulu kami tinggal di selatan bandar.
= We used to live in the south of the city.
Kami akan tinggal di utara bandar tahun depan.
= We will live in the north of the city next year.

Adding sekarang gives extra emphasis that this is the current situation, often in contrast with a previous one:

Dulu kami tinggal di selatan bandar, tapi kami tinggal di utara bandar sekarang.
= We used to live in the south of the city, but we live in the north of the city now.

How would I say “We are currently staying in the north of the city (temporarily)”?

To emphasise a temporary or ongoing stay (more like “staying” than “living permanently”), you can use sedang or a different verb:

Using sedang tinggal:
- Sekarang kami sedang tinggal di utara bandar.
  = Right now we are staying / are in the middle of staying in the north of the city.
Using menginap (often for staying at a hotel, accommodation):
- Sekarang kami menginap di utara bandar.
  = We are currently staying (e.g. at a hotel) in the north of the city.
Using berada (to be located, be present):
- Sekarang kami berada di utara bandar.
  = Right now we are (located) in the north of the city.

For a permanent home, Kami tinggal di utara bandar sekarang is better.
For a temporary situation (like a trip), something with sedang, menginap, or berada sounds more natural.

Does bandar always mean “city”? How is it different from kota or bandar raya?

Rough guidelines (Malay usage):

bandar
- Town or city in general.
- Size is relative; it can be “town” or “city” in English, depending on context.
- bandar kecil = small town; bandar besar = big town/city.
kota
- Historically: fortified city, old city, or city with historical/administrative importance.
- Still appears in many names: Kota Bharu, Kota Kinabalu.
bandar raya
- Official term for a large city / metropolis, often with city status.
- Example: Bandar raya Kuala Lumpur.

In everyday speech, bandar is the normal, neutral word for “town/city”, so di utara bandar is perfectly natural.