Learn Hardcore Malay: Saya risau apabila anak kecil bermain dekat asap rokok. - I worry when a small child plays near cigarette smoke.

What does each word in Saya risau apabila anak kecil bermain dekat asap rokok correspond to in English, and what is its basic role in the sentence?

Here’s a word‑by‑word breakdown:

Saya – I / me
- First‑person singular pronoun, subject of the sentence.
risau – worried / anxious
- Predicate describing the speaker’s emotional state. In Malay, it can function like an adjective or a stative verb (see below).
apabila – when / whenever
- A conjunction introducing a subordinate time clause.
anak kecil – literally small child / little child
- anak = child
- kecil = small / little
- Together, this is a noun phrase meaning a small child / young child.
bermain – to play / playing
- Verb, intransitive. Prefix ber- often marks actions or states that the subject performs/has. Here: is playing / plays.
dekat – near / close to
- Here functioning as a preposition meaning near, taking an object after it.
asap rokok – cigarette smoke
- asap = smoke
- rokok = cigarette
- Together: the smoke that comes from cigarettes.

So structurally:

Saya risau – I am worried
apabila anak kecil bermain dekat asap rokok – when a small child plays near cigarette smoke

Is risau a verb or an adjective in Malay, and why is there no prefix like me- or ber- on it?

risau is a stative word that can function both:

like an adjective: worried, anxious
and like a verb: to be worried / to feel worried

Malay does not always distinguish clearly between adjectives and stative verbs. Many “feeling” or “state” words work the same way, for example:

penat – tired
marah – angry
takut – afraid

In sentences like:

Saya penat. – I am tired.
Dia marah. – He/She is angry.
Mereka takut. – They are afraid.

there is no separate verb “to be”; the state word itself acts as the predicate. Saya risau follows the same pattern: I am worried or I feel worried.

Because risau already expresses a state, you normally do not add me- or ber- before it in standard Malay. You just use risau on its own as the predicate.

Can I say Saya merisau instead of Saya risau, or use bimbang instead?

You should not say Saya merisau in standard Malay.

merisau is not a normal verb form in Malay.
The natural expression is simply Saya risau.

You can replace risau with bimbang, which is a near‑synonym:

Saya bimbang apabila anak kecil bermain dekat asap rokok.

risau vs bimbang:

risau
- Very common in everyday speech.
- Slightly more casual.
- Strong nuance of being mentally preoccupied, anxious.
bimbang
- Common in both spoken and written Malay.
- Slightly more formal or neutral.
- Often used in news, official writing, etc.

In this sentence, both are acceptable and mean almost the same: I am worried when a small child plays near cigarette smoke.

What is the difference between apabila, bila, ketika, and semasa? Could I replace apabila here?

All of these can be translated as when, but they differ in formality and nuance.

apabila
- Fairly formal/neutral.
- Very common in writing and careful speech.
- Often used in conditional or time clauses.
- In this sentence: fully appropriate.
bila
- More informal/colloquial (especially in Malaysian usage).
- Very common in everyday conversation.
- You can say:
  - Saya risau bila anak kecil bermain dekat asap rokok.
  - This sounds more conversational.
ketika
- More formal; often used with past or more narrative contexts.
- Often translated as when / at the time when.
- You could say:
  - Saya risau ketika anak kecil bermain dekat asap rokok.
  - Grammatically fine, but sounds a bit more literary/formal.
semasa
- Also formal/neutral.
- Often used with continuous or background actions: while / during the time when.
- Example:
  - Saya risau semasa anak kecil bermain dekat asap rokok.

In everyday speech, apabila and bila are probably the most natural choices here.

Does anak kecil mean specifically “one small child,” or can it also mean “small children” in general?

anak kecil is grammatically unmarked for number. It can mean:

a small child / one small child, or
small children / young children in general,

depending on context.

Malay usually does not mark singular vs plural on nouns. Plurality is:

understood from context, or
made explicit with extra words, e.g.
- anak-anak kecil – small children (clearly plural)
- seorang anak kecil – one small child (clearly singular; seorang is a classifier for people)

So your sentence could be understood as:

I am worried when a small child plays near cigarette smoke, or
I am worried when small children play near cigarette smoke.

If you really want to emphasise plural, you can say:

Saya risau apabila anak-anak kecil bermain dekat asap rokok.

Why doesn’t the sentence say “my child”? How would I say “my small child” in Malay?

As written:

anak kecil = a small child / small children (no possessor specified)

If you want to say my small child, add a possessive pronoun after anak kecil:

anak kecil saya – my small child
anak saya yang kecil – my child who is small / my young child

Possible rewrites:

Saya risau apabila anak kecil saya bermain dekat asap rokok.
– I am worried when my small child plays near cigarette smoke.
Saya risau apabila anak saya yang kecil bermain dekat asap rokok.
– Slightly more emphasis: I am worried when the younger one of my children / my little one plays near cigarette smoke.

The original sentence is more general, referring to any small child, not necessarily the speaker’s own.

Is dekat here a preposition like “near”, or an adjective like “near/close”? Do I need dengan after dekat?

In this sentence, dekat functions as a preposition meaning near:

bermain dekat asap rokok – play near cigarette smoke

In more formal/standard Malay, dekat as a preposition is often followed by dengan:

bermain dekat dengan asap rokok – play near cigarette smoke

So you have:

dekat asap rokok – widely used in speech and informal writing; acceptable in many contexts.
dekat dengan asap rokok – more explicitly prepositional; common in careful or formal speech/writing.

Both are understandable and used. In everyday Malaysian speech, people very often say just dekat without dengan.

dekat can also be an adjective:

Rumah itu dekat. – That house is near / close (by).

But in your sentence, because it is followed directly by a noun (asap rokok), it is functioning as a preposition.

Could I change the word order and say: Apabila anak kecil bermain dekat asap rokok, saya risau? Is that still correct?

Yes, that word order is perfectly correct:

Apabila anak kecil bermain dekat asap rokok, saya risau.

Malay allows the subordinate clause (apabila…) to come either:

after the main clause (your original):
- Saya risau apabila anak kecil bermain dekat asap rokok.
before the main clause:
- Apabila anak kecil bermain dekat asap rokok, saya risau.

The meaning is the same. The version starting with Apabila… puts slightly more focus on the condition/time first, then the reaction (I am worried).

Both patterns are very natural.

What exactly does asap rokok mean? Is there any difference if I say asap daripada rokok or asap rokok itu?

asap rokok literally means cigarette smoke:

asap = smoke
rokok = cigarette

It’s a fixed, natural noun phrase.

Variations:

asap daripada rokok
- Literally: smoke from cigarettes.
- daripada emphasises the source/origin.
- Often slightly longer and more explicit, e.g.:
  - Saya risau apabila anak kecil bermain dekat asap daripada rokok.
- Meaning is basically the same, just a bit more spelled out.
asap rokok itu
- that cigarette smoke / the cigarette smoke
- itu marks it as a specific, identified smoke the listener already knows about or can see.
- Example: You and your listener are looking at one particular smoker nearby; then:
  - Saya risau apabila anak kecil bermain dekat asap rokok itu.

In your original sentence, asap rokok is generic: cigarette smoke in general, not any particular visible cloud of smoke.

How do we know the sentence is in the present tense? How would I express past or future, like “I was worried” or “I will be worried”?

Malay verbs and stative words (like risau) do not change form for tense. There is no equivalent of English am / was / will be built into the word.

Tense and aspect are usually indicated by time expressions and context.

Your sentence:

Saya risau apabila anak kecil bermain dekat asap rokok.

can be understood as:

I am worried when a small child plays near cigarette smoke (general or present fact), or
I get worried whenever a small child plays near cigarette smoke.

To show past or future, add time markers or context:

Dulu saya risau apabila anak kecil bermain dekat asap rokok.
– In the past I was worried when a small child played near cigarette smoke.
Tadi saya risau apabila anak kecil bermain dekat asap rokok.
– Just now I was worried when a small child was playing near cigarette smoke.
Nanti saya akan risau apabila anak kecil bermain dekat asap rokok.
– Later I will be worried when a small child plays near cigarette smoke.

Here akan is a future marker (often optional in speech if time is clear from context), and adverbs like dulu, tadi, nanti help specify time.

The base sentence without such markers is interpreted through context, usually as a general present/habitual statement.