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Doktor menasihati perokok supaya berhenti merokok.

Doktor menasihati perokok supaya berhenti merokok.
The doctor advises smokers to stop smoking.
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Questions & Answers about Doktor menasihati perokok supaya berhenti merokok.

Why isn’t there a word for “the” or “a” in the Malay sentence?

Malay generally doesn’t use articles like “the” or “a”.

  • Doktor can mean “a doctor” or “the doctor” depending on context.
  • Perokok can mean “a smoker” or “smokers”.

The listener works out whether it’s specific or general from the situation, not from a separate word like English “the” or “a”.

What’s the difference between menasihati and memberi nasihat?

Both mean “to advise”, but they’re slightly different in form:

  • menasihati

    • Single verb (one word).
    • From nasihat (advice) + prefix meN-
      • suffix -i.
    • Often translated as “to advise (someone)”.
    • Takes a direct object: menasihati perokok = advise the smoker(s).

  • memberi nasihat

    • Verb + noun phrase: memberi (to give) + nasihat (advice).
    • Literally “to give advice”.
    • You can add kepada: memberi nasihat kepada perokok = give advice to the smoker(s).

In this sentence, menasihati perokok is more compact but natural and common.

Why is it menasihati perokok and not menasihati kepada perokok?

With the verb menasihati, the person being advised is a direct object, so you do not use kepada:

  • Correct: Doktor menasihati perokok.
  • Incorrect: Doktor menasihati kepada perokok.

You use kepada with memberi nasihat instead:

  • Doktor *memberi nasihat kepada perokok. = *The doctor gives advice to the smoker(s).
Is “perokok” singular or plural?

By itself, perokok is number-neutral. It can mean:

  • “a smoker”
  • “the smoker”
  • “smokers”
  • “the smokers”

Context decides. If you want to be explicit:

  • seorang perokok = one smoker (person)
  • para perokok = (all / many) smokers (more formal/collective)
  • perokok-perokok = smokers (reduplication for plural, more written/formal)
Why is the verb “merokok” repeated in “perokok” and “berhenti merokok”?

They’re related but have different functions:

  • rokok = cigarette
  • merokok = to smoke (to smoke cigarettes)
  • perokok = smoker (a person who smokes)

So in the sentence:

  • perokok = smoker(s)
  • berhenti merokok = to stop smoking

The root idea rokok (cigarette) appears in both the noun (perokok) and the verb (merokok), which is typical in Malay word formation.

What does supaya mean here, and how is it different from untuk or agar?

In this sentence:

  • supaya introduces a purpose or desired outcome:
    Doktor menasihati perokok *supaya berhenti merokok.
    = The doctor advised the smoker(s) **so that     they would stop smoking.*

Comparison:

  • supaya and agar

    • Very similar: so that / in order that.
    • agar sounds a bit more formal/written, but both are common.

  • untuk

    • More like “for / in order to”.
    • Typically followed by a verb in a more general purpose sense:
      • Doktor menasihati perokok untuk berhenti merokok is also grammatical and natural.
      • Often feels slightly more neutral/purpose-focused: advised… to stop smoking, without much “so that” nuance.

All three can work here; supaya puts a tiny bit more emphasis on the desired result.

Why is it berhenti merokok and not just berhenti?
  • berhenti alone means “to stop” (in general).
    • Bas berhenti. = The bus stops.
  • berhenti merokok is “to stop smoking”, specifying what is being stopped.

In conversation, once the context is totally clear, people might drop merokok, but in a full sentence like this it’s normal to include it: berhenti merokok.

What is the difference between berhenti merokok and menghentikan merokok?

Both are understandable but they feel different:

  • berhenti merokok

    • berhenti = to stop (intransitive; the subject stops itself)
    • Very natural for habits: stop smoking, stop eating, stop talking.

  • menghentikan

    • From henti
      • meN-
        • -kan = to cause something to stop (transitive).
    • More like “to stop (something)”.
    • Polis menghentikan kereta itu. = The police stop the car.

So, berhenti merokok is the natural phrase for “quit smoking”.
Menghentikan merokok sounds unusual or overly literal; native speakers rarely say it.

Why doesn’t the verb change for past tense, like “advised” vs “advises”?

Malay verbs do not inflect for tense. Menasihati can mean:

  • “advises” (present)
  • “advised” (past)
  • “will advise” (future)

Time is shown by context or by adding time words:

  • Tadi doktor menasihati perokok. = Earlier, the doctor advised the smoker(s).
  • Esok doktor akan menasihati perokok. = Tomorrow, the doctor will advise the smoker(s).

Here, English needs past tense (“advised”), but Malay keeps menasihati the same.

Is menasihati formal or informal? Would people say this in everyday speech?

Menasihati is neutral to slightly formal, but still common in everyday speech, especially in any serious or respectful context (doctor–patient, parent–child, teacher–student).

More informal options might be:

  • tegurlah / menegur = to call out, admonish
  • suruh = to tell/order someone to do something

But menasihati is perfectly natural in spoken Malay when talking about proper advice, especially from a doctor.

Could this sentence also mean “The doctor advises the smokers” (general habit) and not one specific event?

Yes. Because there is:

  • no tense marking, and
  • no singular/plural marking,

Doktor menasihati perokok supaya berhenti merokok can mean:

  1. A specific past event:

    • The doctor advised the smoker(s) to stop smoking.

  2. A general truth/habit:

    • The doctor (habitually) advises smokers to stop smoking.

Context would tell you which is intended.

What is the literal breakdown of each word in this sentence?
  • Doktor = doctor

  • menasihati

    • meN- (verb-forming prefix) + nasihat (advice) + -i (suffix often meaning “to do [root] to someone/something”)
    • literally: to advise (someone)

  • perokok

    • pe- (person/agent prefix) + rokok (cigarette)
    • literally: cigarette-person → smoker
  • supaya = so that / in order that

  • berhenti

    • ber- (intransitive verb prefix) + henti (stop)
    • to stop

  • merokok

    • meN- (verb prefix) + rokok (cigarette)
    • to smoke (cigarettes)

So a fairly literal gloss is:
Doctor advises smoker(s) so that (they) stop smoking.