Learn Hardcore Malay: Adik perempuan saya suka roti bakar dengan keju, manakala saya suka salad buah. - My younger sister likes toast with cheese, whereas I like fruit salad.

You use adik perempuan when you want to be explicit that the younger sibling is female. If you don’t need to specify gender, you can just say adik.

So:

adik saya = my younger sibling
adik perempuan saya = my younger sister

Why is it adik perempuan saya and not saya adik perempuan, like in English “my younger sister”?

Malay noun phrases usually follow this order:

main noun + descriptor + possessor

So:

adik (noun)
perempuan (descriptor: “female”)
saya (possessor: “my”)

adik perempuan saya = “the female younger sibling of me” → my younger sister.

Putting saya first (saya adik perempuan) sounds incomplete or wrong; it would be like saying “I a younger sister” rather than “my younger sister.”

Does adik always mean “younger”? What about older siblings?

Yes, adik always means younger sibling. Malay distinguishes sibling age and gender:

adik = younger sibling (any gender)
adik perempuan = younger sister
adik lelaki = younger brother

For older siblings:

kakak = older sister
abang = older brother

Examples:

Kakak saya suka kopi. = My older sister likes coffee.
Abang saya suka teh. = My older brother likes tea.

What does suka mean, and do I need to change it for past or future (like “liked”, “will like”)?

suka means to like (or sometimes “to be fond of / to enjoy”).

Malay verbs generally do not change form for tense. suka stays suka for past, present, and future. Time is shown by context or time words:

Saya suka salad buah.
I like fruit salad. (present / general)
Dulu saya suka salad buah.
I used to like / I liked fruit salad.
Esok saya akan suka salad buah ini.
Tomorrow I will like this fruit salad. (sounds a bit odd in English, but grammatically OK)

So no -ed or -s endings; suka is always suka.

Why is there no word like “does” or “do” in saya suka salad buah?

Malay doesn’t use helping verbs like do/does for simple statements.

English:

“I do like fruit salad.”
Malay:
Saya suka salad buah. (literally “I like fruit salad.”)

There’s no separate word for “do” here. If you need emphasis, you usually change the sentence structure or add an adverb, not a helper like “do”.

What does roti bakar literally mean? Is it always “toast”?

Literally:

roti = bread
bakar = grilled / roasted / toasted

So roti bakar = grilled/toasted bread → “toast”.

In everyday speech, roti bakar is the standard way to say toast. You can also use it for bread that’s been grilled or toasted in various ways, not just in a toaster.

Why is it roti bakar dengan keju instead of something like roti keju bakar?

roti bakar dengan keju literally is:

roti bakar = toasted bread
dengan = with
keju = cheese

So: “toasted bread with cheese.”

You can say roti bakar keju in some contexts to mean cheese toast, and people will understand. But:

roti bakar dengan keju emphasizes toast + cheese as two separate items combined (“toast with cheese”).
roti bakar keju sounds more like a single dish named “cheese toast”.

Both are acceptable, but roti bakar dengan keju is very clear for learners.

What does dengan do here, and can I use another word for “with”?

dengan mostly means with. Here it joins food items:

roti bakar dengan keju = toast with cheese

Other common uses:

Saya pergi dengan kawan. = I go with a friend.
Dia menulis dengan pensel. = He/She writes with a pencil.

Other words that can sometimes translate as “with” (but are less general) include:

bersama = together with (more about company)
pakai / guna = using (an instrument, like “with a knife”)

In your sentence, dengan is the natural and correct choice.

What does manakala mean, and is it the same as “but”?

manakala is a conjunction meaning whereas, while, or on the other hand. It contrasts two subjects and their actions/preferences.

In the sentence:

Adik perempuan saya suka roti bakar dengan keju, manakala saya suka salad buah.
→ My younger sister likes toast with cheese, whereas I like fruit salad.

Differences from common English conjunctions:

but = simple contrast (short, very common)
whereas / while = contrast between two parallel things (closer to manakala)

Malay alternatives:

tetapi / tapi = but (general contrast)
sedangkan = whereas (subtle nuance; often used to contrast expectations)

You could also say:

Adik perempuan saya suka roti bakar dengan keju, tetapi saya suka salad buah.
This is fine and means almost the same, but manakala sounds more like a clear comparison of two people’s preferences.

Why is it salad buah and not buah salad? How does word order in noun phrases work?

Malay noun phrases generally follow head noun + descriptor order.

Here:

salad = salad (head noun)
buah = fruit (descriptor: what kind of salad)

So salad buah = fruit salad (literally “salad [of] fruit”).

Other examples:

jus oren = orange juice (literally “juice orange”)
beg sekolah = school bag
baju tidur = sleepwear / pajamas

So:

Noun (main thing) + Noun/Adjective (modifier)

buah salad would sound like “salad‑fruit” and is not idiomatic.

There’s no word for “the” or “a” in this sentence. How do articles work in Malay?

Malay does not have articles like a/an/the.

Meaning comes from context:

adik perempuan saya can be “my younger sister” or “the younger sister of mine” (no article needed).
roti bakar dengan keju can be “toast with cheese”, “the toast with cheese”, or “a toast with cheese”, depending on context.

If you really need to specify quantity, you use classifiers or numbers:

seketul roti bakar = a piece of toast
dua mangkuk salad buah = two bowls of fruit salad

But everyday speech usually just omits a/the entirely.

Why is saya repeated instead of using “she” in the second part, like “whereas she likes fruit salad”?

Malay does have third-person pronouns (like dia = he/she), but it’s also very common to repeat the noun or name for clarity or emphasis.

Your sentence is:

Adik perempuan saya suka roti bakar dengan keju, manakala saya suka salad buah.
→ My younger sister likes toast with cheese, whereas I like fruit salad.

If you wanted to contrast only your sister and not bring yourself in, you could use:

Adik perempuan saya suka roti bakar dengan keju, manakala dia suka salad buah.
→ My younger sister likes toast with cheese, whereas she likes fruit salad. (This sounds odd in English but could make sense in a context with more than one “she”.)

To contrast her versus me, repeating saya in the second clause is natural and clear. You could also say:

Adik perempuan saya suka roti bakar dengan keju, manakala saya pula suka salad buah.
(pula adds a “on the other hand / for me” nuance.)

Is saya formal? Could I use aku here?

saya is the neutral / polite first-person pronoun; it’s safe in almost all situations.

aku is more informal/intimate, often used:

with close friends
in songs, poetry
sometimes by younger speakers in casual contexts

Grammatically, you could say:

Adik perempuan aku suka roti bakar dengan keju, manakala aku suka salad buah.

This sounds more casual and depends on who’s talking to whom. For learners, saya is the safest default.

Could I just say adik saya instead of adik perempuan saya in this sentence?

Yes, you can say:

Adik saya suka roti bakar dengan keju, manakala saya suka salad buah.

This means:

“My younger sibling likes toast with cheese, whereas I like fruit salad.”

If the context already makes it clear that the sibling is female, adik saya is enough. Use adik perempuan saya if:

you need to be explicit about gender, or
you’re introducing her for the first time and want to be clear that she’s your sister, not brother.