Learn Hardcore Malay: Dompet saya hilang di taman.

Putting saya before the noun (e.g. saya dompet) is ungrammatical in standard Malay when you mean my wallet. Saya before a noun is usually just the subject I, not a possessor.

So:

Dompet saya hilang di taman. = My wallet is lost in the park.
Saya hilang dompet di taman. = I lost a wallet in the park. (different structure and meaning)

Is hilang a verb or an adjective here? Is it more like is lost or lost?

Hilang in Malay can function both as:

a verb: to disappear, to be lost
a stative verb / adjective-like word: missing, gone

In Dompet saya hilang di taman, hilang is basically saying is lost / has gone missing. You do not need an extra verb like is:

English: My wallet is lost.
Malay: Dompet saya hilang.

There is no separate to be verb like is / am / are here. Hilang itself carries the meaning is/has become lost.

How is Dompet saya hilang di taman different from Saya hilang dompet di taman?

They are grammatical but focus on different things:

Dompet saya hilang di taman.
- Literal: My wallet is lost at the park.
- Subject: dompet saya (my wallet)
- Focus: the state of your wallet (it is missing).
Saya hilang dompet di taman.
- Literal: I lost (a) wallet at the park.
- Subject: saya (I)
- Focus: your action of losing it.

In everyday speech:

If you want to say your wallet is missing, you’ll much more often say Dompet saya hilang…
Saya hilang dompet… is possible, but less common and sounds more like you’re describing what you did (your mistake).

There is no past tense marker. How do we know it’s in the past?

Malay usually relies on context and time words, not verb changes, to show tense.

Dompet saya hilang di taman. by itself can mean:

My wallet is lost at the park. (state now)
My wallet was lost at the park. (if the context is past)

To make the past more explicit, you can add time words or aspect markers:

Dompet saya hilang di taman tadi. = My wallet got lost at the park just now / earlier.
Dompet saya sudah hilang di taman. = My wallet has already been lost at the park.
Dompet saya telah hilang di taman. (more formal) = My wallet has been lost at the park.

But in many real situations, Dompet saya hilang di taman alone is enough; the listener will assume you mean it got lost earlier.

What exactly does di mean in di taman?

Di is a preposition that generally means in / at / on, used for locations:

di taman = in/at the park
di rumah = at home
di sekolah = at school
di meja = on/at the table

The exact English preposition (in, at, or on) depends on the noun and English style, but in Malay you normally just use di for static locations.

So hilang di taman is lost at/in the park.

Can I move di taman to the front? For example: Di taman, dompet saya hilang. Is that okay?

Yes, that is possible and grammatical. Malay allows fronting of location phrases for emphasis or topic-setting:

Dompet saya hilang di taman. (neutral order)
Di taman, dompet saya hilang. (emphasis on at the park)

The meaning is essentially the same; the second sounds a bit more like storytelling or written style, where you first mention the place, then what happened there.

Can I drop saya and just say Dompet hilang di taman?

You can, but the meaning changes slightly.

Dompet saya hilang di taman.
Clearly my wallet is lost.
Dompet hilang di taman.
Literally A/the wallet is lost at the park.
It does not explicitly say it’s yours.

In real life, if you are obviously talking about your own situation, people may infer that it’s your wallet. But grammatically, omitting saya removes the clear possession.

Is taman always park? Can it also mean garden?

Taman can mean:

Park – a public recreational park
- taman bandar = city park
Garden – often in combinations or context:
- taman bunga = flower garden
Residential area / housing estate in Malaysia:
- Taman Melati, Taman Sri Muda (names of housing areas)

In Dompet saya hilang di taman, most learners are taught the park meaning. In some contexts it could be garden, but the default for learners is usually park.

How would I say his wallet or her wallet instead of my wallet?

You can use dia (he/she) as a possessor:

dompet dia = his/her wallet

So:

Dompet dia hilang di taman. = His/Her wallet is lost at the park.

You might also see dompetnya, especially in writing or stories:

Dompetnya hilang di taman.
Here -nya can mean his/her/their (or the wallet in a contextual way).

For a clear, beginner-friendly form, dompet dia is easiest.

Is there a more informal, spoken way to say this in Malaysia?

Yes, colloquial Malay often changes pronouns and di:

Dompet aku hilang kat taman.
- aku = informal I/me
- kat = colloquial for di (at/in)

Other very casual versions:

Dompet aku hilang kat taman tadi.
Eh, dompet aku hilang la kat taman!

For polite or formal situations (e.g. talking to a stranger, police, staff), stick to:

Maaf, dompet saya hilang di taman.

Would I normally say this sentence to someone, or is it more like a statement to myself?

You can absolutely say it directly to someone. For example:

Maaf, dompet saya hilang di taman. Boleh tolong saya?
= Excuse me, my wallet is lost in the park. Can you help me?

It works both as:

an internal statement (My wallet is lost in the park…), and
something you tell others to explain your situation.

Is dompet always a wallet, or can it also mean purse?

Dompet generally covers:

wallet (for money, cards)
small purse or small pouch for money/cards

It does not usually mean a large handbag. For that, you’d use:

beg tangan = handbag
beg = bag (general)

So Dompet saya hilang di taman most naturally means My wallet is lost in the park, possibly a small purse-like wallet depending on context.

Could I say Dompet saya sudah hilang di taman? What does sudah add?

Yes, this is correct. Sudah (and telah in more formal style) marks that something has already happened or is completed:

Dompet saya hilang di taman.
Neutral: My wallet is/was lost at the park.
Dompet saya sudah hilang di taman.
Emphasizes that the loss is already a completed fact:
My wallet has already been lost at the park.

In many everyday situations, Dompet saya hilang di taman without sudah is fully natural. Sudah is used when you want to stress completion or contrast with an earlier expectation.