Learn Hardcore Malay: Abang saya selalu membasuh motosikal itu pada hujung minggu. - My older brother always washes that motorcycle on weekends.

You normally cannot say saya abang for “my brother”; that sounds like “I am a brother” (and is still odd). To say “I am an older brother”, you would usually say Saya seorang abang or Saya abang in context, not saya abang saya.

So the pattern is:
[Noun] + saya = my [noun]

Does abang always mean “older brother”? Can it be used for other people?

Abang has a core meaning of older brother (for the speaker), but it’s used more broadly:

Literal family meaning
- abang saya = my older brother
- Opposites:
  - kakak saya = my older sister
  - adik saya = my younger sibling (brother or sister)
Form of address for an older male
In everyday speech, especially in Malaysia:
- Women and younger people often call an adult/older male Abang or Bang (short form), even if he is not their real brother.
  Example to a waiter, driver, shop assistant: Bang, minta bil. (“Bro, the bill please.”)
Between partners
A woman may call her husband or boyfriend Abang as a term of endearment.

In your sentence Abang saya selalu membasuh motosikal itu..., context suggests “my older brother”, the literal family meaning.

Why is selalu placed before membasuh? Can it go in other positions?

Selalu means “always / often” (more literally “always”), and it’s an adverb of frequency.

The most natural position is before the verb:

Abang saya selalu membasuh motosikal itu...
= My older brother always washes that motorcycle...

Other possibilities:

After the subject, before the verb – as in the sentence:
- Abang saya selalu membasuh... ✅ (very natural)
At the start of the sentence (for emphasis)
- Selalu, abang saya membasuh motosikal itu pada hujung minggu.
  Sounds a bit more literary or emphatic.
After the object
- Abang saya membasuh motosikal itu selalu.
  This is grammatically possible, but in many dialects it sounds a bit unusual or less natural. Frequency adverbs are usually placed before the verb.

So for everyday speech and writing, put selalu in front of the verb: selalu membasuh.

What’s the difference between membasuh, basuh, and cuci / mencuci?

All of these are about washing, but there are differences in formality, morphology, and typical use.

basuh
- Base verb, everyday, informal.
- Abang saya basuh motosikal itu.
  = My older brother washes that motorcycle.
  Very common in speech.
membasuh
- meN- prefix + basuh → membasuh
- More formal / standard; common in writing or careful speech.
- Means the same activity as basuh (to wash something).
Morphology note:
- Prefix meN-
  - b → mem-
- So meN- + basuh → membasuh, not menbasuh.
cuci / mencuci
- cuci = wash / clean
- mencuci is the meN- form of cuci.
Usage tendencies (not strict rules):
- cuci / mencuci are often used for cleaning things in a more general sense (clothes, dishes, floors, wounds, etc.).
- basuh / membasuh are also used for washing, especially with water.
Examples:
- Saya basuh pinggan. / Saya cuci pinggan.
  = I wash the dishes. (Both OK in many contexts)
- Dia mencuci luka itu.
  = He cleans that wound.

In your sentence, you could say:

Abang saya selalu basuh motosikal itu... (very natural, casual), or
Abang saya selalu membasuh motosikal itu... (a bit more formal/standard).

Why is there no word for “does” or a special ending like “-s” in membasuh to show present tense?

Malay does not mark tense on the verb the way English does. The verb form membasuh stays the same for:

past: My brother washed
present: My brother washes / is washing
future: My brother will wash

Time is shown using time words and context, for example:

Semalam abang saya membasuh motosikal itu.
= Yesterday my older brother washed that motorcycle.
Sekarang abang saya sedang membasuh motosikal itu.
= Right now my older brother is washing that motorcycle.
Esok abang saya akan membasuh motosikal itu.
= Tomorrow my older brother will wash that motorcycle.

In your sentence, selalu (“always”) and pada hujung minggu (“on weekends”) tell us it’s a habit in general time, so we translate it as “always washes”.

Why is itu after motosikal, not before it, if it means “that”?

In Malay, demonstratives like ini (this) and itu (that) usually come after the noun:

motosikal itu = that motorcycle
rumah itu = that house
buku ini = this book

So the pattern is:

[Noun] + ini/itu
= this/that [noun]

If you put itu before the noun (itu motosikal), it usually means:

“That is a motorcycle.” (as a whole sentence)
Example:
- Itu motosikal abang saya. = That is my older brother’s motorcycle.

So:

motosikal itu → “that motorcycle” (as a noun phrase)
Itu motosikal... → “That is a motorcycle...” (as a sentence start)

What exactly does pada do in pada hujung minggu, and can it be left out?

Pada is a preposition often translated as “at / on / in” in time expressions.

In pada hujung minggu, it means “on (the) weekend(s)”:

pada Isnin = on Monday
pada pukul 3 = at 3 o’clock
pada malam hari = at night
pada hujung minggu = on the weekend / at weekends

In everyday Malay, pada is often optional in some time phrases.

So you can say:

Abang saya selalu membasuh motosikal itu pada hujung minggu. ✅
Abang saya selalu membasuh motosikal itu hujung minggu. ✅ (more casual)

Both are understood as “My older brother always washes that motorcycle on weekends.”

Does hujung minggu literally mean “weekend”? Are there other ways to say “weekend”?

Literally, hujung minggu means “end of the week”, and it is the standard way to say “weekend”.

Other related expressions:

pada hujung minggu = on the weekend / at weekends
setiap hujung minggu = every weekend
minggu lepas = last week
minggu depan = next week

Some regions or speakers might also say akhir minggu (also literally “end of the week”), but hujung minggu is more common in standard Malay.

So in your sentence, pada hujung minggu is best read as “on weekends” / “at the weekend”.

Why doesn’t the sentence mark “weekends” as plural, like in English?

Malay usually does not change the noun form for singular vs plural:

minggu can mean week or weeks.
motosikal can mean motorcycle or motorcycles.

Plural meaning comes from context and other words:

banyak minggu = many weeks
dua minggu = two weeks
setiap hujung minggu = every weekend

In your sentence:

selalu = always
pada hujung minggu = on the weekend(s)

Together, they give a repeated / habitual meaning, so we translate naturally as:

“always washes that motorcycle on weekends”

even though hujung minggu itself has no plural ending.

Is Abang saya selalu membasuh motosikal itu pada hujung minggu in the normal Malay word order?

Yes. The sentence follows the typical Malay word order, which is very similar to English:

Subject – Adverb (frequency) – Verb – Object – Time

Abang saya (Subject)
selalu (Frequency adverb: always)
membasuh (Verb: washes)
motosikal itu (Object: that motorcycle)
pada hujung minggu (Time phrase: on weekends)

So it lines up nicely with English:

My older brother always washes that motorcycle on weekends.

This S–V–O–(Time) pattern is very common in Malay.

Could I say Abang saya selalu membasuh motosikal itu setiap hujung minggu instead? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can. The sentence would be:

Abang saya selalu membasuh motosikal itu setiap hujung minggu.

Here:

setiap hujung minggu = every weekend
pada hujung minggu = on weekends / at the weekend (more general)

Nuance:

pada hujung minggu already suggests a habit because of selalu (“always”).
setiap hujung minggu makes the regularity very explicit, like saying “every single weekend”.

Both are correct; the version with setiap feels a bit more precise about frequency.