Learn Hardcore Malay: Di dewan, majlis perkahwinan sudah bermula apabila kami tiba. - In the hall, the wedding ceremony has already started when we arrive.

Di dewan, majlis perkahwinan sudah bermula apabila kami tiba.

In the hall, the wedding ceremony has already started when we arrive.

Breakdown of Di dewan, majlis perkahwinan sudah bermula apabila kami tiba.

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Questions & Answers about Di dewan, majlis perkahwinan sudah bermula apabila kami tiba.

What does di dewan literally mean, and why isn’t there a word like “in the hall” with “the”?

Di is a preposition meaning “at / in / on” (for location), and dewan means “hall” (often a function hall, assembly hall, or large room).

Malay normally does not use articles like “a” or “the”. So:

di dewan = “at/in (the) hall”
The idea of “the” is understood from context, not from a separate word.

If you want to make it clearly specific (like “that particular hall”), you could say:

di dewan itu – at that hall

Is di dewan more like “in the hall” or “at the hall” in English?

It can correspond to both depending on context:

If you’re emphasizing location inside the building: “in the hall”
If you’re emphasizing the venue more generally: “at the hall”

Malay doesn’t sharply distinguish between in and at for venues; di just marks location. The English preposition you pick in translation depends on what sounds more natural in English.

What exactly does majlis perkahwinan mean, and how is it different from just perkahwinan?

majlis = ceremony / formal event / function
perkahwinan = marriage / wedding (a noun formed from kahwin = to marry)

So:

majlis perkahwinan ≈ “wedding ceremony” or “wedding reception/event”
perkahwinan on its own can mean “marriage” in general or sometimes “the wedding”, but without the idea of it being a specific organized event.

Other common expressions:

majlis kahwin – more casual: wedding event
kenduri kahwin – wedding feast/banquet, less formal, common in everyday speech

Is majlis perkahwinan formal, and what would people say in everyday conversation?

Yes, majlis perkahwinan is standard and somewhat formal, often used in writing, invitations, and news.

In casual speech, people might say:

majlis kahwin – wedding event
kenduri kahwin / kenduri kawin – wedding feast/celebration
majlis sanding – specifically the “bersanding” (seated-on-stage) part of a Malay wedding

Your sentence is in a neutral to formal style, suitable for writing or polite conversation.

What does sudah add here? Could I just say majlis perkahwinan bermula apabila kami tiba?

Sudah signals that something is already completed or has already happened.

majlis perkahwinan sudah bermula = “the wedding ceremony had already started / has already started”
majlis perkahwinan bermula = “the wedding ceremony starts / started” (more neutral, no emphasis on “already”)

In your sentence, sudah:

Emphasizes that it was already in progress at the time you arrived.
Matches the English idea of “had already started”.

You can drop sudah, but you slightly lose that “already” nuance.

What’s the difference between sudah and telah in this kind of sentence?

Both sudah and telah often mark completed actions and can be translated as “already / has/had”.

sudah – very common in speech and writing; neutral; also means “already” on its own.
- majlis perkahwinan sudah bermula
telah – more formal / literary, common in news, formal writing, and official texts.
- majlis perkahwinan telah bermula

In everyday conversation, sudah (or the colloquial dah) is more natural. Telah would make the sentence sound more formal or written.

Why is it sudah bermula and not sudah mula? What’s the difference between mula and bermula?

Both come from the root mula (start/begin), but they’re used differently:

bermula – intransitive verb, “to begin / to get underway”
- Majlis perkahwinan sudah bermula. – The wedding ceremony has already begun.
mula – can be:
- a verb: mula = begin/start (often with another verb)
  - Saya mula faham. – I’m starting to understand.
  - Majlis mula pada pukul 8. – The event starts at 8.
- a noun: permulaan is more clearly "the beginning", but mula can feel like “the start” in some contexts.

In your sentence, bermula works very naturally for “an event has begun”.
Majlis perkahwinan sudah mula is understandable, but sudah bermula is more idiomatic.

How do mula, bermula, memulakan, dimulakan differ when talking about “starting” something?

All relate to mula (start), but with different patterns:

bermula – intransitive: something starts by itself
- Majlis sudah bermula. – The event has started.
memulakan – transitive: someone starts something
- Mereka memulakan majlis. – They started the event.
dimulakan – passive form: something is started (by someone)
- Majlis dimulakan dengan doa. – The event was started with a prayer.
mula – used:
- before another verb: mula makan (start eating), mula bercakap (start talking)
- or as a more neutral “start” verb or noun in some contexts

In your sentence, because the focus is that the ceremony itself has started, bermula is the most natural choice.

What does apabila mean here, and how is it different from bila, masa, or ketika?

In this sentence, apabila means “when” (as a time conjunction).

Common options and their feel:

apabila – neutral/formal, common in writing and careful speech
bila – often casual, used a lot in spoken Malay; also means “when?” as a question
masa – literally “time”, used like “when” in colloquial speech:
- Masa kami tiba, majlis dah mula. – When we arrived, the wedding had started.
ketika – formal / literary, sounds a bit more elevated:
- Majlis bermula ketika kami tiba.

In your sentence, apabila is a good standard choice and sounds natural in both writing and polite speech.

Can I change the order of the clauses, like putting apabila kami tiba at the beginning?

Yes, both orders are correct:

Di dewan, majlis perkahwinan sudah bermula apabila kami tiba.
Di dewan, apabila kami tiba, majlis perkahwinan sudah bermula.
Apabila kami tiba di dewan, majlis perkahwinan sudah bermula.

All are grammatical. Differences are about focus and flow:

Starting with Apabila kami tiba di dewan, ... mirrors English “When we arrived at the hall, ...”, and sounds very natural.
Your original order emphasizes the location first: At the hall, the wedding had already started when we arrived.

What’s the difference between kami and kita, and why is kami used here?

Both kami and kita mean “we / us”, but with different inclusiveness:

kami – exclusive “we”: we but not you (the listener)
kita – inclusive “we”: we including you (the listener)

In this sentence:

apabila kami tiba – when we arrived (the speaker and their group, not including the person being spoken to)

If the speaker wanted to include the listener (e.g. “when we (you and I) arrived”), they would use kita:

apabila kita tiba – when we (including you) arrived

Does Malay have a specific past tense? How does this sentence express something like “had already started”?

Malay does not have grammatical tenses like English (no -ed / -s / will). Past, present, and future are indicated by:

time words: semalam (yesterday), tadi (earlier), esok (tomorrow)
aspect markers: sudah, telah, akan, sedang, etc.
context

In your sentence:

sudah gives the “already / completed” sense.
The “when we arrived” part implies the action is in the past.

So majlis perkahwinan sudah bermula apabila kami tiba naturally corresponds to English “the wedding ceremony had already started when we arrived”, even though Malay doesn’t change the verb form for past tense.

What is the nuance of tiba compared with sampai or datang?

All three involve arriving/coming, but with different emphasis:

tiba – to arrive (neutral, slightly formal/standard)
- Kami tiba pada pukul 8. – We arrived at 8.
sampai – also to arrive / to reach; very common in everyday speech
- Kami sampai pukul 8. – We got there at 8.
- Slightly more colloquial than tiba.
datang – to come (movement toward a place/person), not specifically “arrival time”
- Kami datang awal. – We came early.
- Focus is more on coming, not “reaching a destination at a particular moment”.

In your sentence, apabila kami tiba is like “when we arrived”.
In casual spoken Malay, apabila kami sampai or masa kami sampai is very common.

Is the comma after Di dewan necessary, and is it normal to start with a location phrase like that?

Starting with a location phrase like Di dewan is very natural in Malay, especially in narrative or descriptive sentences.

About the comma:

Di dewan, majlis perkahwinan sudah bermula apabila kami tiba.
The comma is optional but helpful for clarity, showing that Di dewan is a separate introductory phrase.

Both are acceptable in practice:

Di dewan majlis perkahwinan sudah bermula apabila kami tiba.
Di dewan, majlis perkahwinan sudah bermula apabila kami tiba.

Using the comma is good style, especially in writing, because it mirrors how you would pause when speaking.

How would this sentence sound in very casual spoken Malay?

A natural, casual version might be:

Kat dewan, majlis kahwin dah mula masa kitorang sampai.

Changes:

Di → kat (colloquial di = at/in)
majlis perkahwinan → majlis kahwin (less formal)
sudah → dah (informal form of sudah)
apabila → masa (colloquial “when”)
kami → kitorang (colloquial “we (not you)” in some dialects)

Your original version is standard and suitable for writing, exams, and polite conversation. The casual version is more for everyday spoken Malay among friends.