Learn Hardcore Malay: Pengantin perempuan pula memakai pakaian tradisional yang cantik. - The bride, on the other hand, wears beautiful traditional clothing.

Pengantin – bride/groom, wedding person (gender-neutral on its own)
perempuan – female; woman
→ pengantin perempuan – the bride (literally: female wedding-person)
pula – then / meanwhile / on the other hand / also (adds contrast or sequence)
memakai – to wear, to put on (formal/standard form)
pakaian – clothing, clothes, outfit (from pakai = to wear, plus suffix -an)
tradisional – traditional
yang – that / which / who (a relative pronoun linking to a description)
cantik – beautiful

So literally:
“The bride, on the other hand, wears a traditional outfit that is beautiful.”

Why is there no word for “the” before pengantin perempuan?

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

pengantin perempuan can mean “the bride”, “a bride”, or just “brides (in general)”, depending on context.
The definiteness (whether it’s the or a) is understood from the situation or from previous sentences, not from a separate word.

In this sentence, in a typical story or description of a wedding, pengantin perempuan is naturally understood as “the bride”.

What exactly does pula mean here, and when would I use it?

pula is a discourse particle. In this sentence it roughly means:

“then / meanwhile / for her part / in turn / on the other hand.”

You normally use pula to:

Contrast with something said before, or
Move on to another related point/person/event.

Example:

Pengantin lelaki memakai baju Melayu. Pengantin perempuan pula memakai pakaian tradisional yang cantik.
→ The groom wears *baju Melayu. The bride, meanwhile/for her part, wears a beautiful traditional outfit.*

You don’t have to use pula, but it makes the sentence flow better and signals that you are now talking about another participant.

What’s the difference between pengantin, pengantin perempuan, and pengantin lelaki?

pengantin – wedding person, can mean bride, groom, or bride and groom (as a couple) depending on context.
pengantin perempuan – specifically the bride (female).
pengantin lelaki – specifically the groom (male).

So in this sentence, pengantin perempuan makes it explicit that we are talking about the bride, not the groom or both together.

Why is memakai used instead of just pakai? What’s the difference?

Both are correct, but there is a nuance:

pakai – base verb, everyday spoken form, informal or neutral.
- Dia pakai baju merah. – She wears a red shirt.
memakai – meN-
- pakai, more formal/standard and slightly more bookish or careful speech.
- Dia memakai baju merah. – same meaning, more formal.

In written or narrative Malay—like describing a wedding in a text—memakai sounds more natural and polished. In casual conversation, pakai is extremely common.

What does the suffix -an in pakaian do?

pakaian comes from:

pakai – to wear / to use
pakai + -an → pakaian – clothing / outfit / clothes

The suffix -an often turns:

a verb into a noun related to that action
- makan (to eat) → makanan (food)
- baca (to read) → bacaan (reading, text)

So here, pakaian is “things you wear” ≈ clothing.

What is the role of yang in pakaian tradisional yang cantik?

yang is a relative pronoun that links a noun to a description, like “that / which / who” in English.

In pakaian tradisional yang cantik:

pakaian tradisional – traditional clothing
yang cantik – that is beautiful / which is beautiful

So the whole phrase is: “traditional clothing that is beautiful”.

Structure:

[Noun phrase] + yang + [description]
- rumah yang besar – a house that is big / the big house
- budak yang nakal – the child who is naughty

Here, yang links pakaian tradisional to cantik.

Why is cantik (beautiful) at the end, instead of saying “beautiful traditional outfit” like in English?

In Malay, adjectives usually come after the noun (or noun phrase) they describe.

Patterns:

baju cantik – beautiful shirt
rumah besar – big house
pakaian tradisional yang cantik – traditional clothing that is beautiful

If you have:

A main noun
Then some modifiers (like tradisional)
Then a relative clause with yang,

the general order is:

Noun + (adjective/descriptor) + yang + (extra description)

So pakaian tradisional yang cantik is natural Malay word order; putting cantik earlier would sound wrong.

How do I know what tense this sentence is? Could it also mean “The bride is wearing / will wear”?

Malay does not mark tense on the verb the way English does. memakai itself does not say past, present, or future.

The sentence could mean:

The bride wore a beautiful traditional outfit.
The bride is wearing a beautiful traditional outfit.
The bride will wear a beautiful traditional outfit.

The exact tense is usually made clear by:

Time words: tadi (earlier), sekarang (now), nanti (later), akan (will), etc.
Context or surrounding sentences.

Without extra clues, this sentence is time-neutral, and you choose the English tense that best fits the context.

Is pakaian tradisional referring to a specific culture’s traditional dress, or is it general?

By itself, pakaian tradisional is general:

It just means “traditional clothing”.

In a typical Malay context (weddings in Malaysia/Brunei/Indonesia), readers will often assume something like:

baju kurung, kebaya, songket, etc., depending on the region.

If the writer wants to be specific, they can add more detail:

pakaian tradisional Melayu yang cantik – a beautiful traditional Malay outfit
pakaian tradisional Iban yang cantik – a beautiful traditional Iban outfit

Could pengantin perempuan pula be moved to the end of the sentence, or does Malay word order need to stay like this?

Basic Malay word order is Subject – Verb – Object/Complement, like English.

Here:

Subject: pengantin perempuan pula
Verb: memakai
Object: pakaian tradisional yang cantik

This order ([Subject] + [Verb] + [Object]) is standard. You cannot normally move pengantin perempuan pula to the very end:

❌ Memakai pakaian tradisional yang cantik pengantin perempuan pula. (sounds wrong in standard Malay)

You can, however, vary the sentence in acceptable ways, e.g.:

Pengantin perempuan memakai pakaian tradisional yang sangat cantik.
Pakaian tradisional yang cantik itu dipakai oleh pengantin perempuan. – The beautiful traditional outfit is worn by the bride. (passive voice)

But the subject normally appears before the verb in simple active sentences.