Learn Hardcore Malay: Saya berterima kasih kepada ibu saya di rumah.

Saya – I / me
berterima kasih – to be thankful / to give thanks (literally to have thanks)
kepada – to / towards (used for people or living beings)
ibu – mother
saya – my (when placed after a noun, it means my)
di – at / in / on (location preposition)
rumah – house / home

So the structure is basically: I – am thankful – to – mother my – at home.

Why is berterima kasih one word instead of just terima kasih?

terima kasih (two words) is a set phrase meaning “thank you”. It’s usually used on its own:
- Terima kasih! – Thank you!
berterima kasih is a verb meaning “to thank / to be thankful”, used inside a full sentence with a subject:
- Saya berterima kasih kepada ibu saya. – I thank my mother / I am thankful to my mother.

The prefix ber- turns the phrase terima kasih into a verb-like form. So:

terima kasih = “thanks / thank you” (expression)
berterima kasih = “to thank / to be thankful” (verb)

Why do we use kepada here? Can I say untuk ibu saya instead?

kepada is the normal preposition used after berterima kasih when you thank a person:

berterima kasih kepada [person] – to thank [person]

kepada is usually:

for people or living beings:
- Saya berterima kasih kepada guru saya. – I thank my teacher.

untuk mainly means “for” in the sense of intended for / for the benefit of:

Hadiah ini untuk ibu saya. – This gift is for my mother.

So:

Saya berterima kasih kepada ibu saya – correct and natural.
Saya berterima kasih untuk ibu saya – sounds unnatural or wrong here.

In short: use kepada after berterima kasih when saying who you thank.

Why is it ibu saya and not saya ibu for “my mother”?

In Malay, the usual pattern for possession with pronouns is:

[noun] + [pronoun]

So:

ibu saya – my mother
bapa saya – my father
kereta saya – my car

If you say saya ibu, it sounds like “I (am) a mother” (and even that would usually be saya seorang ibu).

So for “my X”, you put the thing owned first, then the owner pronoun:

rumah saya – my house
telefon saya – my phone

Can I use mak or emak instead of ibu? Is it less polite?

Yes, you can, but they differ in formality and region:

ibu – more formal / standard, used in writing, polite speech, and also respectfully about your mother.
emak / mak – more informal / colloquial, common in everyday speech, especially in some regions (e.g. much of Peninsular Malaysia).

Examples:

Saya berterima kasih kepada ibu saya di rumah. – neutral, polite, standard.
Saya berterima kasih kepada mak saya di rumah. – very natural in casual speech.

Both are respectful for your own mother; they just have different levels of formality and regional flavour.

Does di rumah mean I am at home, or that my mother is at home?

By itself, di rumah is a bit ambiguous:

It could mean you are at home when you thank her.
It could mean your mother is at home.
It could mean the thanking happens at the house, without specifying exactly whose “position” it belongs to.

In many real situations, context will make it clear.

If you want to be more precise, you can say:

Saya berterima kasih kepada ibu saya ketika saya berada di rumah.
– I thank my mother when I am at home.
Saya berterima kasih kepada ibu saya yang berada di rumah.
– I thank my mother who is at home.

Can I move di rumah to the front or the middle of the sentence?

Yes. Malay word order is flexible with time/place phrases, as long as it’s clear. All of these are possible:

Saya berterima kasih kepada ibu saya di rumah.
Di rumah, saya berterima kasih kepada ibu saya.
Saya di rumah berterima kasih kepada ibu saya. (less common, but understandable)

Putting di rumah at the beginning often emphasizes the location:

Di rumah, saya berterima kasih kepada ibu saya.
– At home, I thank my mother. (focus on “at home”)

Can I drop Saya and just say Berterima kasih kepada ibu saya di rumah?

Normally, you keep the subject Saya, especially in simple sentences like this.

Omitting Saya:

Berterima kasih kepada ibu saya di rumah.

This sounds more like a fragment, a sentence in a list, or part of written instructions (e.g. a diary item or command to yourself). In normal spoken or written Malay, a full sentence would be:

Saya berterima kasih kepada ibu saya di rumah.

Malay does allow dropping pronouns in context sometimes, but for learners, it’s safer to keep the subject unless you clearly see native usage where it’s omitted.

What is the difference between saya and aku here? Could I say Aku berterima kasih…?

Yes, grammatically you can say:

Aku berterima kasih kepada ibu aku di rumah.

But the difference is formality and relationship:

saya – polite, neutral, used in most formal and semi-formal situations, and also fine at home.
aku – informal, used with close friends, family, or people your age/lower status, and in casual speech, songs, etc.

So:

To sound polite/standard (safe in almost any situation):
- Saya berterima kasih kepada ibu saya di rumah.
With your close family/friends, in relaxed conversation, you might say:
- Aku berterima kasih kepada mak aku di rumah.

As a learner, saya is the safest default.

How do I show past or future tense in this sentence?

Malay verbs don’t change form for tense. Berterima kasih stays the same.
You show time using time words:

Past:
- Tadi / semalam / dulu
- Saya tadi berterima kasih kepada ibu saya di rumah.
  – I thanked my mother at home just now.
Completed action (often past):
- sudah / telah
- Saya sudah berterima kasih kepada ibu saya di rumah.
  – I have already thanked my mother at home.
Future:
- akan / nanti / esok
- Saya akan berterima kasih kepada ibu saya di rumah.
  – I will thank my mother at home.

So the verb berterima kasih itself does not change; the time markers around it tell you when.

Are there other common ways to say “I thank my mother at home” in Malay?

Yes, you can express the same idea with slightly different phrasing:

Using mengucapkan terima kasih (to express thanks):
- Saya mengucapkan terima kasih kepada ibu saya di rumah.
Slightly more casual, focusing on the act of saying thanks:
- Saya cakap terima kasih kepada ibu saya di rumah.
  – I say thank you to my mother at home.
Very natural, simple style (especially in speech):
- Saya selalu ucap terima kasih kepada ibu saya di rumah.
  – I always say thank you to my mother at home.

Your original sentence with berterima kasih is perfectly correct and slightly on the more formal/standard side.