Learn Hardcore Malay: Saya simpan tali di sudut almari kayu. - I keep the rope in the corner of the wooden cupboard.

Saya simpan tali... → I keep/store the rope (so that it will be there when I need it).
Letak means to place / to put (something somewhere), more neutral and often more temporary.
- Saya letak tali di sudut almari kayu. → I put the rope in the corner of the wooden cupboard (it could be just describing where you placed it, not necessarily “storing” it).

So:

Use simpan when the idea is “keep, store, put away”.
Use letak when the idea is simply “put, place” without the nuance of storage.

Why is the verb in the bare form simpan and not menyimpan?

Both simpan and menyimpan are used in Malay, but there is a difference in style and formality:

Menyimpan is the standard meN- verb form (meN- + simpan → menyimpan).
It’s common in formal writing and careful speech:
- Saya menyimpan tali di sudut almari kayu.
Simpan (without meN-) is very common in:
- Colloquial/ everyday speech
- Imperatives: Simpan buku itu. (Keep that book.)
- Informal writing (messages, casual notes, etc.)

In everyday spoken Malay, Saya simpan tali… sounds completely natural.
In very formal writing (e.g. an essay), Saya menyimpan tali… might be preferred.

How should I understand tali? Is it “rope”, “string”, “thread”, or something else?

Tali is a general word covering several English possibilities:

rope
string
cord
line
sometimes even shoelace, lanyard, etc., depending on context

The exact English translation depends on what kind of tali you’re talking about:

tali kasut → shoelace
tali pinggang → belt
tali pancing → fishing line

In this isolated sentence, tali could be “rope” or “string”; English would choose the word that fits the situation best.

Does the sentence show whether it’s one rope or many ropes? How would I say that clearly?

The bare noun tali does not clearly show singular vs plural in Malay. It could mean:

a rope / a piece of rope
some rope / ropes

To be specific, Malay often uses classifiers or numbers:

seutas tali → one length/piece of rope
beberapa utas tali → several pieces of rope
banyak tali → a lot of rope(s)

So you could say:

Saya simpan seutas tali di sudut almari kayu.
I keep one piece of rope in the corner of the wooden cupboard.

What does di sudut mean exactly, and how is it different from just di almari or dalam almari?

di = at / in / on (general location preposition)
sudut = corner (usually inner corner; can be physical or figurative)

So di sudut almari kayu is:

literally: at the corner of the wooden cupboard
more naturally: in the corner of the wooden cupboard

Compare:

di almari → at the cupboard (could be on it or near it, context-dependent)
dalam almari → inside the cupboard
di sudut almari → in (or at) the corner of the cupboard, more specific location inside/at one corner

If you want to emphasise inside, you can also say:

di sudut dalam almari kayu
in the inner corner inside the wooden cupboard (more explicit and a bit wordier).

What is the nuance of sudut? Are there other words for “corner”?

Yes, Malay has several words that can translate as corner, each with its own nuance:

sudut
- “corner” or “angle”, also used in a more abstract sense:
  - sudut bilik → corner of a room
  - dari sudut pandangan… → from the point of view / from the angle of…
penjuru
- “corner” of a room/object or corner/side in spatial sense:
  - di setiap penjuru bilik → in every corner of the room
bucu
- “corner” or “point” of something with edges:
  - bucu meja → the corner/point of a table

In di sudut almari kayu, sudut suggests a corner area of the cupboard (e.g. inside it), and is perfectly natural.

How does almari kayu work grammatically? Why is kayu after almari?

In Malay, the usual noun phrase order is:

HEAD NOUN + describing word(s)

So:

almari = cupboard / wardrobe / cabinet
kayu = wood / wooden

almari kayu literally = cupboard wooden
Natural English = wooden cupboard / wooden wardrobe

This is the normal pattern:

meja kayu → wooden table
rumah batu → stone house
beg kulit → leather bag

If you put kayu before almari, as in kayu almari, it would sound wrong in Malay.

Could I say di sudut kayu almari instead, or change the word order in the end part?

No, that would be ungrammatical or at least very unnatural.

The correct structure is:

di sudut [almari kayu]
at the corner of the [wooden cupboard]

The unit almari kayu (wooden cupboard) should stay together:

di sudut almari kayu ✅
di sudut kayu almari ❌ (sounds wrong)
di sudut almari yang kayu ❌ (unnatural; you don’t describe it that way)

So, keep the head noun (almari) immediately followed by its descriptor (kayu).

Malay doesn’t show tense here. How do I know if it means “I kept”, “I keep”, or “I am keeping”?

Malay verbs usually do not change form for tense. Saya simpan tali… can mean:

I keep the rope… (habitual/general)
I am keeping the rope… (present progressive, if context suggests “right now”)
I kept the rope… (past, if the context is about the past)

Tense is usually shown by context or time words:

Semalam saya simpan tali di sudut almari kayu.
Yesterday I kept the rope in the corner of the wooden cupboard.
Sekarang saya simpan tali…
Now I am keeping the rope…
Esok saya akan simpan tali…
Tomorrow I will keep/put away the rope…

Without extra words, Saya simpan tali di sudut almari kayu is time-neutral.

Can I drop Saya and just say Simpan tali di sudut almari kayu?

Yes, but the meaning and function change depending on context.

As a statement
In normal, neutral statements, Saya is usually kept:
- Saya simpan tali di sudut almari kayu. (I keep the rope…)
Omitting Saya is possible if the subject is very clear from context (e.g. continuing a story where “I” is already established), but in isolation it sounds incomplete or unclear.
As an instruction / command
Simpan tali di sudut almari kayu.
→ Keep/put the rope in the corner of the wooden cupboard.
Here, it’s an imperative directed at you, not “I”.

So:

With Saya → statement about yourself.
Without Saya → most naturally understood as a command.