Learn Hardcore Malay: Kucing saya suka duduk dekat sofa.

Putting saya first (saya kucing) is ungrammatical; it sounds like two separate nouns (I, cat) with no clear relationship. So for my X, you normally say X saya, not saya X.

Does saya here mean my or I? How can it mean both?

Saya is a first‑person pronoun that can mean both I and my, depending on position:

On its own or as the subject: Saya lapar. = I’m hungry.
After a noun: kucing saya = my cat (literally cat I).

Malay doesn’t have separate forms like I / my / me. The single word saya covers all of these, and its function is understood from its position in the sentence.

Why is there no word for the before sofa?

Malay has no articles like a/an or the.

sofa can mean a sofa or the sofa, depending on context.

So dekat sofa can be interpreted as near the sofa or near a sofa, and listeners use context (what sofa you’re talking about) to understand which is intended. You don’t need to add a special word for the.

What exactly does dekat mean here? Is it near, by, or at? How is it different from di?

In this sentence, dekat means near / close to / by.

Rough guide:

dekat = near, close to
- Kucing saya duduk dekat sofa.
  = My cat sits near the sofa.
di = at, in, on (generic location marker, like at/in/on depending on context)
- Kucing saya duduk di sofa.
  = My cat sits on the sofa.
- Kucing saya di rumah.
  = My cat is at home.

So dekat emphasizes closeness to something, while di just marks location without the nuance of near.

Should it be dekat dengan sofa instead of dekat sofa? Are both correct?

Both are used and understood:

dekat sofa – very common and perfectly natural in everyday speech.
dekat dengan sofa – also common; some speakers feel it sounds a bit more complete or slightly more formal/careful in some contexts.

Meaning-wise, there’s no real difference in this sentence. Both mean near the sofa. For a learner, you can treat them as interchangeable here.

Could the sentence also mean My cat likes sitting on the sofa? If not, how would you say on the sofa?

As written, Kucing saya suka duduk dekat sofa is understood as near/by the sofa, not on it.

To say on the sofa, you’d normally use di (or sometimes atas):

Kucing saya suka duduk di sofa. = My cat likes to sit on the sofa.
Kucing saya suka duduk atas sofa. = My cat likes to sit on top of the sofa. (more colloquial)

So:

dekat sofa = near the sofa
di/atas sofa = on the sofa

In English we say likes to sit or likes sitting. Why is there no word for to here before duduk?

Malay doesn’t use to as an infinitive marker like English does.

The pattern is simply:

suka + verb = like to [verb] / like [verb]‑ing

So:

suka makan = like to eat / like eating
suka membaca = like to read / like reading
suka duduk = like to sit / like sitting

You don’t add anything like to between suka and duduk.

I’ve seen duduk used to mean live / reside. Could suka duduk dekat sofa mean likes living near the sofa?

Duduk does have two common meanings:

to sit
to live / to reside (especially with place names: duduk di Kuala Lumpur)

In your sentence, with kucing and sofa, the natural interpretation is to sit:

Kucing saya suka duduk dekat sofa.
→ My cat likes to sit near the sofa.

Using duduk as live / reside is usually for places where people live (cities, towns, houses), not objects like a sofa. So here it will be understood as sit, not live.

Are there more informal ways to say my cat, like kucing saya vs kucing aku?

Yes. Different pronouns give different levels of formality:

kucing saya – neutral, polite, standard Malay.
kucing aku – more casual, used with close friends, family, or peers.
kucing gue / kucing gua – colloquial in some regions (e.g. Jakarta Indonesian, some Malaysian slang).

In most learners’ contexts, kucing saya is the safest and most appropriate form, especially in formal or mixed company.

How would I say The cat likes to sit near my sofa instead of My cat?

You need to change which noun is possessed:

my cat = kucing saya
my sofa = sofa saya

So:

Kucing saya suka duduk dekat sofa.
= My cat likes to sit near the sofa.
Kucing itu suka duduk dekat sofa saya.
= The cat likes to sit near my sofa.

Here itu = that / the, pointing to a specific, known cat, and sofa saya means my sofa.

Is sofa a Malay word or a loanword? Could I use another word instead?

Sofa is a loanword (ultimately from Arabic via European languages), but it’s fully accepted and very common in Malay.

Other related words:

kerusi = chair
kerusi panjang / bangku panjang = bench (long seat)

If you specifically mean a living‑room couch, sofa is the natural and common choice. Kerusi would usually be understood as a single chair, not a sofa.

How would you make the sentence plural: My cats like to sit near the sofa?

Malay often doesn’t mark plurals explicitly, but you can if you want to be clear.

Common options:

Just rely on context (most natural):
- Kucing saya suka duduk dekat sofa.
  Depending on context, this can mean My cat or My cats.
Use banyak (many/a lot of):
- Banyak kucing saya suka duduk dekat sofa.
  = Many of my cats like to sit near the sofa.
Reduplicate the noun for emphasis on plurality (more formal/written):
- Kucing‑kucing saya suka duduk dekat sofa.
  = My cats like to sit near the sofa.

In everyday speech, people usually stick with Kucing saya suka duduk dekat sofa and let context show whether it’s one cat or several.