Learn Hardcore Malay: Abang saya mahu bekerja sebagai akauntan di sebuah syarikat besar. - My older brother wants to work as an accountant at a big company.

You can also say abang saya or (more colloquially) abang saya / saya punya abang (literally “the brother that I own”), but abang saya is the most natural and standard way.

What exactly does “abang” mean? Is it always my actual brother?

Abang literally means “older brother (male sibling older than the speaker)”, but it has extended uses:

Literal family meaning
- Abang saya = “my older brother”.
Polite address to an older male
Malays often call an unfamiliar or slightly older man abang as a friendly, polite form of address, even if he isn’t your real brother.
Example to a shop assistant:
- Abang, berapa harga ni? = “Brother, how much is this?” / “Excuse me, how much is this?”

So in this sentence it likely means “my older brother” in the literal family sense, but context could also make it “my (male) partner / boyfriend” in colloquial speech. The basic idea: male, older than you, somewhat close.

Why is there no “to” in “mahu bekerja”? In English we say “wants to work”.

In Malay, mahu acts like a modal verb (“want to”) and is directly followed by the verb in its base form, without “to”:

mahu bekerja = “want to work”
mahu makan = “want to eat”
mahu pergi = “want to go”

You normally do not say ✗ mahu untuk bekerja in standard Malay. That sounds influenced by English and is usually unnecessary or unnatural.

So the pattern is:

[Subject] + mahu + [verb]
Abang saya mahu bekerja = My older brother wants to work.

What’s the difference between “kerja” and “bekerja”? Why use bekerja here?

kerja is usually a noun: “work / job”.
- Saya ada kerja. = I have work / I have a job.
- Kerja saya susah. = My job is hard.
bekerja is the verb form: “to work”.
- Saya bekerja di bank. = I work at a bank.
- Dia mahu bekerja. = He/She wants to work.

The prefix ber- (here in the form be- + kerja → bekerja) often turns a noun into an intransitive verb.

So “mahu bekerja” means “wants to work” (verb), not “wants work/a job” (noun).
If you say mahu kerja, it usually means “wants a job”, not “wants to work”.

What does “sebagai” mean exactly? How is it different from “seperti”?

Both can look like “as/like” in English, but they are used differently:

sebagai = “as” in the sense of in the role/capacity of
- bekerja sebagai akauntan = work as an accountant (that is your role/job).
- Dia dilantik sebagai ketua. = He was appointed as the leader.
seperti = “like” / “similar to”
- Dia menari seperti penari profesional. = She dances like a professional dancer.
- Rasanya seperti ayam. = It tastes like chicken.

In the sentence, sebagai akauntan is correct because it’s talking about the person’s role (accountant), not a comparison.

Could I say “mahu menjadi akauntan” instead of “mahu bekerja sebagai akauntan”? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say both, but the nuance is slightly different:

Abang saya mahu menjadi akauntan.
= “My older brother wants to become an accountant.”
Focus: the change of status (from not-an-accountant to accountant).
Abang saya mahu bekerja sebagai akauntan.
= “My older brother wants to work as an accountant.”
Focus: doing the job/work in that role.

In many everyday contexts, both can be understood similarly, but menjadi akauntan emphasizes becoming one, while bekerja sebagai akauntan emphasizes working in that position.

What is “sebuah” doing in “di sebuah syarikat besar”? Is it just “a”?

Sebuah is a classifier + number combination:

se- = “one”
buah = a classifier (measure word) for objects, buildings, companies, etc.

So sebuah syarikat literally means “one-CL company”, and in natural English it becomes “a company”.

Key points:

sebuah ≈ “a / one (for things, institutions)”
It’s often optional in general statements.
- bekerja di syarikat besar = work at a big company
- bekerja di sebuah syarikat besar = work at a big company (a bit more specific or countable)

For people you would normally use seorang (one person):

seorang akauntan = an accountant (one accountant).

Why is it “syarikat besar” and not “besar syarikat” for “big company”?

In Malay, adjectives usually come after the noun:

syarikat besar = company big → “big company”
rumah besar = house big → “big house”
kereta baru = car new → “new car”

So the pattern is:

[Noun] + [Adjective]

Putting the adjective first (✗ besar syarikat) is wrong for a simple “big company” meaning. (There are rare special structures where adjectives come first, but not in this basic noun phrase.)

Does “di” mean “in” or “at” in “di sebuah syarikat besar”?

Di is a general location preposition and can usually be translated as “in / at / on”, depending on context:

di sekolah = at school
di rumah = at home / in the house
di pejabat = at the office
di sebuah syarikat besar = at a big company

Malay doesn’t strictly separate “in” vs “at” like English does. Di covers both, and the exact English translation depends on what sounds more natural in English.

Do I have to repeat “Abang saya” every time, or can I just use “dia” later?

You don’t have to keep repeating abang saya. Once it’s clear who you’re talking about, you can switch to the pronoun dia (“he/she”):

Abang saya mahu bekerja sebagai akauntan. Dia belajar akauntansi di universiti.
= My older brother wants to work as an accountant. He studies accounting at university.

So a natural flow in Malay is:

Introduce the person with a full noun phrase (Abang saya…)
Then continue with dia to avoid repetition.

How do I say this in the past or future? Malay doesn’t seem to change the verb form.

Malay verbs do not change form for tense. Time is shown with:

Time words
- Dulu / tadi = before / earlier
  - Dulu, abang saya mahu bekerja sebagai akauntan.
    = Before, my older brother wanted to work as an accountant.
- Nanti / esok / minggu depan = later / tomorrow / next week
  - Minggu depan abang saya mahu bekerja sebagai akauntan.
    = Next week my older brother wants to work as an accountant.
Optional particles like sudah / telah / akan:
- Abang saya sudah mahu bekerja sebagai akauntan.
  (Context: he already has that wish now.)
- Abang saya akan bekerja sebagai akauntan.
  = My older brother will work as an accountant.

The core phrase mahu bekerja stays the same; you add time words or particles around it.