Learn Hardcore Malay: Untuk bayar yuran universiti, saya buat kerja sambilan di sebuah kafe kecil. - To pay the university fees, I do part-time work at a small café.

Without untuk, the beginning Bayar yuran universiti, saya… would sound abrupt or like a very informal note or headline. In normal sentences, you usually keep untuk to show the purpose clearly.

Why is it bayar and not membayar after untuk? Are both correct?

Both are grammatically correct:

Untuk bayar yuran universiti…
Untuk membayar yuran universiti…

Differences:

bayar
- Base verb (root form)
- Common in everyday speech and informal writing
- Shorter, more casual sound
membayar
- With the meN- prefix (mem-
  - bayar)
- Feels a bit more formal or careful
- Very common in writing and in more formal contexts

So:

In casual conversation: untuk bayar is very natural.
In formal writing: untuk membayar may look more polished, but untuk bayar is not wrong.

What exactly does yuran universiti mean? Is it “the university fees” or just “university fees” in general?

Malay does not have articles like a/an/the. So:

yuran universiti can mean:
- university fees (in general)
- the university fees
- my university fees

The exact English article depends on context. Here, in natural English we’d say:

To pay my university fees, I work part-time…
or
To pay the university fees, I work part-time…

If you really want to make it explicit, you can add words:

yuran universiti saya = my university fees
yuran universiti itu = that / the (specific) university’s fees

Why does the sentence start with Untuk bayar yuran universiti and have a comma? Can I put that part at the end?

Yes, you can move it:

Untuk bayar yuran universiti, saya buat kerja sambilan di sebuah kafe kecil.
Saya buat kerja sambilan di sebuah kafe kecil untuk bayar yuran universiti.

Both are correct and mean the same thing.

Differences:

Version 1 (original)
- Puts the purpose first.
- Emphasizes why you work part-time.
- The comma is normal in writing after a long introductory phrase.
Version 2
- Sounds very natural in speech.
- Focuses first on what you do, then adds the reason.

So it’s a matter of emphasis and style, not grammar.

Why is it saya buat kerja sambilan instead of saya bekerja sambilan? What’s the difference between buat kerja and bekerja?

Both are possible, but they feel a bit different:

buat kerja
- buat = do / make
- kerja = work
- Literally do work
- Very common, quite informal and conversational
- Emphasizes the activity/job as a thing you “do”
bekerja
- ber-
  - kerja
- Means to work (as a verb)
- Slightly more neutral/standard, a bit more formal than buat kerja
- Often used for employment in general:
  - Saya bekerja di bank. = I work at a bank.

In this sentence, you could say:

Saya buat kerja sambilan di sebuah kafe kecil.
Saya bekerja sambilan di sebuah kafe kecil.

Both are good. Bekerja sambilan sounds a bit more standard; buat kerja sambilan sounds a bit more casual and conversational.

What does sambilan mean exactly? Is it always “part-time”?

sambilan basically means additional / occasional / done on the side, and in modern usage it very often corresponds to part-time.

Common combinations:

kerja sambilan = part-time work / side job
pekerja sambilan = part-time worker
bekerja sambilan = to work part-time

Another common term is:

kerja separuh masa = literally half-time work, also “part-time job”

So kerja sambilan here is best translated as part-time work / a part-time job.

What is sebuah doing here? Is it like “a/a single”? Can I drop it?

sebuah is a classifier (measure word) plus the number one:

buah = classifier for many objects (things, buildings, etc.)
se- = satu = one

So sebuah kafe kecil ≈ one small café / a small café.

About using or dropping it:

di sebuah kafe kecil
- Clearly singular
- Often used when you’re introducing a new, specific but not previously known place in a story or explanation.
di kafe kecil
- Also understandable and acceptable
- Still normally interpreted as singular here
- Slightly less “counted”, a bit more generic-sounding

In everyday speech, many people will drop the classifier and just say di kafe kecil. Including sebuah can make it sound a bit more descriptive or story-like.

Why is it kafe kecil and not kecil kafe? Where do adjectives go?

In Malay, adjectives usually come after the noun:

kafe kecil = small café
rumah besar = big house
kereta baru = new car

So the pattern is:

Noun + Adjective

Saying kecil kafe would be wrong in standard Malay.

You may also see kafe yang kecil, but that’s used when:

You are emphasizing the adjective more strongly, or
The adjective is part of a longer descriptive clause.

Here, kafe kecil is the natural, simple way to say small café.

Why do we use di before sebuah kafe kecil? Could we use pada or just say saya buat kerja sambilan sebuah kafe kecil?

di is the normal preposition to mark a location (at/in/on):

di sebuah kafe kecil = at a small café

You generally need di before a place noun in this kind of sentence. Without a preposition:

saya buat kerja sambilan sebuah kafe kecil
sounds wrong/unnatural in standard Malay.

pada is used more for:

Time: pada hari Isnin (on Monday)
Abstract objects or people (especially in formal style): bergantung pada keadaan (depends on the situation)

For a physical place where you work, you use di, not pada.

How do we know the tense here? Does it mean “I work”, “I worked”, or “I will work”?

Malay verbs do not change form for tense. So:

saya buat kerja sambilan
can mean:
- I work part-time (habitual / present)
- I worked part-time (past)
- I will work part-time (future)
- I do part-time work (general fact)

The tense is understood from:

Context, or
Time words you add, such as:
- dulu = in the past / used to
- sekarang = now
- nanti / akan = later / will

Examples:

Untuk bayar yuran universiti, sekarang saya buat kerja sambilan…
= Now I work part-time…
Dulu, untuk bayar yuran universiti, saya buat kerja sambilan…
= In the past / I used to work part-time…

In the original sentence, without extra markers, English speakers would normally interpret it as present habitual:
To pay the university fees, I work part-time at a small café.

Could I say Untuk membayar yuran universiti, saya bekerja sambilan di sebuah kafe kecil. instead? Would that be more correct or more natural?

Yes, that sentence is fully correct:

Untuk membayar yuran universiti, saya bekerja sambilan di sebuah kafe kecil.

Comparing:

Untuk bayar yuran universiti, saya buat kerja sambilan di sebuah kafe kecil.
Untuk membayar yuran universiti, saya bekerja sambilan di sebuah kafe kecil.

Sentence 2 sounds:

A bit more formal/standard (because of membayar and bekerja)
Very suitable for writing, presentations, or careful speech

Sentence 1 sounds:

More casual or conversational
Very common in everyday spoken Malay

Both are natural; the choice is mostly about formality and style.

Are there differences between Malaysian and Indonesian usage for words in this sentence?

Yes, there are some regional differences:

In Malaysia, the original sentence is very natural:

Untuk bayar yuran universiti, saya buat kerja sambilan di sebuah kafe kecil.

In Indonesia, people would more typically say something like:

Untuk membayar biaya kuliah, saya bekerja paruh waktu di sebuah kafe kecil.

Key differences:

yuran (MY) ≈ biaya / uang (ID)
- yuran universiti (MY) ≈ biaya kuliah (ID)
universiti (MY) ≈ universitas (ID)
- But Indonesians also say kuliah for “university studies/tuition”.
kerja sambilan (MY) ≈ kerja sambilan / pekerjaan paruh waktu (ID)
- paruh waktu is very common in Indonesia for part-time.
kafe is understood in both, though in everyday speech you might also hear:
- kedai kopi (MY)
- warung kopi (ID)

So the given sentence is perfectly natural Malaysian Malay, and easily understandable to Indonesians, though they might choose slightly different words in their own version.