Di universiti, saya tinggal di asrama bersama tiga rakan serumah.

At university, I live in a dormitory with three roommates.

Breakdown of Di universiti, saya tinggal di asrama bersama tiga rakan serumah.

• saya: I
• di: at
• di: in
• bersama: with
• tinggal: to live
• universiti: the university
• tiga: three
• asrama: the dormitory
• rakan serumah: the roommate

Questions & Answers about Di universiti, saya tinggal di asrama bersama tiga rakan serumah.

Why is di used in di universiti and di asrama? Could I use pada instead?

Di is the standard preposition for location in Malay, similar to “at / in” in English.

• di universiti = at university
• di asrama = in the dorm / in the hostel

The preposition pada is not used for physical location in normal modern Malay. It’s mostly used for:

• time: pada pukul tiga (at three o’clock)
• some abstract uses: pada pendapat saya (in my opinion)

So here, di is the only natural choice:
✗ pada universiti → incorrect for “at university”
✓ di universiti

What does tinggal mean here? Is it “live” or “stay”?

In this sentence, tinggal means “live” in the sense of “reside”:

• saya tinggal di asrama = I live in a dorm

But tinggal is flexible and can also mean “stay (temporarily)”, depending on context:

• Esok saya tinggal di hotel.
  = Tomorrow I’ll stay at a hotel.

In everyday speech, tinggal is the usual neutral verb for where you live.

Is there any tense in saya tinggal? How do we know it’s “I live” and not “I lived”?

Malay verbs do not change form for tense. Tinggal is the same for past, present, and future.

The tense is understood from:

• context:
  
  • When talking about your current situation as a student: “At university, I live in a dorm …”
• Optional time words:
  
  • Dulu saya tinggal di asrama. (I used to live in a dorm.)
  • Sekarang saya tinggal di asrama. (Now I live in a dorm.)
  • Nanti saya akan tinggal di asrama. (Later I will live in a dorm.)

So saya tinggal by itself can be “I live / I am living / I lived / I was living”; the sentence context makes it present.

Why is there no word for “am” or “do” like in English? Why not saya adalah tinggal?

Malay does not use a verb “to be” like English am/is/are in this kind of sentence, and it does not use adalah before a verb.

Structure here is simply:
saya (subject) + tinggal (verb) + di asrama (place)
= I live in a dorm.

Adalah is used mostly:

• in formal contexts,
• to link noun = noun or noun = phrase:
  
  • Cita-cita saya adalah menjadi doktor.
    = My ambition is to become a doctor.

But you don’t say:
✗ saya adalah tinggal di asrama → incorrect.

What exactly does asrama mean? Is it a “dorm”, a “hostel”, or something else?

Asrama is a residential building for students or sometimes workers. Depending on context, it can be translated as:

• dorm / dormitory
• hostel
• boarding house (for school students)

At a university, asrama usually means on-campus student accommodation, similar to a dorm or hall of residence. It’s not a normal family house (rumah).

What is the difference between bersama and dengan in bersama tiga rakan serumah? Are they both “with”?

Both bersama and dengan can translate as “with”, but there’s a nuance:

• bersama = together with, often slightly more emphasised, sometimes a little more formal.
• dengan = with, very common and neutral, used for many meanings of “with”.

In this sentence you could say:

• bersama tiga rakan serumah
• dengan tiga rakan serumah

Both are acceptable. Bersama here suggests “together with three roommates”, focusing a bit on the idea of togetherness.

Why is it tiga rakan serumah, not tiga orang rakan serumah? Don’t we need a classifier like orang for people?

In Malay, when you count people, the usual pattern is:

[number] + orang + [noun for person]

Example:

• tiga orang pelajar (three students)
• dua orang guru (two teachers)

So the most complete version of your phrase is:

• tiga orang rakan serumah = three roommates

However, in many real-life sentences, especially informal or when it’s clear we’re talking about people, orang can be dropped, and just:

• tiga rakan serumah

is understood as “three roommates”.

Both are acceptable; tiga orang rakan serumah is a bit more explicit and standard, especially in writing or teaching materials.

What does rakan serumah literally mean, and how is it formed?

Rakan serumah is a compound expression:

• rakan = friend, companion, partner (more neutral/formal than kawan)
• se- + rumah → serumah
  
  • se- is a prefix meaning “one / same / together”
  • rumah = house
  • serumah = sharing the same house

So literally, rakan serumah is “same-house friend” → housemate / roommate.

Similar patterns:

• rakan sebilik = same-room friend → roommate (same room)
• rakan sekerja = same-work friend → colleague/co-worker

Why is it rakan serumah, not serumah rakan? Does Malay use the same order as English?

Malay compound nouns generally follow this pattern:

[main noun] + [describing noun / modifier]

Here:

• rakan (friend) is the main noun
• serumah (sharing the same house) describes what kind of friend

So: rakan serumah = roommate / housemate.

It’s a bit like English “housemate”:

• “mate” (main noun) + “house” (describing noun)

You generally don’t reverse it in Malay:
✗ serumah rakan → ungrammatical / meaningless in standard Malay.

Is there a plural form for rakan? Why isn’t it rakan-rakan here?

Malay doesn’t require a special plural form when a number is already given.

• tiga rakan serumah already clearly means three roommates → plural is obvious.

Plural in Malay can be shown by:

1. number:
   
   • tiga rakan (three friends)
2. reduplication:
   
   • rakan-rakan = friends (plural, general, no number specified)

So:

• rakan-rakan serumah = (my) roommates (in general, more than one)
• tiga rakan serumah = three roommates (number is explicit, so no need for rakan-rakan).

How should I understand Di universiti at the start? Does it mean physically “at the campus” or “while I’m at university (in life)”?

Di universiti can mean both, depending on context:

1. Physical location:

   • At the university, I live in a dorm… (i.e. when I am at the campus area)

2. Stage of life / situation:

   • During my time as a university student, I live in a dorm with three roommates.

In many real conversations, Di universiti, saya tinggal di asrama… would naturally be understood as “As a university student / While at university, I live in a dorm…”, not only “inside the campus buildings”. Context (before/after the sentence) clarifies which sense is intended.

Is Di universiti, at the beginning just for emphasis? Could I say Saya tinggal di asrama… without it?

Yes. Starting with Di universiti, is a fronted location phrase, used to set the situation or give emphasis on where/when.

• Saya tinggal di asrama bersama tiga rakan serumah.
  = I live in a dorm with three roommates.

• Di universiti, saya tinggal di asrama bersama tiga rakan serumah.
  = At university, I live in a dorm with three roommates.
  (emphasis/contrast: maybe at home it’s different)

Both are correct. The version with Di universiti highlights the context “when it comes to my life at university”.

Is saya the only way to say “I” here, or can I use aku?

Both saya and aku mean “I”, but they differ in formality and relationship:

• saya:
  
  • polite, neutral, standard
  • used with strangers, teachers, in class, in writing, in public situations
• aku:
  
  • informal, intimate
  • used with close friends, siblings, people your age (if you’re close)

So:

• Di universiti, saya tinggal di asrama…
  → good for neutral/standard speech and writing.

With close friends, in speech, you might say:

• Di universiti, aku tinggal di asrama dengan tiga rakan serumah.

For learning and in most formal/neutral situations, saya is safer.