Learn Hardcore Malay: Dia juga mahu buat blog video tentang sains, tetapi dia kena belajar mengedit dulu supaya kandungannya menarik, bukan membosankan. - He/She also wants to make a science video blog, but he/she has to learn to edit first so that the content is interesting, not boring.

mahu – neutral, standard, common in both speech and writing.
- Saya mahu makan. – I want to eat.
hendak / nak – hendak is standard; nak is its informal spoken form.
- Saya hendak pergi. (neutral/formal)
- Saya nak pergi. (casual, everyday speech)
ingin – a bit more formal or softer, like “wish to / would like to”.
- Saya ingin belajar bahasa Melayu.

In the sentence, mahu is a natural standard choice: not too formal, not too casual.

Why is it buat blog video and not membuat blog video?

Both are possible:

buat blog video – more colloquial, very common in speech and informal writing.
membuat blog video – more formal or written style.

In everyday Malay, buat often replaces membuat:

buat kerja (do work) instead of membuat kerja
buat kuih (make cakes) instead of membuat kuih

So the sentence sounds natural and conversational with buat.

What does kena mean here in dia kena belajar mengedit dulu? I thought kena meant “to be hit” or “to get (something bad)”?

Kena has a few meanings depending on context:

To have to / must (colloquial):
- Dia kena belajar mengedit dulu.
  = He/She has to learn to edit first.
To be affected by / to get (something negative):
- Dia kena marah. – He/She got scolded.
- Saya kena demam. – I got a fever.
To get hit / struck:
- Bola itu kena kepala dia. – The ball hit his/her head.

In this sentence it clearly means has to / is required to, a very common casual usage.
More formal equivalents: dia mesti / perlu belajar mengedit dulu.

Why is it mengedit and not just edit? When do you add meN- to English loanwords?

Mengedit is formed from the English loan edit plus the Malay verbal prefix meN-:

edit → mengedit (to edit)

You generally add meN- when:

You want a proper Malay verb form, especially in more careful or written Malay.
The word behaves like a normal action verb in the sentence.

Compare:

Saya mahu mengedit video. – I want to edit the video. (standard)
Saya mahu edit video. – I want to edit the video. (more casual; dropping meN- is common in speech)

Other examples:

print → memprint / mencetak (but cetak is the more native verb)
type → menaip
check → memeriksa (native) or cek in casual contexts

In your sentence, mengedit sounds standard and natural.

What does dulu add in belajar mengedit dulu?

Dulu literally means before / earlier, but in this kind of sentence it often means first / beforehand.

Dia kena belajar mengedit dulu.
= He/She has to learn to edit first (before doing the other thing).

Without dulu:

Dia kena belajar mengedit. – He/She has to learn to edit.
(no explicit emphasis on “before anything else”)

So dulu here emphasizes the order of actions: learn to edit first, then make the video blog.

What’s the function of supaya, and how is it different from untuk or jadi?

Supaya introduces a purpose or result clause, usually translated as so that / in order that.

…belajar mengedit dulu supaya kandungannya menarik…
= …learn to edit first so that the content is interesting…

Rough differences:

supaya – so that, focus on intended result:
- Belajar rajin-rajin supaya lulus peperiksaan.
untuk – for / in order to, usually followed by a noun or verb phrase, not a full sentence with its own subject:
- Belajar untuk lulus peperiksaan. – Study to pass the exam.
jadi – so / so then / and therefore, more like a connector showing consequence:
- Saya penat, jadi saya tidur awal. – I’m tired, so I sleep early.

In your sentence, supaya is correct because what follows is a full clause:
kandungannya menarik (its content is interesting).

What exactly does kandungannya mean, and how is it formed?

Kandungannya breaks down like this:

kandungan – content, contents, what is inside
(can also mean pregnancy in other contexts)
-nya – a suffix meaning its / his / her / their (depending on context)

So kandungannya = its content / the content (with a definite feel).

In this sentence it refers to the content of the video blog.

Other examples:

isi kandungan buku itu – the contents of that book
kandungan video ini – the content of this video
kandungan susu – content of milk (e.g. fat content)

Is menarik an adjective like “interesting”, or a verb like “to pull”? How does it work here?

Menarik comes from the root tarik (to pull).

It has two main uses:

Verb: menarik = to pull / to draw
- Dia menarik pintu. – He/She pulls the door.
Adjective / stative verb: menarik = interesting / attractive
- Cerita itu menarik. – That story is interesting.

In your sentence:

kandungannya menarik
= “its content is interesting”

So here menarik functions as an adjective (or a “stative verb” if you think in Malay grammar terms).

Why is it bukan membosankan, not tidak membosankan? What’s the difference between bukan and tidak?

Both bukan and tidak can mean not, but they’re used differently.

Basic rule:

tidak negates verbs and adjectives.
bukan negates nouns, pronouns, and sometimes whole ideas for emphasis or contrast.

So normally you would expect:

tidak membosankan – not boring.

However, in bukan membosankan there is a contrast/emphasis:

…menarik, bukan membosankan.
= “…interesting, not boring (as opposed to boring).”

Here bukan is used almost like English “rather than” / “instead of”, negating the idea of “boring” as a category. It’s a common pattern in contrasts:

Dia guru, bukan doktor. – He/She is a teacher, not a doctor.
Filem itu menarik, bukan membosankan. – The movie is interesting, not boring.

You can say tidak membosankan in a simple sentence (no contrast):

Video itu tidak membosankan. – The video is not boring.

But with a direct contrast like X, bukan Y, bukan is the natural choice.

Why is it belajar mengedit, without untuk, instead of belajar untuk mengedit?

Both are possible, but belajar + verb without untuk is very common and natural.

Patterns:

belajar mengedit – learn to edit
belajar memasak – learn to cook
belajar berenang – learn to swim

Adding untuk:

belajar untuk mengedit – literally “learn in order to edit”.
This can sound a bit more formal or slightly heavier, and is less common in casual speech.

So in everyday Malay, belajar mengedit is the preferred, smoother form.

Could we drop the second dia after tetapi, or is it necessary?

You can drop it, and the sentence is still grammatical and natural:

Dia juga mahu buat blog video tentang sains, tetapi kena belajar mengedit dulu supaya kandungannya menarik, bukan membosankan.

Malay often omits repeated subjects when the subject is clear from context and doesn’t change.

Keeping dia:

…tetapi dia kena belajar… – slightly clearer and a bit more careful/explicit.

Omitting dia:

More concise, very common in speech and informal writing.

Both versions are acceptable; the choice is stylistic.

What does tentang mean in blog video tentang sains, and could we use mengenai or pasal instead?

Tentang means about / regarding / on the subject of.

blog video tentang sains
= a video blog about science

Alternatives:

mengenai – also about / regarding, slightly more formal:
- blog video mengenai sains – OK, a bit more formal.
pasal – about, but colloquial:
- blog video pasal sains – sounds more casual/spoken.

All three are understandable. In standard neutral Malay, tentang is a very good default.