Learn Hardcore Malay: Saya lebih suka syif pagi daripada syif malam kerana badan saya cepat letih. - I prefer the morning shift to the night shift because my body gets tired quickly.

Saya lebih suka syif pagi daripada syif malam.
Literally: I more like the morning shift than the night shift.
Natural English: I prefer the morning shift to the night shift.

You can use the same structure with adjectives:

Dia lebih tinggi daripada saya. = He/She is taller than me.
Filem itu lebih menarik daripada buku itu. = That movie is more interesting than that book.

Why is it daripada and not dari in this sentence?

Malay distinguishes dari and daripada (though many speakers mix them in casual speech):

dari: mainly for origin, place, time, direction
- Saya datang dari London. = I come from London.
- Dari pagi tadi saya tunggu. = Since this morning I’ve been waiting.
daripada: mainly for comparison, source (person), or part of a whole
- Saya lebih suka A daripada B. = I prefer A to B. (comparison)
- Hadiah ini daripada ibu saya. = This gift is from my mother. (source = person)

Since your sentence is a comparison (morning shift vs night shift), daripada is the correct choice:
Saya lebih suka syif pagi daripada syif malam.

Could I say Saya suka syif pagi lebih daripada syif malam instead?

Yes, that is grammatically understandable:

Saya suka syif pagi lebih daripada syif malam.

But the most natural and common way is still:

Saya lebih suka syif pagi daripada syif malam.

Putting lebih directly before suka is the clear, default structure for expressing preference.

What does kerana mean, and is it the same as sebab?

Both kerana and sebab mean because.

Saya balik awal kerana letih.
Saya balik awal sebab letih.
Both: I went home early because I was tired.

Differences:

kerana: slightly more formal / neutral; common in writing and speech.
sebab: informal, very common in everyday conversation.

In your sentence:

… kerana badan saya cepat letih. = … because my body gets tired easily.

You could also say sebab badan saya cepat letih in casual speech.

What does badan saya cepat letih literally mean?

Word by word:

badan = body
saya = my
cepat = fast, quickly, easily (in this context, “easily / quickly”)
letih = tired / fatigued

So literally:

badan saya cepat letih = my body quickly (gets) tired / my body gets tired easily.

A natural English translation of the whole sentence:

I prefer the morning shift to the night shift because I get tired easily.
(or: “…because my body gets tired easily.”)

Why is there no word like “gets” or “becomes” before letih?

Malay often doesn’t need a separate verb like “get” or “become” for changes of state.
You just put an adverb with an adjective:

cepat letih = quickly tired / get tired quickly
cepat marah = easily angry / get angry easily
mudah bosan = easily bored

So:

badan saya cepat letih
→ understood as my body gets tired quickly, even though there’s no explicit verb like “get” or “become”.

Is letih the same as penat?

They are very close, both meaning tired:

letih: tired, fatigued, worn out
penat: tired, exhausted (very common in speech)

In this sentence, you could say:

… kerana badan saya cepat letih.
… kerana badan saya cepat penat.

Both are acceptable. Penat is very common in everyday conversation; letih can feel a bit more formal or neutral depending on context.

How would you say this more naturally in very casual Malay?

Some informal options:

Saya lagi suka syif pagi daripada syif malam sebab saya cepat penat.
Saya prefer syif pagi daripada syif malam sebab saya cepat penat. (mixing English loanword prefer)

Changes:

lagi suka used instead of lebih suka (colloquial, but common).
sebab instead of kerana (more casual).
Drop badan and just say saya cepat penat, which sounds more natural in conversation.

Why is it syif pagi, not pagi syif, for “morning shift”?

In Malay, modifiers usually come after the noun:

buku merah = red book (literally: book red)
kereta baru = new car
syif pagi = morning shift (shift that is in the morning)

So:

syif (shift) + pagi (morning)
→ syif pagi = morning shift

Pagi syif would sound wrong in this context.

What does syif mean, and is it a Malay word?

Syif means work shift (as in shift work: morning shift, night shift).

It is a loanword from English “shift”, adapted to Malay spelling:

English shift → Malay syif

Common related phrases:

syif pagi = morning shift
syif petang = evening/afternoon shift
syif malam = night shift

Can I drop the second syif and just say daripada malam?

Yes, in everyday speech it’s common to omit repeated nouns when the meaning is clear:

Full: Saya lebih suka syif pagi daripada syif malam.
Shorter: Saya lebih suka syif pagi daripada malam.

Both are understandable. The full version is a bit clearer and more standard, but the shorter one is natural in casual conversation.

How do I change this sentence to past or future? There’s no tense marker.

Malay usually does not change the verb form for tense.
Time is shown by:

Context, and/or
Time words

Examples with your sentence:

Past:
Semasa saya kerja dulu, saya lebih suka syif pagi daripada syif malam kerana badan saya cepat letih.
(When I used to work, I preferred the morning shift to the night shift because I got tired easily.)
Future:
Saya rasa saya akan lebih suka syif pagi daripada syif malam kerana badan saya cepat letih.
(akan = will)

The core phrase saya lebih suka syif pagi daripada syif malam itself is tense-neutral; tense comes from surrounding words.

Is saya the most polite choice here? Could I use aku instead?

Saya is:

Neutral and polite
Suitable for talking to colleagues, bosses, strangers, in writing, etc.

Aku is:

Informal / intimate
Usually for close friends, family, people your age or younger (depending on relationship)

So:

Saya lebih suka syif pagi … = polite/neutral
Aku lagi suka syif pagi … = casual, between close friends

In a work context, saya is the safe and appropriate choice.