Learn Hardcore Malay: Yuran universiti itu mahal, jadi saya perlu kerja sambilan. - Those university fees are expensive, so I need a part-time job.

that/those in a pointing sense: those university fees (over there / being discussed)
or often just “the” in English, referring to specific fees that both speaker and listener know about.

Word order pattern:
[Noun] + [extra info like another noun/adjective] + [ini/itu]
→ yuran universiti itu (literally: fees university that).

Why isn’t there a word for “is” in Yuran universiti itu mahal?

Malay normally does not use a verb like “to be” (is/are/am) before adjectives.

In English you say:

The university fees *are expensive.*

In Malay you just say:

Yuran universiti itu mahal.
Literally: University fees that expensive.

Structure:

Subject: Yuran universiti itu
Predicate adjective: mahal (expensive)

So with adjectives, Malay typically goes: [Subject] + [Adjective]
No extra verb is needed.

Why is the order yuran universiti, not universiti yuran?

In Malay, when two nouns are put together, the main thing usually comes first, and the descriptor comes after it.

yuran (fees) = main noun
universiti (university) = tells you what kind of fees

So:

yuran universiti = university fees (fees of a university)
If you said universiti yuran, it would be ungrammatical or at least very strange.

General pattern: [Main noun] + [noun that specifies it]
Examples:

buku sekolah = school book
guru bahasa = language teacher
yuran universiti = university fees

What exactly does perlu mean here, and how strong is it compared to words like mesti?

Perlu expresses necessity or need:

saya perlu kerja sambilan
= I need a part-time job / I need to work part-time.

Nuance compared:

perlu = need / necessary
- Often more neutral: it’s needed/necessary, but not always super strict.
mesti = must
- Strong obligation, like English must / have to.
harus = should / ought to / must (depending on context)
- Often sounds a bit more formal or advisory.

In this sentence, perlu is appropriate because it’s about a practical need due to high fees, not a strict rule.

Is kerja in saya perlu kerja sambilan a verb (“to work”) or a noun (“a job”)?

Here it functions as a noun: “a job”.

kerja can be both:
- noun: work, job
- verb (informally): to work (more standard as bekerja)

In saya perlu kerja sambilan:

kerja sambilan = part-time job
So the full idea is: “I need a part-time job”, or more literally:
saya perlu (mendapat) kerja sambilan
= I need to get a part-time job.

If you want to clearly use a verb to work, you can say:

saya perlu bekerja sambilan
= I need to work part-time.

What is the difference between kerja sambilan and bekerja sambilan?

They are related but not the same:

kerja sambilan
- kerja = job/work (noun)
- sambilan = part-time / as a side job
- Together: part-time job / side job (noun phrase)
- Example:
  - Saya sedang mencari kerja sambilan.
    I am looking for a part-time job.
bekerja sambilan
- bekerja = to work (verb)
- sambilan = part-time / on the side
- Together: to work part-time (verb phrase)
- Example:
  - Saya ingin bekerja sambilan.
    I want to work part-time.

In your sentence:

saya perlu kerja sambilan = I need a part-time job.
You could also say:
saya perlu bekerja sambilan = I need to work part-time.
Both are correct, but the focus shifts slightly from the job itself (kerja) to the action of working (bekerja).

What does sambilan mean, and how is it different from separuh masa or English loan part-time?

sambilan means part-time / side / additional (often on top of something main like studying or another job).

Comparisons:

kerja sambilan
- Common and natural: part-time job / side job.
kerja separuh masa
- Literally: half-time work.
- Also means part-time, and is widely understood.
- Sometimes feels a bit more formal/technical, but still normal.
kerja part-time
- Uses English part-time.
- Very commonly heard in speech, especially among younger speakers and in informal contexts.

All three (kerja sambilan / kerja separuh masa / kerja part-time) can be used for “part-time work”, but kerja sambilan is a very natural, fully Malay expression.

What role does jadi play in this sentence, and can it be replaced by other words?

Here jadi is a conjunction meaning “so / therefore”, linking cause and result.

Yuran universiti itu mahal, jadi saya perlu kerja sambilan.
= The university fees are expensive, so I need a part-time job.

Other possible connectors with slightly different feel:

sebab itu = because of that / that’s why
oleh itu = therefore, hence (more formal)
jadi = so, therefore (very common and conversational)

You could also reverse the order using kerana/sebab (because):

Saya perlu kerja sambilan kerana yuran universiti itu mahal.
= I need a part-time job because the university fees are expensive.

So jadi introduces the result, while kerana/sebab introduce the reason.

How do I show past or future time in this sentence, since there’s no tense marking?

Malay verbs do not change form for tense. You add time words or particles instead.

Base sentence (present/general):

Yuran universiti itu mahal, jadi saya perlu kerja sambilan.
= The university fees are expensive, so I need a part-time job.

To make it clearly future:

Yuran universiti itu mahal, jadi saya akan perlu kerja sambilan.
= … so I will need a part-time job.
Or more naturally:
Yuran universiti itu mahal, jadi saya akan kerja sambilan.

To make it clearly past:

Dulu yuran universiti itu mahal, jadi saya perlu kerja sambilan.
= In the past the university fees were expensive, so I needed a part-time job.
Or:
Yuran universiti itu mahal, jadi dulu saya perlu kerja sambilan.

Time is usually shown by:

time adverbs: dulu (formerly), tadi (earlier), nanti (later)
auxiliary: akan (will)
or context.

Do I have to use itu in yuran universiti itu, or can I just say yuran universiti?

You can say just yuran universiti. The difference is:

yuran universiti itu
- Refers to specific fees that both people know about
- Feels like “those university fees” / “the university fees (we’re talking about)”
- Maybe the current university you’ll attend, or fees you just saw on a brochure.
yuran universiti (without itu)
- More general: university fees as a concept or in general
- Like “university fees” without specifying which ones.

So the original sentence suggests a specific situation (for example, the fees at my university), not just a general observation about fees everywhere.