Learn Hardcore Malay: Festival itu sangat meriah, dan saya belajar banyak tentang budaya lain. - That festival is very lively, and I learn a lot about other cultures.

It works like that in English (a demonstrative):
- festival itu ≈ that festival
  (a specific festival both speaker and listener know about, or that was just mentioned)
It can also mean the in some contexts:
- festival itu sangat meriah can feel like the festival was very lively (the one we’re talking about).

Word order point: in Malay, itu generally comes after the noun:

festival itu (not itu festival in standard Malay).

You’d use ini instead if you want this festival:

festival ini = this festival (closer, more immediate, or very recently mentioned).

How do I know that festival itu sangat meriah means was very lively and not is very lively?

Malay usually doesn’t mark tense on the verb or adjective. Sangat meriah just means very lively/festive, without tense by itself. Past, present, or future comes from context:

If you’re telling a story about something that already happened, listeners interpret it as was very lively.
If you add a time word, you make it explicit:
- Semalam festival itu sangat meriah. = Yesterday the festival was very lively.
- Esok festival itu pasti sangat meriah. = Tomorrow the festival will surely be very lively.

So in your sentence, we know it’s past because the wider context (for example, a past story) would make that clear.

What exactly does meriah mean here? Is it just lively, or something more?

Meriah is richer than just lively. It often includes:

a big crowd
noise, music, or cheers
a joyful, celebratory atmosphere
a sense that there’s a lot going on (stalls, performances, decorations, etc.)

So festival itu sangat meriah suggests:

The festival was packed with people,
It was noisy in a good way,
It felt festive and joyful.

Depending on context, meriah can be translated as:

lively
festive
bustling
full of excitement

Why do we say sangat meriah instead of something like terlalu meriah or begitu meriah?

These intensifiers differ in nuance:

sangat meriah = very lively
Neutral, positive emphasis. This is the most straightforward and safe choice.
amat meriah = also very lively, slightly more formal/literary.
terlalu meriah = too lively
Can imply it was excessively lively, maybe uncomfortably loud or crowded.
begitu meriah = so lively
Often used when you are reacting emotionally or comparing:
- Saya tidak sangka festival itu begitu meriah. = I didn’t expect that festival to be so lively.

So sangat meriah is chosen here because it’s a simple, positive very lively with no negative or surprised nuance.

Is the comma before dan necessary in ..., dan saya belajar banyak ...?

In Malay, the comma before dan (and) is optional in a sentence like this.

Festival itu sangat meriah dan saya belajar banyak tentang budaya lain.
Festival itu sangat meriah, dan saya belajar banyak tentang budaya lain.

Both are acceptable.

Writers often include the comma when:

the clauses are a bit longer, or
they want to create a slight pause for clarity or rhythm.

Grammatically, either version is fine.

Why is it saya and not aku here? What’s the difference?

Both mean I, but they differ in politeness and context:

saya
- Polite and neutral.
- Used in formal situations, with strangers, in writing, or when you want to sound respectful.
- Safe default for learners.
aku
- Informal, more intimate.
- Used with close friends, family, or people of same age group in casual conversation.
- Can sound rude or too familiar in the wrong setting.

Because this sentence sounds like a neutral, possibly written statement, saya is the appropriate pronoun.

What’s the difference between belajar and mempelajari? Could I say saya mempelajari banyak tentang budaya lain?

Both relate to learning/studying, but they’re used differently:

belajar
- Intransitive by default: you learn or study (no direct object needed).
- Saya belajar. = I study / I’m studying / I learned.
- Can take a simple object with a preposition like tentang:
  - Saya belajar banyak tentang budaya lain. = I learned a lot about other cultures.
mempelajari
- More formal, transitive: to study something in a more focused/academic way.
- Usually takes a direct object:
  - Saya mempelajari budaya lain. = I study / studied other cultures.
- Sounds more formal and sometimes more intensive or systematic.

So yes, you could say:

Saya mempelajari banyak hal tentang budaya lain.
(I studied many things about other cultures.)

But in everyday speech, saya belajar banyak tentang budaya lain is more natural and less formal.

Why is it saya belajar banyak and not saya banyak belajar? Are both correct?

Both are grammatically correct, but the emphasis shifts:

Saya belajar banyak tentang budaya lain.
- Emphasis: how much you learned.
- banyak (a lot/much) modifies what you learned (the amount of knowledge).
- Roughly: I learned a lot about other cultures.
Saya banyak belajar tentang budaya lain.
- Emphasis: how much you did the activity of learning.
- Suggests you spent a lot of time or effort learning.
- Roughly: I did a lot of learning about other cultures.

In many contexts, they’re interchangeable in meaning, but the default for I learned a lot is saya belajar banyak.

What does tentang do in belajar banyak tentang budaya lain? Could I use mengenai or pasal instead?

Tentang is a preposition meaning about / regarding / on the subject of.

Saya belajar banyak tentang budaya lain.
- I learned a lot about other cultures.

Alternatives:

mengenai
- Very close in meaning to tentang, slightly more formal.
- Saya belajar banyak mengenai budaya lain.
  Also means I learned a lot about other cultures.
pasal
- More colloquial/informal in many dialects (especially in Malaysia).
- Saya belajar banyak pasal budaya lain.
  Sounds more like casual speech.

In standard, neutral writing:

tentang or mengenai are safer. In this sentence, tentang is perfectly natural and common.

Why is it budaya lain and not budaya-budaya lain if we mean other cultures (plural)?

Malay usually doesn’t need to mark plural explicitly if context already shows it:

budaya lain can mean:
- another culture (singular) or
- other cultures (plural),

depending on context.

You can make the plural explicit by:

Reduplication:
- budaya-budaya lain = other cultures (clearly plural).
Adding a quantifier:
- banyak budaya lain = many other cultures.

However, in normal speech and writing, people often keep it simple:

Saya belajar banyak tentang budaya lain.
is naturally understood as I learned a lot about other cultures because banyak (a lot) suggests plurality.

Could I say budaya lain-lain instead of budaya lain? What’s the difference?

Lain and lain-lain are not always interchangeable.

budaya lain
- other cultures (relative to some group already mentioned).
- Neutral and standard.
lain-lain often appears as a standalone word:
- lain-lain = miscellaneous / various others.
- Common in lists or headings:
  - Makanan, pakaian, dan lain-lain. = Food, clothing, and others / etc.

If you say budaya lain-lain, it can sound odd or non-standard in many contexts. Better options are:

budaya lain (most common, and fine here),
pelbagai budaya / berbagai budaya = various cultures,
bermacam-macam budaya = many different kinds of cultures.

For this sentence, budaya lain is the most natural.

Does the whole sentence sound formal, informal, or neutral in Malay?

The sentence:

Festival itu sangat meriah, dan saya belajar banyak tentang budaya lain.

is neutral and slightly on the polite side because of saya.

Suitable for:
- spoken conversation with people you’re not very close to,
- writing (essays, reports, social media posts),
- presentations or storytelling.

To make it more casual (in many Malaysian contexts), someone might say:

Festival tu sangat meriah, dan aku belajar banyak pasal budaya lain.
(using tu for itu, aku for saya, pasal for tentang)

But your original sentence is a good, standard, learner-friendly form.