Tahun lalu, saya tinggal di desa kecil itu.

Last year, I lived in that small village.

Breakdown of Tahun lalu, saya tinggal di desa kecil itu.

• saya: I
• itu: that
• di: in
• kecil: small
• tinggal: to live
• desa: the village
• lalu: last
• tahun: the year

Questions & Answers about Tahun lalu, saya tinggal di desa kecil itu.

What does tahun lalu literally mean, and can I put it at the end of the sentence instead?

Literally, tahun lalu means last year (tahun = year, lalu = past/ago).

The sentence Tahun lalu, saya tinggal di desa kecil itu. is literally something like:
Last year, I lived in that small village.

You can move tahun lalu to the end:

• Saya tinggal di desa kecil itu tahun lalu.

Both are correct and natural. Malay often places time expressions either at the beginning (for emphasis) or at the end of the sentence. Starting with time is very common in narratives and storytelling.

Why is there a comma after Tahun lalu? Is it required?

The comma after Tahun lalu in Tahun lalu, saya tinggal di desa kecil itu. is a writing style convention to separate a fronted time phrase from the main clause.

• It’s not strictly required in casual writing.
• In more formal or careful writing, people often use it because Tahun lalu acts like an introductory phrase.

Without the comma, it’s still grammatically fine:

• Tahun lalu saya tinggal di desa kecil itu.

Why does tinggal mean lived here? I thought Malay verbs don't change for tense.

You’re right: Malay verbs do not change form for tense. The verb tinggal by itself is “live / stay / reside.”

In English, the verb changes: live → lived.
In Malay, the verb stays the same, and time words show when it happened:

• Saya tinggal di desa kecil itu.
  → context could be present, past, or future, depending on other words.

Here, tahun lalu (“last year”) tells you it’s in the past, so the whole sentence is translated as “Last year, I lived in that small village.”

If you wanted to be extra clear about the past (though often unnecessary), you can add pernah (“once/ever, at some time in the past”):

• Tahun lalu, saya pernah tinggal di desa kecil itu.
  → Last year, I once lived / I used to live in that small village.

What is the difference between saya and aku? Could I say Tahun lalu, aku tinggal di desa kecil itu?

Both saya and aku mean I / me.

• saya: polite, neutral, used in most situations (formal and informal).
• aku: casual, intimate; used with close friends, family, or in songs/poetry.

Yes, you can say:

• Tahun lalu, aku tinggal di desa kecil itu.

but use aku only if you’re talking to someone for whom aku is appropriate (close friend, sibling, etc.). With strangers, teachers, or in formal writing, saya is safer.

What does tinggal mean exactly? Does it mean to live, to stay, or to remain?

tinggal can cover several English verbs, and the exact meaning depends on context:

1. To live / reside (most common with di

   • place):
   • Saya tinggal di Kuala Lumpur.
     → I live in Kuala Lumpur.

2. To stay (temporarily):

   • Saya tinggal di hotel itu selama seminggu.
     → I stayed at that hotel for a week.

3. To remain / be left (in some contexts):

   • Tinggal dua orang lagi.
     → Two people are left / remain.

In Tahun lalu, saya tinggal di desa kecil itu.
the meaning is lived / resided (for some period) in that small village.

What does di mean, and why is it used before desa kecil itu?

di is a preposition that means at / in / on (location).

It’s used before a place noun to show location:

• di rumah = at home / in the house
• di sekolah = at school
• di desa kecil itu = in that small village

So tinggal di desa kecil itu means live / stay in that small village.
You almost always use di before place names or place nouns to show where something is.

How is desa kecil itu structured? Why is the adjective and itu after desa?

The phrase desa kecil itu breaks down like this:

• desa = village
• kecil = small
• itu = that

In Malay, the normal order is:

1. Noun
2. Adjective
3. Demonstrative (ini = this, itu = that)

So:

• desa kecil itu = village small that → that small village
• rumah besar itu = that big house
• kereta merah ini = this red car

In English we say that small village, but in Malay we literally say village small that. So the order in Malay is different, but consistent.

What is the difference between itu and ini in this kind of phrase?

itu and ini are demonstratives:

• ini = this (near the speaker)
• itu = that (farther from the speaker, or already known in context)

So:

• desa kecil ini = this small village
• desa kecil itu = that small village

In storytelling or when referring to something already mentioned, itu often means something like “that (aforementioned)” or “that particular/that specific.”
In desa kecil itu, it can feel like “that (specific) small village we were talking about.”

Can I say just desa kecil without itu? What difference does it make?

Yes, you can say:

• Tahun lalu, saya tinggal di desa kecil.

This means “Last year, I lived in a small village.” (a small village, not specified which one).

Adding itu makes it specific:

• desa kecil itu = that small village (a particular one you and the listener know or can identify)

So:

• desa kecil → a small village (non-specific)
• desa kecil itu → that small village (specific, known, or previously mentioned)

Is there any difference between tahun lalu and tahun lepas?

Both tahun lalu and tahun lepas mean last year.

• tahun lalu: widely understood across the Malay-speaking world; often feels a bit more “standard” or neutral.
• tahun lepas: very common in Malaysian usage; perfectly natural there.

You can say:

• Tahun lalu, saya tinggal di desa kecil itu.
• Tahun lepas, saya tinggal di desa kecil itu.

In everyday Malaysian speech, tahun lepas may be slightly more common; in formal writing or in Indonesian contexts, tahun lalu is more typical.