Learn Hardcore Malay: Telefon saya hilang isyarat internet ketika bas masuk ke terowong. - My phone loses its internet signal when the bus enters the tunnel.

Telefon saya hilang isyarat internet ketika bas masuk ke terowong.

My phone loses its internet signal when the bus enters the tunnel.

Breakdown of Telefon saya hilang isyarat internet ketika bas masuk ke terowong.

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Questions & Answers about Telefon saya hilang isyarat internet ketika bas masuk ke terowong.

Why is it “Telefon saya” and not “saya telefon”?

In Malay, possession is usually shown by putting the thing first, then the owner:

telefon saya = my phone (literally “phone I”)
buku kamu = your book

If you say saya telefon, you have:

saya = I
telefon = phone / to phone (verb, from English)

So saya telefon is understood as a clause meaning “I phone / I call”, not as “my phone”.

To say “my phone”, you need telefon saya (or a similar possessive structure like telefon bimbit saya).

Can I say “telefon bimbit saya” or “handphone saya” instead of “telefon saya”?

Yes, and each choice has a slightly different feel:

telefon saya
- Literally “my telephone”
- Neutral; in real life, context usually makes it clear it’s your mobile
telefon bimbit saya
- Literally “my mobile phone”
- More explicit, a bit more formal/standard
handphone saya / henfon saya
- Colloquial, from English “handphone”
- Very common in everyday Malaysian speech, less in formal writing

All of these are understandable. For a learner aiming at standard Malay, telefon saya or telefon bimbit saya are safest.

What exactly does “hilang” mean here? Is the phone lost, or only the signal?

Here, hilang means “to lose” or “to be lost / disappear”, and the thing that is lost is the internet signal, not the phone.

The structure is:

Telefon saya = my phone (subject)
hilang = lost
isyarat internet = internet signal (object)

So the meaning is: “My phone lost internet signal” / “The internet signal on my phone disappeared”.

Compare:

Dompet saya hilang.
My wallet is missing / My wallet got lost. (the wallet is gone)
Telefon saya hilang isyarat internet.
My phone lost its internet signal. (the signal is gone, not the phone)

If you wanted to say the phone itself is lost, you’d usually say:

Telefon saya hilang.
My phone is lost.

Could I say “Telefon saya kehilangan isyarat internet” instead of “hilang isyarat internet”?

Yes, that sentence is grammatical:

Telefon saya kehilangan isyarat internet ketika...

However, there is a nuance:

hilang isyarat internet
- More everyday and direct: “lost internet signal”
- Very natural in spoken Malay
kehilangan isyarat internet
- Sounds more formal or literary
- Emphasises “experiencing a loss of signal”
- You will see kehilangan more in writing:
  - kawasan yang kehilangan bekalan air = an area that lost water supply

In normal conversation, most people would say hilang line, hilang isyarat, or internet terputus rather than kehilangan.

There is no past tense marker like “did” or “-ed”. How do we know this happened in the past?

Malay usually doesn’t mark tense with verb endings the way English does. Instead, it relies on:

Time words
- tadi = just now
- semalam = yesterday
- minggu lepas = last week
- pada masa itu = at that time
Context
- If the whole conversation is about something that already happened, listeners assume past.

Your sentence:

Telefon saya hilang isyarat internet ketika bas masuk ke terowong.

is understood as past because it describes an event that occurred at a specific time (“when the bus entered the tunnel”).

If you want to make it very clear, you can add a time word:

Tadi, telefon saya hilang isyarat internet ketika bas masuk ke terowong.
Just now, my phone lost internet signal when the bus entered the tunnel.

What is the difference between “ketika”, “apabila”, “bila”, and “semasa”? They all seem to mean “when”.

All can relate to time, but their usage and tone differ:

ketika – “when / at the time (that)”
- Neutral to slightly formal
- Very common in both speech and writing
- Works well in your sentence
- Ketika bas masuk ke terowong...
apabila – “when / whenever”
- More formal, often used in writing, instructions, or conditional statements
- Can replace ketika here with almost no change in meaning:
  - Apabila bas masuk ke terowong, telefon saya hilang isyarat internet.
bila – “when” (especially in questions; also as a conjunction in speech)
- Very common in informal speech
- As a conjunction (not a question), some teachers consider it less formal than apabila/ketika:
  - Bila bas masuk ke terowong, telefon saya hilang isyarat internet. (very natural spoken Malay)
semasa – “during / while” (emphasises a time period)
- Often used with an action/state that lasts for a while
- More natural if you phrase it as a period:
  - Semasa bas berada dalam terowong, telefon saya hilang isyarat internet.
    While the bus was in the tunnel, my phone lost internet signal.

So, in this exact sentence, ketika is a good, standard choice.

Why is “bas” used instead of “bus”?

Bas is the standard Malay spelling for English “bus” in Malaysia and Brunei.

Regional notes:

Malaysia / Brunei: bas (standard), pronounced like “bus”
Indonesia: commonly bis, and English “bus” is also seen in some contexts
You may still see bus in Malaysia on signs or in English-influenced contexts, but in Malay sentences, bas is the correct standard form.

So in standard Malay, you write:

bas, not bus.

Why do we say “masuk ke terowong”? Is the preposition “ke” necessary?

masuk = to enter / to go in
ke = to, into (direction / destination)
terowong = tunnel

masuk ke terowong literally means “enter into the tunnel”.

About ke:

In standard / careful Malay, it is common to say:
- masuk ke terowong
- pergi ke sekolah (go to school)
- balik ke rumah (go back home)
In colloquial speech, ke is often dropped after certain verbs of movement:
- masuk terowong
- pergi sekolah
- balik rumah

So you might also hear:

Telefon saya hilang isyarat internet ketika bas masuk terowong. (very natural spoken Malay)

You can also say:

masuk ke dalam terowong = enter into the inside of the tunnel (slightly more emphatic/redundant)

For learning purposes, masuk ke terowong is a good, clear, standard form.

There is no word for “the” in “the bus” or “the tunnel”. How would I say “the bus” in Malay?

Malay generally does not have dedicated words for “a/an” or “the”. A bare noun can mean “a …” or “the …”, depending on context.

bas = a bus / the bus
terowong = a tunnel / the tunnel

If you want to make it clearly specific, you usually add:

itu = that
ini = this

after the noun:

bas itu = that bus / the bus (already known in the conversation)
terowong itu = that tunnel / the tunnel
bas ini = this bus

So, if you really needed “the bus” as something already known, you could say:

Telefon saya hilang isyarat internet ketika bas itu masuk ke terowong itu.
My phone lost internet signal when the bus entered the tunnel.

But in most real situations, bas and terowong alone are enough; context tells listeners you mean “the bus” and “the tunnel” from your journey.

Can I move the “when” part to the beginning: “Ketika bas masuk ke terowong, telefon saya hilang isyarat internet”?

Yes. Both word orders are correct:

Telefon saya hilang isyarat internet ketika bas masuk ke terowong.
Ketika bas masuk ke terowong, telefon saya hilang isyarat internet.

This is just clause order:

Clause A: Telefon saya hilang isyarat internet (main event)
Clause B: ketika bas masuk ke terowong (time / “when” clause)

In Malay (like in English), you can put the time clause at either:

the end: (My phone lost internet signal) when (the bus entered the tunnel).
the beginning (usually followed by a comma in writing):
(When the bus entered the tunnel), (my phone lost internet signal).

Many speakers find version 2 slightly more natural in narrative writing, but both are fine.

What is “terowong”? Is it different from Indonesian “terowongan”?

Yes, this is a regional difference:

Malay (Malaysia / Brunei): terowong = tunnel
Indonesian: terowongan = tunnel

They refer to the same thing. A Malay speaker will usually understand Indonesian terowongan, and Indonesians will understand terowong, but if you are aiming at:

Malaysian Malay → use terowong
Indonesian → use terowongan

Your sentence is in standard Malaysian Malay, so terowong is correct.

Is “isyarat internet” the usual way to say “internet signal”? Are there other common options?

isyarat = signal
So isyarat internet = internet signal, and it is correct.

However, in everyday Malaysian speech, people often use other words:

Common options:

isyarat internet
- Correct, somewhat neutral/formal
isyarat Wi-Fi / isyarat telefon
- When talking about Wi‑Fi or mobile signal
line internet / line (colloquial)
- Very common in speech:
  - Line hilang. = The line dropped.
  - Tak ada line. = No signal.
liputan (coverage)
- Tak ada liputan. = No coverage.
internet terputus = the internet got cut off / disconnected

In Indonesian, you’ll often hear:

sinyal internet (sinyal = signal)
jaringan internet (network)

So, for standard Malay, isyarat internet is fine; just be aware that colloquially many people say things like line internet hilang or line tak ada.

Can I use “aku” instead of “saya” here? For example, “Telefon aku hilang isyarat internet...”?

Grammatically, yes:

Telefon saya hilang isyarat internet...
Telefon aku hilang isyarat internet...

Both are correct, but the pronoun choice changes the tone:

saya
- Polite, neutral
- Safe in almost all situations (formal and informal)
aku
- Informal, intimate
- Used with close friends, family, or people of equal/lower status
- Can sound too casual or even rude with strangers, elders, or in formal settings

Also notice that:

With saya: telefon saya
With aku: telefon aku

So, if you are talking to friends:

Telefon aku hilang isyarat internet ketika bas masuk ke terowong.

If you are writing or speaking politely:

Telefon saya hilang isyarat internet ketika bas masuk ke terowong.