Learn Hardcore Malay: Kami guna dadu kecil dalam permainan papan itu.

In the sentence Kami guna dadu kecil dalam permainan papan itu, kami tells you that the speaker is talking about their group, but the person being spoken to is not part of that group.

If the speaker wanted to include the listener (for example, “We (you and I) use small dice in that board game”), they would say kita instead of kami.

Is guna the same as menggunakan? Which one is more natural?

Both guna and menggunakan mean to use.

guna is shorter, more informal/colloquial, very common in everyday spoken Malay.
menggunakan is the standard formal verb form, common in writing, news, and more formal speech.

In normal conversation, Kami guna dadu kecil… sounds very natural.
In formal writing, you would more likely see Kami menggunakan dadu kecil dalam permainan papan itu.

Can you leave out kami and just say Guna dadu kecil dalam permainan papan itu?

Yes, you can. Malay often drops the subject when it is clear from context.

Kami guna dadu kecil dalam permainan papan itu.
→ Full sentence, explicitly says we.

Guna dadu kecil dalam permainan papan itu.
→ More like a general statement or instruction: “(We/You/They) use small dice in that board game.”

Without kami, the subject becomes ambiguous and is understood from context. In instructions or rules, dropping the subject is very common.

Why is kecil after dadu? Why not before, like in English “small dice”?

In Malay, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.

dadu kecil = small dice
rumah besar = big house
buku baru = new book

So dadu kecil is simply the normal noun–adjective order in Malay. Putting the adjective before the noun (like kecil dadu) would be ungrammatical.

Does dadu mean “die” (one) or “dice” (more than one)?

dadu by itself does not mark singular or plural. It just means die/dice in general.

dadu = die / dice (general, number not specified)

If you want to be explicit:

sebiji dadu = one die
dua biji dadu = two dice

In the original sentence, dadu kecil could mean either “a small die” or “small dice”, depending on context.

Should there be a classifier like sebiji before dadu here?

You can add a classifier, but it’s not required.

With classifier:

Kami guna sebiji dadu kecil… = We use one small die…
Kami guna dua biji dadu kecil… = We use two small dice…

Without classifier:

Kami guna dadu kecil… = We use small dice / a small die (number not specified).

If the exact number matters (e.g., in game rules), native speakers will usually add the classifier and a number. Otherwise, saying just dadu kecil is fine.

What does dalam mean here? Could I use di or pada instead?

dalam basically means in / inside / within and is used here in the abstract sense of in a game / within the game.

dalam permainan papan itu ≈ “in that board game”

Using di here (di permainan papan itu) would sound unnatural; di is mostly for physical locations (on, at, in a place).
pada is also not natural in this context.

For “in a game” or “within a process/activity”, dalam is the normal choice:

dalam permainan = in a game
dalam mesyuarat = in a meeting
dalam cerita itu = in that story

Why is itu at the end of permainan papan itu instead of before, like “itu permainan papan”?

itu can appear in two main positions, with slightly different uses:

itu before the noun: itu permainan papan
- More like “that board game (over there / previously mentioned)”
- Often points to something specific in the situation.
itu after the noun phrase: permainan papan itu
- Functions a bit like “the / that”, making it a specific, known board game.
- This is the normal way to say “that particular board game / the board game (we both know about)”.

In your sentence, permainan papan itu is “that (specific) board game” that speaker and listener already know about.

Is permainan papan the standard way to say “board game”? Are there other ways?

Yes, permainan papan is the standard and widely understood term for board game. Literally:

permainan = game
papan = board

So permainan papan = board game.

You may also hear:

permintaan loanword “board game” in some informal contexts (e.g., permainan board game), but permainan papan is correct standard Malay and sounds natural in both speech and writing.

How is tense expressed here? How do I know if it’s past, present, or future?

Malay verbs do not change form for tense. guna stays the same for past, present, and future.

The sentence Kami guna dadu kecil dalam permainan papan itu could mean:

We use small dice in that board game. (habitual/present)
We used small dice in that board game. (past, understood from context)
We will use small dice in that board game. (future, with context or time word)

If you really need to mark time clearly, you add time words or aspect markers:

Semalam kami guna… = Yesterday we used…
Esok kami akan guna… = Tomorrow we will use…
Kami sedang guna… = We are using… (right now)

Can I say Kami menggunakan dadu kecil dalam permainan papan itu instead? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, you can.

Kami guna dadu kecil…
Kami menggunakan dadu kecil…

Both mean the same thing: We use small dice…

The difference is mainly in style:

guna → more informal, everyday speech.
menggunakan → more formal, sounds more like written or careful language (e.g., instructions, official texts).

Meaning-wise, they are equivalent in this sentence.

Is there any difference between guna and pakai for “use” here?

Both guna and pakai can mean to use, and they overlap a lot in casual speech:

Kami guna dadu kecil…
Kami pakai dadu kecil…

Both are understandable and often used.

Subtle tendencies:

guna is a more general “use” (use a method, use a tool, use a word).
pakai often has a sense of wear/use on the body (clothes, glasses), but in many regions it’s also used generally, like pakai kereta (“use a car”) or pakai duit (“use money”).

In this context, guna is slightly more neutral and more widely accepted, but pakai would not sound strange in many dialects.