Learn Hardcore Malay: Seorang pengunjung bertanya sama ada galeri itu buka pada hari Ahad. - A visitor asks whether that gallery is open on Sundays.

Without seorang, just pengunjung can mean “visitor / visitors” in a more general sense, without specifying number. Adding seorang makes it clear that we’re talking about one specific visitor.

You could also say:

Beberapa orang pengunjung = several visitors
Para pengunjung = the visitors (as a group, formal)

What is the nuance of pengunjung? Is it the same as “visitor” in English?

Yes, pengunjung corresponds closely to English “visitor”, especially in the sense of someone who visits a place like a gallery, museum, or website.

Root: kunjung = to visit
pengunjung = the person who visits → visitor

Other related words:

pelawat (Malaysia): also “visitor”, often for people visiting someone (e.g. hospital visitors), but overlaps with pengunjung.
lawatan: a visit (noun), e.g. lawatan sekolah = school visit.

In this sentence, pengunjung is very natural for someone visiting a galeri (gallery).

What’s the difference between bertanya and tanya? Why use bertanya here?

Both relate to “ask a question,” but:

tanya is the base word, often used in informal speech:
- Dia tanya saya. = He/She asked me. (informal)
bertanya is the “proper” verb form, slightly more formal and neutral:
- Dia bertanya kepada saya. = He/She asked me.

In a full, neutral sentence like:

Seorang pengunjung bertanya sama ada…

bertanya sounds more natural than plain tanya. In everyday casual conversation, you might hear:

Ada pengunjung tanya, galeri tu buka tak hari Ahad?

So: bertanya = good for standard Malay, writing, and polite/neutral speech.

What does sama ada mean, and how is it used?

Sama ada means “whether” (and often also works like “if” in English when you’re talking about two possibilities).

In this sentence:

…bertanya sama ada galeri itu buka pada hari Ahad.
= “…asked whether the gallery is open on Sunday.”

You typically use sama ada before a clause representing the two alternatives, even if only one is said explicitly and the other is understood:

Saya tak pasti sama ada dia akan datang.
I’m not sure whether he/she will come.
Dia tanya sama ada kita sudah makan.
He/She asked whether we have eaten.

If you continue with both options, you can say:

sama ada… atau… = whether… or…
- Dia nak tahu sama ada galeri itu buka pada hari Ahad atau tidak.
  He/She wants to know whether the gallery is open on Sunday or not.

Can I replace sama ada with jika or kalau?

Often you can, but the nuance changes:

sama ada = whether, used when asking about two alternatives (yes/no, A/B).
jika / kalau = if, more about condition.

In this sentence, sama ada is the most natural, because the visitor is checking which of two possibilities is true (open or not):

✔ Seorang pengunjung bertanya sama ada galeri itu buka pada hari Ahad.
✔ Seorang pengunjung bertanya kalau galeri itu buka pada hari Ahad.
(colloquial; understood, but sounds more like casual speech)
jika here sounds a bit off, because it suggests “asked if (on the condition that) the gallery is open…”, which is less natural.

So: for reported yes/no questions, sama ada is your safest, most standard choice.

Why is it galeri itu and not just galeri? What does itu add?

Itu literally means “that”, but very often it works like “the” in English, marking something as specific/known.

galeri = a gallery / galleries in general
galeri itu = that/the gallery (already known or visible)

In this sentence, galeri itu implies:

a particular gallery, already understood from context (e.g. the one they are standing in front of, or one mentioned earlier).

If you simply said:

…sama ada galeri buka pada hari Ahad,
it would sound more generic, like “whether galleries are open on Sunday,” which is not what’s meant here.

Why is it buka and not dibuka or terbuka?

All three are related to “open,” but used differently:

buka (root verb/adjective):
- as a verb: to open
  Dia buka pintu. = He/she opens the door.
- as a state: open (for business)
  Kedai itu buka. = The shop is open.
dibuka (passive “is opened” / “is open” – more formal):
- Kedai itu dibuka pada pukul 9 pagi.
  The shop is opened / open at 9 a.m.
terbuka:
- physically open, or “not closed,” “open (not shut)”
  Tingkap itu terbuka. = The window is open.
- also “open-minded”: fikiran terbuka.

For business hours, in everyday Malay, buka is very common:

Galeri itu buka pada hari Ahad. = The gallery is open on Sunday.

You’d use dibuka in more formal notices or descriptions:

Galeri itu dibuka setiap hari Ahad. = The gallery is open every Sunday. (formal/expository style)

How do we know the sentence is past tense (“asked”), since there’s no tense marker?

Malay doesn’t usually mark tense with verb changes. Bertanya itself has no past or present form. It can mean “ask(s)/asked” depending on context.

Seorang pengunjung bertanya… can be:

“A visitor asked…” (past)
“A visitor asks…” (present)
Even “A visitor is asking…” (present continuous)

We infer the time from:

surrounding sentences,
time expressions (yesterday, later, just now),
narrative context.

If you really want to signal past, you might add tadi (just now/earlier) or telah/sudah (have/has, formal-ish):

Tadi, seorang pengunjung bertanya sama ada…
Earlier, a visitor asked whether…
Seorang pengunjung telah bertanya sama ada…
A visitor has asked whether… (formal/written)

Why is there pada before hari Ahad? Can I omit it?

Pada is a preposition that, among other uses, is used before days and dates to mean “on”:

pada hari Ahad = on Sunday
pada hari Isnin = on Monday
pada 1 Januari = on 1st January

In everyday speech, people sometimes drop pada:

Galeri itu buka hari Ahad.
The gallery is open Sunday.

In standard / careful Malay, especially in writing, pada hari Ahad is preferred. In your sentence, pada is correct and natural.

So:

with “pada” → more formal/standard
without “pada” → casual but very common in speech

Does pada hari Ahad mean “on Sunday (this coming one)” or “on Sundays (in general)”?

By itself, pada hari Ahad is ambiguous; it can mean:

On a specific Sunday (usually clear from wider context), or
On Sundays in general (as a weekly pattern).

To make it clearer:

On Sundays (in general):
- pada setiap hari Ahad = on every Sunday
- setiap hari Ahad = every Sunday
This Sunday:
- pada hari Ahad ini = this Sunday
- pada Ahad ini (you can drop hari in speech)

So your sentence in context could be:

“…asked whether the gallery is open on Sundays (in general)”
or
“…asked whether the gallery is open this Sunday”
depending on the rest of the conversation.

How would I turn this reported question into a direct question in Malay?

Reported (indirect) question:

Seorang pengunjung bertanya sama ada galeri itu buka pada hari Ahad.

Common direct-question versions:

More formal/standard:

Adakah galeri itu buka pada hari Ahad?
(literally: “Is the gallery open on Sunday?”)

Neutral/informal:

Galeri itu buka pada hari Ahad tak?
Galeri itu buka hari Ahad ke? (Malaysia, colloquial)

Note:

In Malay, you usually keep normal word order and add a question word/particle (adakah, tak, ke) instead of inverting like English (“Is the gallery…?”).

How would I say “Some visitors asked whether the gallery is open on Sunday”?

You can change seorang pengunjung (one visitor) to a plural expression:

Beberapa orang pengunjung bertanya sama ada galeri itu buka pada hari Ahad.
= Some visitors asked whether the gallery is open on Sunday.

Alternatives:

Para pengunjung bertanya… = The visitors asked… (as a group, more formal)
Ramai pengunjung bertanya… = Many visitors asked…

How can I add who they asked, like “A visitor asked me whether the gallery is open on Sunday”?

You can add kepada (= to) plus the person:

Seorang pengunjung bertanya kepada saya sama ada galeri itu buka pada hari Ahad.
A visitor asked me whether the gallery is open on Sunday.

Other examples:

…bertanya kepada kakitangan galeri… = asked the gallery staff
…bertanya kepada penjaga kaunter… = asked the counter attendant