Learn Hardcore Malay: Adakah awak masih lapar sekarang?

Adakah – a question marker used mainly in more formal Malay, often for yes/no questions. It doesn’t have a perfect 1‑to‑1 English equivalent, but it plays a role a bit like “Is/Are/Do/Does” at the start of a question.
awak – you (informal, neutral).
masih – still (indicates a continuing state).
lapar – hungry.
sekarang – now.

So the structure is essentially: Question-marker + you + still + hungry + now? → Are you still hungry now?

Is Adakah necessary here, or can I just say Awak masih lapar sekarang??

You can absolutely say Awak masih lapar sekarang? in everyday conversation.

With Adakah:
Adakah awak masih lapar sekarang? – sounds more formal, careful, or written.
Without Adakah:
Awak masih lapar sekarang? – sounds natural in speech, neutral, and commonly used.

In spoken Malay, people usually drop adakah and rely on word order + rising intonation to show it’s a question.

So:

Formal / written: Adakah awak masih lapar sekarang?
Normal conversational: Awak masih lapar sekarang?

What exactly does Adakah do in this sentence?

Adakah is a question-forming particle used mainly for yes/no questions, especially in:

Formal writing (news, essays, official letters)
Polite or careful speech
Exams / textbooks

Functionally, it:

Signals a question (often yes/no).
Often appears at the beginning of the sentence.
Can sometimes be thought of as adding “Is it that…?” or “Do/Does…?” at the start.

So Adakah awak masih lapar sekarang? can be loosely felt as:

“Is it (the case that) you are still hungry now?”

In casual speech, people normally omit it and just say:

Awak masih lapar sekarang?

How would I ask this in the most natural, casual way that people really use?

Very natural, casual options include:

Awak masih lapar tak?
– “Are you still hungry?” (No need for sekarang; tak marks it as a yes/no question.)
Lapar lagi tak?
– Literally “Hungry again/not?” → Naturally: “Still hungry?”
Short, commonly used with friends/family.
Masih lapar ke?
– ke is a casual question particle, like “?” in speech.
→ “Still hungry?”
With close friends, you might drop awak:
- Masih lapar tak?
- Lapar lagi?

Adakah awak masih lapar sekarang? is correct, but can sound a bit formal or textbook-like in everyday talk.

What is the difference between masih and lagi in this context?

Both can relate to “still” in this context, but they have slightly different flavors:

masih
- Core meaning: still (continuing state).
- Emphasizes continuity of a condition.
- Example: Saya masih lapar. – “I’m still hungry.”
lagi
Has a few uses:
1. “again / more” –
  Saya nak makan lagi. – “I want to eat more / again.”
2. In questions like Lapar lagi tak?, it effectively means “still”:
  - Lapar lagi tak? – “Still hungry or not?”

In your sentence:

masih lapar = explicitly “still hungry”.
lapar lagi (in a question) = very natural way to ask “Still hungry?” in speech.

So both are okay, but masih lapar sounds a bit more neutral/standard, while lapar lagi is very common in casual talk.

Can I move sekarang to a different position, like Sekarang awak masih lapar??

Yes, sekarang is flexible:

Adakah awak masih lapar sekarang?
Awak masih lapar sekarang?
Sekarang awak masih lapar?

All are grammatically fine and understandable.

Subtle feel:

Awak masih lapar sekarang? – neutral; “Are you still hungry now?”
Sekarang awak masih lapar? – can sound like surprise/contrast, as in:
“Now (of all times), you’re still hungry?” – maybe after the person has already eaten.

Malay allows time words like sekarang, tadi, nanti at:

the beginning: Sekarang saya sibuk.
the end: Saya sibuk sekarang.

Both positions are common; meaning is essentially the same, with slight emphasis differences.

Where is the word for “are” in this sentence? Why isn’t there a verb like “to be”?

Malay generally does not use a separate verb “to be” (am/is/are) when linking a subject to an adjective or simple description.

Awak lapar. – literally “You hungry.” → “You are hungry.”
Awak tinggi. – “You tall.” → “You are tall.”

In Adakah awak masih lapar sekarang?:

There is no direct equivalent of “are”.
The sense of “are” is implied by the structure:
you + still + hungry + now.

The only extra element is Adakah, which is not “are”, but a question marker for yes/no questions.

So Malay expresses “You are still hungry now?” simply as:

Awak masih lapar sekarang?
without needing a separate “are” verb.

What’s the difference between awak, kamu, and anda for “you”? Which one should I use?

All three can mean “you”, but their tone and usage differ:

awak
- Very common in Peninsular Malaysia.
- Informal/neutral, often used between:
  - friends
  - peers
  - sometimes couples
- In some regions, it can even feel a bit intimate.
kamu
- More common in Indonesia and some Malaysian contexts (e.g., textbooks, some regions).
- In Malaysia, it can sound less polite or slightly distant/“talking down” depending on tone and context.
- Safer for stories, songs, or with kids, but with adults in Malaysia, use with care.
anda
- Formal/polite, somewhat impersonal.
- Common in:
  - advertisements
  - instructions
  - public announcements
- Sounds strange in very casual conversation with friends.

For a learner in Malaysia, a safe rule:

With friends / peers: awak
In neutral but polite public-facing language: anda
Use kamu only when you’re sure it’s appropriate in that setting.

How would someone typically answer this question in Malay?

Some natural answers:

If you are still hungry:

Ya, saya masih lapar. – Yes, I’m still hungry. (polite/neutral)
Masih lapar. – Still hungry. (casual, short)
Lapar lagi. – (I’m) still hungry.

If you are not hungry anymore:

Tak, saya dah kenyang. – No, I’m already full.
Dah kenyang. – (I’m) already full. (casual)
Tak lapar dah. – Not hungry anymore.

Key words:

ya – yes
tak / tidak – no / not (tak is the common spoken form)
dah / sudah – already
kenyang – full (as in “not hungry”)

Is Adakah used only with awak, or can it go with other subjects?

Adakah can be used with any subject, not just awak. It attaches to the whole sentence, not the pronoun.

Examples:

Adakah dia masih lapar sekarang?
– Is he/she still hungry now?
Adakah mereka sudah sampai?
– Have they already arrived?
Adakah cuaca panas hari ini?
– Is the weather hot today?
Adakah ini buku awak?
– Is this your book?

So the pattern is generally:

Adakah + [subject] + [rest of the statement]?

What’s the difference between Adakah and the -kah ending, like in laparkah?

-kah is a suffix used to form questions (or emphasize the questioned part), while Adakah is a separate word.

Adakah as a separate word:
- Goes in front of the sentence.
- Typical for yes/no questions in formal style.
- Example: Adakah awak masih lapar sekarang?
-kah suffix:
- Attaches to a word inside the sentence, often the focus.
- Also more formal / literary.
- Example possibilities:
  - Masih laparkah awak sekarang?
  - Awak masih laparkah sekarang?

These are grammatically fine but sound formal or literary. In everyday conversation, people usually don’t use -kah and rarely use Adakah; they just say:

Awak masih lapar sekarang?
with a questioning tone.

Is this sentence more Malaysian or Indonesian? Would Indonesians say it the same way?

The sentence Adakah awak masih lapar sekarang? is clearly Malaysian Malay:

awak is strongly associated with Malaysia.
Adakah is also more typical in formal Malaysian Malay.

In Indonesian, a natural equivalent would be something like:

Apakah kamu masih lapar sekarang?
or more casually:
Kamu masih lapar sekarang?

Key differences:

awak (Malaysia) ≈ kamu / Anda (Indonesia)
Indonesians very rarely use adakah; they use apakah more.

So the structure is shared across the language, but the pronoun and question marker show that this particular sentence is in Malaysian Malay.