Learn Hardcore Malay: Saya suka galeri seni dekat kampus itu. - I like the art gallery near that campus.

Saya means I / me and is the neutral and polite first-person pronoun in Malay. It’s appropriate in most situations: talking to strangers, in class, in writing, and in formal or semi-formal contexts.

Other options:

Aku – casual, used with close friends, family, or in informal speech.
Patik, beta, etc. – very specialized, royal or ceremonial; not relevant here.

So in a textbook-style sentence or in everyday polite speech, Saya suka galeri seni dekat kampus itu is exactly what you’d expect.

Can I drop saya and just say Suka galeri seni dekat kampus itu?

Grammatically, yes: Malay often drops pronouns when the subject is clear from context.

However:

Saya suka … is clearer and more standard, especially for learners.
Suka galeri seni dekat kampus itu sounds more informal, like spoken Malay where context has already made it obvious who is speaking.

For learning and for writing, keep saya. In casual conversation, you will hear subject pronouns dropped quite often.

Does suka mean “to like” or “to love”? Can it also mean “often/usually”?

Suka mainly means to like.

Saya suka galeri seni – I like the art gallery.
Saya suka teh – I like tea.

Depending on context and tone, it can sometimes feel like mild love (as in being very fond of something), but it is not as strong as romantic love.

Suka can also appear in patterns that mean usually / tend to, for example:

Saya suka bangun awal. – I usually wake up early / I tend to wake up early.

In your sentence, suka is simply like.

Why is it galeri seni and not seni galeri?

In Malay, the typical order for a “X of Y” noun phrase is:

Main noun + describing noun

So:

galeri seni = gallery (of) art → art gallery
- galeri = gallery (main noun)
- seni = art (describes the gallery)

If you said seni galeri, it would be understood as the art of (the) gallery, which sounds wrong or at least unnatural as a name for a place. So galeri seni is the correct and natural form.

What exactly does dekat mean here? Is it “near” or “at”?

Literally, dekat means near / close to.

So:

dekat kampus itu = near that campus / close to that campus.

In everyday speech, especially in Malaysia, dekat is often used a bit more broadly and can overlap with at, so people might understand it as:

near that campus, or
at that campus / on that campus

But the core idea is “near / close to”. If you want a very clear “at”, you can use di:

di kampus itu – at that campus.

Your original sentence is still perfectly natural with dekat.

Do I need dengan after dekat? For example: dekat dengan kampus itu?

Both are correct:

dekat kampus itu
dekat dengan kampus itu

meaning near that campus.

Details:

In spoken Malay, especially informal, people often say dekat kampus itu (without dengan).
In more formal writing, you may see dekat dengan kampus itu.

For everyday use, dekat kampus itu is fine and widely accepted.

What does kampus mean exactly? Is there any difference from universiti?

Kampus means campus – the physical area of a university or college (the grounds, buildings, etc.).

Universiti means university – the institution.

So:

kampus universiti – the university campus
dekat kampus itu – near that campus (the physical place)

In your sentence, we’re talking about the location of the art gallery in relation to a campus area.

What does itu do at the end? Why is it placed after kampus?

Itu is a demonstrative meaning that (farther away, or already known in context). Placing it after a noun makes the noun definite:

kampus – a campus
kampus itu – that campus / the campus (that one)

Word order:

Malay usually puts itu after the noun it describes:
- kampus itu – that campus
- galeri itu – that gallery
- budak itu – that kid

So dekat kampus itu is literally near that campus. The itu tells you it’s a specific campus, probably one both speaker and listener know about.

Can I move itu to describe the gallery instead, like “that art gallery near the campus”?

Yes, but the meaning shifts slightly depending on where you put itu:

Saya suka galeri seni dekat kampus itu.
- Most naturally: I like the art gallery near that campus.
- Itu is attached to kampus → “that campus”.
Saya suka galeri seni itu dekat kampus.
- More like: I like that art gallery near the campus.
- Now itu is attached to galeri seni → “that art gallery”.

Both are grammatical, but they refer to different things as “that”:

Version 1: “that campus”
Version 2: “that art gallery”

How would I say “I really like the art gallery near that campus”?

You can add an intensifier such as sangat or begitu.

Common options:

Saya sangat suka galeri seni dekat kampus itu.
– I really / very much like the art gallery near that campus.
Saya suka galeri seni dekat kampus itu sangat.
– Also heard in speech; more colloquial / informal order.

For learners, Saya sangat suka … is the safest and clearest pattern.

Is there any plural marking in galeri seni? How do I say “art galleries”?

Malay generally does not mark plural on nouns, so:

galeri seni = art gallery / art galleries (depending on context)
kampus = campus / campuses

If you really need to show plural explicitly, you can:

Use a number:
- dua galeri seni – two art galleries
Use banyak (many / a lot of):
- banyak galeri seni dekat kampus itu – many art galleries near that campus

In your sentence, galeri seni is understood as singular because we normally think of a specific known gallery in that context.

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral? How would it sound in casual speech?

Saya suka galeri seni dekat kampus itu. is neutral and perfectly natural in speech and writing.

In more casual / colloquial Malaysian speech, you might hear:

Aku suka galeri seni dekat kampus tu.
- aku instead of saya
- tu instead of itu (colloquial form)

Meaning is the same, but the tone is more relaxed and informal.