Learn Hardcore Malay: Kami beratur di depan kaunter bayaran. - We line up in front of the payment counter.

In Kami beratur di depan kaunter bayaran, the speaker is talking about a group that does not include the listener (for example, “My family and I were lining up…”).

If the speaker wanted to include the listener (for example, speaking to a friend who was also there in the queue), they could say:

Kita beratur di depan kaunter bayaran.
= We (you and I) are lining up in front of the payment counter.

What does beratur mean exactly? Is it like “queue” or “line up”? Is it a verb?

Beratur is an intransitive verb meaning:

to line up / to queue / to stand in a line

It comes from the root noun atur (arrangement, order), with the prefix ber-, which often makes “to be in/by having X” type verbs.

So:

beratur = “to arrange oneself in order / to form a line”

You do not use a direct object with beratur:

✅ Kami beratur. = We line up.
❌ Kami beratur barisan. (ungrammatical)

If you want to say what you are lining up for, you add an extra phrase:

Kami beratur untuk membayar.
= We line up to pay.

Synonyms you may see:

berbaris – also “to form a line / to stand in formation”, often used for more formal or military-style lines, but can overlap with beratur.

There is no “am/are/were” in the Malay sentence. How do I know the tense of beratur?

Malay verbs like beratur do not change form for tense. The bare verb can mean past, present, or future, depending on context.

Kami beratur di depan kaunter bayaran could be:

We are lining up… (present)
We were lining up… (past)
We will line up… (future, in the right context)

If you need to be explicit, you add time words or aspect markers:

Tadi kami beratur di depan kaunter bayaran.
Just now/earlier we were lining up in front of the payment counter.
Sekarang kami beratur di depan kaunter bayaran.
Right now we are lining up in front of the payment counter.
Nanti kami akan beratur di depan kaunter bayaran.
Later we will line up in front of the payment counter.

Notice beratur itself never changes.

What is the function of di in di depan? Can I leave it out and just say depan kaunter bayaran?

Di is a preposition meaning at / in / on (location).
Depan is a noun meaning front.

Together, di depan literally means “at the front” / “in front (of)”.

Kami beratur di depan kaunter bayaran.
= We line up at the front of the payment counter.

In standard written Malay, you generally keep di:

✅ di depan kaunter bayaran (standard)
❌ depan kaunter bayaran (too casual in formal writing)

In informal spoken Malay, people often drop di:

Kami beratur depan kaunter bayaran. (very common in speech)

So: yes, in speech or casual writing, depan kaunter bayaran is fine, but in formal or careful Malay, use di depan.

What’s the difference between depan and hadapan? I’ve seen both.

Both depan and hadapan mean front / in front and are often interchangeable.

depan → more informal, very common in everyday speech
hadapan → slightly more formal or written style, used in signs, announcements, documents

Examples:

Kami beratur di depan kaunter bayaran.
Kami beratur di hadapan kaunter bayaran.

Both are acceptable and mean the same thing here. In conversation, depan is more natural; in official notices, you might see hadapan.

How is kaunter bayaran structured? Why is it “counter payment” instead of “payment counter”?

Malay noun phrases usually have this order:

Head noun + describing noun/adjective

So:

kaunter = counter
bayaran = payment (the act or amount of paying)

kaunter bayaran literally = counter [for] payment
→ “payment counter / cashier counter”

This pattern is extremely common:

stesen bas = bus station (station [for] buses)
kad kredit = credit card (card [of] credit)
kaunter tiket = ticket counter

So it feels backwards from English, but is regular in Malay.

What’s the difference between bayaran and pembayaran, and is kaunter pembayaran also correct?

Both come from the root bayar (to pay):

bayaran
- usually: payment, fee, charge
- can refer to the amount or the act, often in everyday context
pembayaran
- a more formal noun for the process/act of payment
- often in official or written contexts, documents, forms

Both kaunter bayaran and kaunter pembayaran are used:

kaunter bayaran
- common, neutral, everyday
kaunter pembayaran
- a bit more formal; often appears on signs, receipts, or in banks, offices

They both mean basically “payment counter”, and in this sentence either would fit.

Could I say kaunter juruwang instead of kaunter bayaran?

Yes, but the nuance is slightly different:

juruwang = cashier (the person)
kaunter juruwang = the cashier’s counter / the cashier counter
kaunter bayaran = payment counter (focus on the function: paying)

All can refer to the same physical place in a shop or supermarket, but:

If you’re emphasizing the person (cashier), kaunter juruwang fits.
If you’re emphasizing the action (paying), kaunter bayaran / kaunter pembayaran fits.

Your original sentence is most naturally with kaunter bayaran or kaunter pembayaran.

Can the word order be changed, like Kami di depan kaunter bayaran beratur?

You can move phrases around in Malay for emphasis, but not all orders sound equally natural.

Most natural and neutral:

Kami beratur di depan kaunter bayaran.

Possible but more marked or slightly awkward in everyday speech:

Kami di depan kaunter bayaran beratur.

This second version is grammatically understandable, but the usual pattern is:

[Subject] + [Verb] + [Place/Time]

So it’s better to keep:

Kami (subject) + beratur (verb) + di depan kaunter bayaran (place).

How would I say “We are lining up in front of the payment counter now” very explicitly?

You can add sekarang (now) to mark the present time clearly:

Sekarang kami beratur di depan kaunter bayaran.
= Now we are lining up in front of the payment counter.

Or put sekarang at the end:

Kami beratur di depan kaunter bayaran sekarang.

Both are acceptable. Placing sekarang at the start makes the time more prominent.

Can I use berbaris instead of beratur in this sentence?

You can, but there is a nuance:

beratur → to queue, line up to do something (e.g. pay, buy tickets)
berbaris → to form a row/line, often used for formal lines, parades, school assemblies, etc.

At a payment counter, beratur is more natural:

✅ Kami beratur di depan kaunter bayaran. (best choice)
Possible but less typical: Kami berbaris di depan kaunter bayaran.

Use berbaris more for:

Murid-murid berbaris di padang.
= The students line up (stand in rows) on the field.

How is beratur pronounced? Where is the stress?

Approximate pronunciation:

beratur → /bə-RA-too(r)/

Syllables: be-ra-tur

ber- → bə: a short, relaxed “uh” sound (schwa), like the ‘a’ in “ago”
ra → “rah”, clear ‘a’ as in “father”
tur → “toor”, but the final r can be very light or almost dropped in some accents

Stress is usually on the second syllable: be-RA-tur.

So it sounds roughly like bə-RA-toor.

Is the whole sentence formal or informal? Can I use it in everyday conversation?

Kami beratur di depan kaunter bayaran. is neutral and standard, so you can use it:

in everyday conversation
in writing
in slightly formal contexts

In very casual spoken Malay, people might shorten it:

Kita beratur depan kaunter bayaran. (using kita and dropping di)
or even Kita beratur depan kaunter. (if it’s already clear which counter)

But your original sentence is perfectly natural and correct in most situations.