Learn Hardcore Malay: Saya semak jadual waktu di telefon setiap pagi. - I check the timetable on the phone every morning.

Saya semak jadual waktu di telefon setiap pagi.

I check the timetable on the phone every morning.

Breakdown of Saya semak jadual waktu di telefon setiap pagi.

Elon.io is an online learning platform

We have an entire course teaching Malay grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Malay now

Questions & Answers about Saya semak jadual waktu di telefon setiap pagi.

Why is there no word like “am” or a tense marker? How do we know this means I check (habit) and not I checked or I will check?

Malay does not mark tense the way English does. Verbs like semak do not change form for past, present, or future.

Time and aspect are normally shown by:

Time words: setiap pagi (every morning), semalam (yesterday), esok (tomorrow), etc.
Context.

In Saya semak jadual waktu di telefon setiap pagi, the phrase setiap pagi clearly shows a repeated, habitual action. In English, we express this with the present simple: I check the schedule on my phone every morning.

The same Malay sentence could mean past or future in a different context if the time expression or context changes. Here, setiap pagi strongly points to a present habit.

What exactly does semak mean here? Is it the same as periksa, lihat, or tengok?

In this sentence, semak means to check / to review / to go through to make sure it’s correct or as expected.

Rough comparisons:

semak – to check, review, verify something (e.g. schedule, document, answers).
- Saya semak jadual waktu. – I check the timetable.
- Cikgu semak kerja rumah. – The teacher checks the homework.
periksa / memeriksa – to inspect, examine thoroughly (often more formal or detailed).
- Doktor memeriksa pesakit. – The doctor examines the patient.
- Saya memeriksa laporan kewangan. – I examine the financial report.
lihat – to see / look at (neutral, very common).
- Saya lihat jadual waktu. – I look at the timetable. (doesn’t emphasize verifying)
tengok – to look / watch (more colloquial/spoken).
- Saya tengok jadual waktu. – I look at the timetable.

So semak includes the idea of checking to confirm something, not just casually glancing at it. For your sentence, semak is very natural.

What is the difference between semak and menyemak? Which one is better here?

Both semak and menyemak can be used as verbs meaning to check / to review, but they differ slightly in feel and register:

semak
- Base (root) form.
- Very common in speech and also fine in many written contexts.
- Often sounds a bit more casual or neutral.
menyemak
- With the meN- verb prefix, which tends to sound more formal.
- Very common in formal writing, official documents, exams, etc.
- Sometimes used when the action is more deliberate or “proper”.

In your sentence, both are grammatically correct:

Saya semak jadual waktu di telefon setiap pagi.
Saya menyemak jadual waktu di telefon setiap pagi.

For everyday spoken Malay, Saya semak… is perfectly natural. In a formal report or essay, Saya menyemak… might look a bit more “standard” or formal, but semak is still acceptable in many contexts.

Does semak have any other meanings I should be aware of?

Yes. There are two common, unrelated meanings:

semak (verb) – to check, review, verify.
- This is the one you have in your sentence.
semak (noun/adjective) – bush / undergrowth / scrub; also “messy” or “cluttered” in some slangy use.
- semak samun – bushes/undergrowth.
- Colloquially, someone might say rumah dia semak meaning “his/her house is messy/cluttered”.

They are different words that just happen to have the same spelling. Context makes it clear which one is meant. In Saya semak jadual waktu, it is obviously the verb to check.

What does jadual waktu mean, and how is it different from just jadual?

jadual by itself means schedule / timetable / table (of data).
waktu means time.

jadual waktu literally means time schedule, and is often used for:

class timetables
train/bus timetables
work schedules

In practice:

jadual alone is usually enough in everyday speech.
- Saya semak jadual di telefon. – I check the schedule on the phone.
jadual waktu can sound a bit more specific (a timetable tied to times of day) or a bit more formal, and is very common in school and official contexts.

In your sentence, you could say either:

Saya semak jadual di telefon setiap pagi.
Saya semak jadual waktu di telefon setiap pagi.

Both are acceptable; jadual waktu just makes it extra clear it’s a time-based schedule.

Why is it di telefon? Could I say pada telefon or dalam telefon instead?

The usual, natural choice here is di telefon.

di – “at / in / on” (general location or medium).
- di telefon can mean “on the phone / on my phone (as a device or medium)”.
- Very common for things accessed via the phone:
  - Saya baca berita di telefon. – I read the news on my phone.
dalam – “in / inside”.
- dalam telefon literally means “inside the phone”.
- People do say things like:
  - Nombor dia ada dalam telefon saya. – His number is in my phone.
    Here, “in my phone’s memory” is understood.
pada – “on / at / to” (more abstract/grammatical, often used with pronouns or certain set phrases).
- pada saya – in my opinion / to me.
- pada masa itu – at that time.
- pada telefon is technically possible but sounds odd or overly literal for this meaning.

For I check the timetable on my phone, di telefon is the most natural and common choice. dalam telefon can work when focusing on something stored inside the phone, but di telefon is the usual default.

Can I move setiap pagi to the beginning of the sentence, like in English “Every morning, I check…”?

Yes. Malay word order is flexible for time expressions. All of these are correct:

Saya semak jadual waktu di telefon setiap pagi.
Setiap pagi, saya semak jadual waktu di telefon.
Saya setiap pagi semak jadual waktu di telefon. (less common, but still acceptable)

The most natural-sounding options are usually:

Time at the beginning: Setiap pagi, saya semak… (emphasizes the time)
Time at the end: … di telefon setiap pagi.

Option 3 is grammatical but stylistically a bit heavier and less common in everyday speech. So if you want to mirror English Every morning, I…, using Setiap pagi, saya… is very natural.

Do I need to say “my” schedule or “my” phone, like jadual waktu saya or telefon saya?

You can add saya to show possession, but you don’t have to.

Saya semak jadual waktu di telefon setiap pagi.
- Context usually makes it clear you mean your own schedule on your own phone.

If you want to specify:

Saya semak jadual waktu saya di telefon setiap pagi.
– I check my schedule on the phone every morning.
Saya semak jadual waktu di telefon saya setiap pagi.
– I check the schedule on my phone every morning.
Saya semak jadual waktu saya di telefon saya setiap pagi.
– I check my schedule on my phone every morning. (a bit redundant unless you really want to stress this)

Malay often leaves out possessives when they’re obvious from context, so the original sentence is perfectly natural as-is.

Is Saya semak… formal or informal? Would a native speaker actually say this?

Yes, Saya semak jadual waktu di telefon setiap pagi is something a native speaker might really say.

In terms of register:

Saya – polite/neutral “I”, suitable for almost all situations (formal and informal).
semak – neutral and widely used in both speech and writing.
The whole sentence is neutral and standard; it’s fine in conversation, and also acceptable in many written contexts.

Slight changes in tone:

More formal: Saya menyemak jadual waktu di telefon setiap pagi.
More casual (depending on dialect): using aku instead of saya, or swapping semak with tengok:
- Aku tengok jadual waktu dalam telefon setiap pagi.

But your original sentence is good standard Malay.

Could I use aku instead of saya here? What’s the difference?

Grammatically, you can, but the choice affects politeness and social tone.

saya
- Polite, neutral, safe almost everywhere: with strangers, at work, in class, etc.
- Default choice for learners.
aku
- Informal/intimate: used with close friends, siblings, or people of the same age in relaxed situations.
- Can sound rude or too familiar if used with older people, superiors, or strangers unless you know it’s accepted in that social group.

So:

Saya semak jadual waktu di telefon setiap pagi. – Neutral/polite.
Aku semak jadual waktu di telefon setiap pagi. – Casual, for close/friendly contexts.

Use saya unless you are sure aku is appropriate with the person you’re speaking to.

Is telefon here specifically a mobile phone, or could it be a landline?

In modern usage, telefon by itself usually means phone in general, and in many contexts people automatically think of a mobile phone.

If you want to be more specific:

telefon bimbit – mobile phone
telefon pintar – smartphone
In informal speech, you’ll also hear handphone, henfon, or HP (from English).

So you could say:

Saya semak jadual waktu di telefon bimbit setiap pagi.
Saya semak jadual waktu di telefon pintar setiap pagi.

But di telefon is already very natural, and most listeners will assume you mean a mobile phone unless the context suggests otherwise.

If Malay doesn’t mark plural, how do we know if jadual waktu is singular or plural here?

Malay usually leaves number (singular/plural) to context. jadual waktu can mean a timetable, the timetable, or timetables.

In your sentence:

Saya semak jadual waktu di telefon setiap pagi.

This will most commonly be understood as the timetable or schedule you normally use (singular), because it’s a routine.

If you really want to emphasize that there are several different schedules:

Saya semak semua jadual waktu di telefon setiap pagi.
– I check all the timetables on the phone every morning.
Saya semak jadual-jadual waktu di telefon setiap pagi.
– I check the timetables on the phone every morning. (reduplication to mark plural)

But in normal conversation, the simple jadual waktu with context is enough.