Breakdown of Anak saudara saya sangat bersemangat pada hari pertama sekolah.
Questions & Answers about Anak saudara saya sangat bersemangat pada hari pertama sekolah.
In Malay, anak saudara is gender‑neutral. It can mean:
- nephew
- niece
Context usually tells you whether it’s male or female.
If you want to be specific, you can say:
- anak saudara lelaki – nephew (male)
- anak saudara perempuan – niece (female)
In Malay, the possessed thing comes first, and the owner comes after:
- anak saudara saya = my nephew/niece
(literally: nephew/niece my)
So:
- buku saya – my book
- kereta saya – my car
- anak saudara saya – my nephew/niece
Saya anak saudara would mean something like I am a nephew/niece, not my nephew/niece.
By default, anak saudara saya is number‑neutral; it can mean:
- my nephew/niece (one)
- my nephews/nieces (more than one), depending on context.
To make it clearly plural, you can say:
- anak‑anak saudara saya – my nieces and nephews
- para anak saudara saya – my nieces and nephews (more formal)
In everyday speech, many people just say anak saudara saya and let context show if it’s one or several.
The root is semangat = spirit, enthusiasm, energy.
With the prefix ber-, bersemangat literally means “to have spirit / to be full of spirit”.
In this sentence, sangat bersemangat is closest to:
- very excited
- very enthusiastic
Depending on context, bersemangat can also mean motivated, high‑spirited, or energetic.
Malay usually doesn’t use a verb like “to be” (am/is/are/was) with adjectives.
So:
- Anak saudara saya sangat bersemangat
= My nephew/niece is/was very excited.
Tense is shown by time expressions and context, not by changing the verb.
Here, pada hari pertama sekolah (“on the first day of school”) makes it clear that this is a past situation, so we translate it as “was very excited” in English.
Native speakers almost never say that in normal speech.
In Malay:
- With adjectives (like bersemangat, besar, cantik), you usually don’t use adalah.
- You just say: Dia sangat bersemangat. / Anak saudara saya sangat bersemangat.
Adalah is mainly used to link noun to noun or in more formal written language, e.g.:
- Masalah ini adalah satu cabaran besar.
This problem is a big challenge.
So Anak saudara saya sangat bersemangat is the natural form.
Pada is a preposition often used with time expressions:
- pada hari Isnin – on Monday
- pada pukul tiga – at three o’clock
- pada hari pertama sekolah – on the first day of school
Di is mainly used for places:
- di sekolah – at school
- di rumah – at home
In everyday Malaysian usage you do sometimes hear di hari Isnin, but pada is the standard/preferred choice for time in formal Malay. Here, pada = “on”.
Yes, you can say both, but there’s a slight nuance:
hari pertama sekolah
– the first day of school (e.g. new term/academic year starting)hari pertama di sekolah
– the first day at school (often understood as the first day being in that school at all, e.g. starting school for the first time or at a new school)
In practice, many speakers use them interchangeably, and context usually makes the meaning clear.
- bersemangat – enthusiastic / excited / spirited
- sangat bersemangat – very enthusiastic / very excited
Sangat is an intensifier meaning very. Other intensifiers you might hear:
- amat bersemangat – very enthusiastic (a bit more formal)
- terlalu bersemangat – too enthusiastic
- begitu bersemangat – so enthusiastic
The sentence is neutral and works in both informal and formal contexts.
- saya is the default polite / neutral “I, me, my” in Malay.
- In casual speech with friends or family, some people might use aku for “I”, but they would still usually say anak saudara saya, not anak saudara aku, unless they’re being very informal.
So Anak saudara saya sangat bersemangat pada hari pertama sekolah is safe and natural in almost any setting.