Learn Hardcore Malay: Pelekat itu tidak melekat dengan baik pada dinding yang berhabuk. - That sticker does not stick well to the dusty wall.

lekat – base root: to stick / be stuck
- e.g. Cat itu lekat pada baju. (The paint is stuck on the shirt.)
melekat – meN-
- lekat → verb, usually “to stick / to adhere” (focus on the action or result of sticking)
- e.g. Pelekat itu tidak melekat. (The sticker doesn’t stick / isn’t sticking.)
pelekat – peN-
- lekat → noun, “sticker” or “something used for sticking”
- e.g. Saya beli pelekat baru. (I bought a new sticker.)

So in your sentence:

Pelekat itu = that/the sticker (noun)
tidak melekat = does not stick / is not sticking (verb phrase)

Why is itu used after pelekat? Does it mean “that sticker” or “the sticker”? Can I leave it out?

itu is a demonstrative that usually means “that”, but in Malay it also often functions like a definite article “the”.

Pelekat itu can be understood as:
- that sticker (the one we’ve been talking about / pointing at), or
- the sticker (the specific sticker in context)

If you say just Pelekat tidak melekat…, it’s grammatically possible but sounds a bit incomplete or less natural in many contexts, because Malay usually marks a specific, known thing with itu (that/the) or ini (this).

So:

With itu: you’re referring to a particular sticker everyone knows about.
Without itu: it can feel more general or slightly unnatural, depending on context.

In normal conversation about a specific sticker, Pelekat itu… is the most natural.

Why do we use tidak and not bukan in this sentence?

Malay has two common negatives: tidak and bukan. The usual rule:

tidak is used to negate:
- verbs (actions)
- adjectives
bukan is used to negate:
- nouns
- pronouns
- entire statements for contrast or correction

In the sentence:

melekat is a verb (“to stick”), so we negate it with tidak:
- tidak melekat = does not stick / isn’t sticking

If you said Pelekat itu bukan melekat dengan baik…, it would be wrong here, because we’re not negating a noun; we are negating what the sticker does (its action of sticking).

What does dengan baik literally mean, and why not just melekat baik?

Literally:

dengan = with
baik = good / well

Together dengan baik functions like an adverb: well / properly.

Malay often uses dengan + adjective to make an adverbial phrase:

perlahan (slow) → dengan perlahan (slowly)
tepat (exact) → dengan tepat (exactly)
baik (good) → dengan baik (well)

Saying melekat baik is not natural. You normally say:

melekat dengan baik (stick well)
or use another adverb-like word:
- melekat kuat (stick strongly)
- melekat betul-betul (really sticks / properly sticks)

So tidak melekat dengan baik = does not stick well / does not adhere properly.

Why is pada dinding used instead of di dinding? What is the difference between pada and di here?

Both di and pada can be translated as “at / on / in”, but there is a nuance:

di – basic locative preposition, physical location:
- di dinding = on/at the wall
pada – more general, used for:
- contact/attachment
- abstract relations
- time, recipients, etc.

With verbs like melekat (stick), pada is very common, because it emphasizes contact/attachment:

melekat pada dinding = stuck to the wall (attached to it)
melekat di dinding – also heard, and usually acceptable, but pada sounds slightly more “standard” for this type of physical attachment.

For everyday speech, pada dinding and di dinding are both understandable; pada is a bit more formal/precise here.

What does dinding yang berhabuk mean exactly, and why is yang used?

Breakdown:

dinding = wall
yang = relative pronoun, linking a noun to a description (like “that / which / who”)
habuk = dust
berhabuk = dusty
- ber-
  - habuk → “having dust / dusty”

So dinding yang berhabuk literally is:

“the wall that is dusty”
or simply “the dusty wall”

yang introduces a relative clause or descriptive phrase about dinding:

dinding yang berhabuk = the wall that is dusty
budak yang berlari = the child who is running

You can’t just say dinding berhabuk in this position in standard Malay; you normally say dinding yang berhabuk when the description comes after the noun.

Can I use berdebu instead of berhabuk? Are they the same?

They are very close in meaning:

debu = dust
habuk = dust (commonly used in Malaysia)
berdebu = dusty / full of dust
berhabuk = dusty / covered in dust

In this sentence, both are fine:

dinding yang berhabuk
dinding yang berdebu

Nuances (small and context‑dependent):

berhabuk is very common in everyday Malaysian usage.
berdebu can sound a bit more formal or literary in some registers, but is also widely understood and used.

For a learner, you can treat berhabuk and berdebu as synonyms meaning “dusty” in most situations.

Can I drop yang berhabuk and just say … pada dinding?

Yes, grammatically you can. But the meaning changes:

Original:
Pelekat itu tidak melekat dengan baik pada dinding yang berhabuk.
→ The sticker doesn’t stick well to the dusty wall.
Without the phrase:
Pelekat itu tidak melekat dengan baik pada dinding.
→ The sticker doesn’t stick well to the wall. (No mention of dust.)

So:

With yang berhabuk, you specify the condition of the wall (dusty).
Without it, you just talk about the wall in general.

Both are correct; choose based on whether you need to mention the dust.

Could I say Pelekat itu tidak lekat dengan baik pada dinding… instead of tidak melekat? What’s the difference between lekat and melekat?

Both relate to sticking, but there’s a nuance:

lekat (root) – can describe a state:
- Cat itu lekat pada dinding. (The paint is stuck on the wall.)
melekat – more clearly verbal, often focusing on the action or result of sticking:
- Gula-gula itu melekat pada gigi. (The candy sticks to your teeth.)

In practice:

tidak melekat dengan baik is the most natural for “does not stick well”.
tidak lekat dengan baik is understandable, but sounds less natural; lekat here feels more like a state than an action modified by dengan baik.

So prefer:

Pelekat itu tidak melekat dengan baik pada dinding yang berhabuk.

Is the word order fixed, or can I move parts around, like putting pada dinding yang berhabuk earlier in the sentence?

Malay word order is fairly flexible, but there are “most natural” patterns.

Standard, natural order here:

Pelekat itu (subject)
tidak melekat dengan baik (verb + manner)
pada dinding yang berhabuk (location)

You might see small variations, but moving things too much can sound marked or awkward. For example:

Pada dinding yang berhabuk, pelekat itu tidak melekat dengan baik.
- Grammatically ok, but sounds more formal or written, with emphasis on the dusty wall.

It’s better for a learner to stick to:

[Subject] + [Verb phrase] + [Prepositional phrase]

So your original sentence is in a very natural order.