Learn Hardcore Malay: Telefon bimbit lama itu adik saya masih simpan sebagai kenangan. - That old mobile phone my younger sibling still keeps as a memory.

Telefon bimbit lama itu adik saya masih simpan sebagai kenangan.
Literally: That old mobile phone, my younger sibling still keeps (it) as a keepsake.

This structure is called topicalisation: you put the thing you’re talking about (the topic) at the front. The neutral, more straightforward order would be:

Adik saya masih menyimpan telefon bimbit lama itu sebagai kenangan.

Both are grammatical. The original version highlights that old phone more strongly, as if answering:
“What about that old phone?” → “That old phone, my sibling still keeps it as a keepsake.”

Is Adik saya masih menyimpan telefon bimbit lama itu sebagai kenangan also correct, and which sounds more natural?

Yes, it is fully correct:

Adik saya masih menyimpan telefon bimbit lama itu sebagai kenangan.

For everyday, neutral speech, this word order (Subject–Verb–Object) is very common and may feel more natural for learners.

The original:

Telefon bimbit lama itu adik saya masih simpan sebagai kenangan.

has a slightly more story-like or spoken, emphatic feel, because it foregrounds the phone. In many contexts, both are equally acceptable; the difference is mainly in emphasis, not correctness.

Why is there no yang in the sentence? I expected something like Telefon bimbit lama itu yang adik saya masih simpan…

You can say:

Telefon bimbit lama itu yang adik saya masih simpan sebagai kenangan.

That is also grammatical, but the function of yang is different from what’s happening in the original.

With yang
- Telefon bimbit lama itu yang adik saya masih simpan…
  This sounds like you are contrasting that old phone with other phones or things. Rough idea:
  “It is that old mobile phone (and not some other one) that my younger sibling still keeps as a keepsake.”
Without yang (original sentence)
- Telefon bimbit lama itu adik saya masih simpan sebagai kenangan.
  This is just fronting the object for emphasis, not making a strict contrast. It’s like:
  “That old mobile phone, my younger sibling still keeps it as a keepsake.”

So yang is not required here. Adding it shifts the nuance toward contrast or identification.

What exactly does sebagai mean here, and how is sebagai kenangan different from untuk kenangan?

Sebagai roughly means “as” (in the sense of role or function).

sebagai kenangan → as a memory / as a keepsake
The phone’s role is to serve as a reminder.

Untuk means “for” (purpose or goal).

untuk kenangan → for (the sake of) memories
More like a purpose: keeping it for memory’s sake.

Both can be used here, but:

sebagai kenangan is a very common fixed expression for keeping something as a sentimental item / keepsake.
untuk kenangan is also OK, but might sound slightly more formal or like you are emphasising the purpose more than the symbolic role.

So sebagai kenangan is the more idiomatic choice in this sentence.

Why is lama used for “old” here, not tua?

In Malay:

lama is used for things that are old in terms of time / duration / used for a long time, usually inanimate objects:
- telefon lama (old phone)
- kereta lama (old car)
- rumah lama (old house)
tua is mainly for people and animals (biological age):
- orang tua (old person / parents, depending on context)
- anjing tua (old dog)

Using telefon bimbit tua would sound wrong or at least very odd.
So telefon bimbit lama is the natural choice.

Why is it simpan and not menyimpan? Are both correct?

Both simpan and menyimpan are correct, but they differ slightly in style and formality.

simpan is the root verb, often used in spoken Malay and is quite natural:
- adik saya masih simpan telefon itu
menyimpan is the meN- prefixed form, often slightly more formal or careful:
- adik saya masih menyimpan telefon itu

In your sentence, you could say:

Telefon bimbit lama itu adik saya masih simpan sebagai kenangan. (original)
Telefon bimbit lama itu adik saya masih menyimpan sebagai kenangan. (also grammatical, a bit more formal/complete)

In casual conversation, natives frequently use the root form like simpan after a subject, especially when the object is already mentioned.

Why isn’t there a pronoun like dia (he/she) in the sentence? Why not Adik saya dia masih simpan…?

In Malay, a noun subject on its own is enough. Adding dia after adik saya is usually unnecessary and can sound odd, similar to saying in English:

“My younger sibling, he still keeps that phone…” (with no special reason for the repetition)

So:

Adik saya masih simpan telefon bimbit lama itu… → natural
Adik saya dia masih simpan telefon bimbit lama itu… → usually redundant or only used in very specific emphatic or dialectal speech

Malay doesn’t require a pronoun after a full noun phrase subject. Adik saya already marks who the subject is.

What exactly does adik saya mean? Is it “my younger brother” or “my younger sister”?

Adik saya literally means “my younger sibling” and does not specify gender. It can mean:

younger brother
younger sister

If you want to specify gender, you add lelaki (male) or perempuan (female):

adik lelaki saya – my younger brother
adik perempuan saya – my younger sister

But in many contexts, adik saya alone is completely natural if gender doesn’t matter or is clear from context.

What does masih contribute to the meaning? Is it like the English “still”?

Yes, masih corresponds closely to “still” in English.

adik saya masih simpan → my younger sibling still keeps (it)

It indicates that the action continues up to now or up to a reference point. Malay doesn’t mark tense with verb endings, so words like sudah (already), belum (not yet), masih (still), akan (will) give you aspect/time information.

Without masih:

Adik saya simpan telefon bimbit lama itu sebagai kenangan.
→ more neutral, just “My younger sibling keeps that old mobile phone as a keepsake” (no explicit “still” idea).

Could I replace masih with lagi here, like adik saya lagi simpan?

In many colloquial varieties, lagi can overlap with masih, but they are not identical.

masih = “still” in a relatively neutral/standard way.
lagi can mean “again”, “more”, or “still/yet” depending on context, but using it as “still” is more colloquial, and the placement can differ.

For standard Malay in a sentence like this, masih is the clearer and safer choice:

Adik saya masih simpan telefon bimbit lama itu sebagai kenangan. ✅ (standard, clear)

Adik saya lagi simpan… is not wrong in some spoken varieties, but it’s less standard and might confuse learners, especially because lagi is very commonly used for “more / again” and in questions like “Ada lagi?” (“Any more?”).

Why is it telefon bimbit and not just telefon? Are there other common ways to say “mobile phone” in Malay?

Telefon bimbit literally means “portable/handheld phone” and is a standard term for mobile phone.

Other common possibilities:

telefon – can mean telephone generally (landline or mobile), depending on context.
telefon mudah alih – a more formal/technical “mobile phone” (literally “easy-to-move phone”).
handphone / henfon / henpon – very common colloquial borrowings from English “handphone”, especially in Malaysia. Spelling varies in informal writing.

In a textbook or neutral written Malay, telefon bimbit is a good choice. In casual speech, you will often hear handphone / henfon.

What is the role of itu after telefon bimbit lama? Could I drop it?

Itu is a demonstrative meaning “that”. It specifies which old phone you mean.

telefon bimbit lama itu → that old mobile phone (a specific one already known in context)

If you drop itu:

telefon bimbit lama → an old mobile phone / old mobile phones (more general or indefinite, depending on context)

In many real contexts, the sentence would still be understood without itu, but you lose that clear “that particular one we both know about” feeling. So:

With itu: definite, specific
Without itu: more generic/indefinite

Why is there no word for “it” after simpan? In English we say “still keeps it”.

Malay often omits object pronouns when they are obvious from context.

In your sentence, the object (telefon bimbit lama itu) has just been mentioned at the start and is very clear, so repeating it is optional:

Telefon bimbit lama itu adik saya masih simpan sebagai kenangan.
Literally: That old mobile phone, my younger sibling still keeps (∅) as a keepsake.

If you want to include a pronoun, you can say:

Adik saya masih menyimpannya sebagai kenangan.
(-nya = him/her/it, depending on context)

But with the object already explicitly mentioned, dropping the pronoun is totally natural.

Is there any difference between sebagai kenangan and sebagai satu kenangan?

Malay does not use articles like “a” or “an” in the same way English does, and often leaves them out entirely.

sebagai kenangan – the usual, idiomatic way to say “as a keepsake / as a memory”
sebagai satu kenangan – literally “as one memory”; grammatical, but adds a slight emphasis on “one (particular) memory” and is less common in this kind of simple sentence.

In normal speech and writing, sebagai kenangan is preferred. You don’t need to insert satu to match English “a”.