Dalam perjalanan pulang, saya singgah di farmasi untuk beli ubat batuk.

Literally, dalam perjalanan pulang means something like in the journey of returning home.

• dalam = in / during
• perjalanan = journey / trip
• pulang = to go home / return home

As a whole, it means on the way home or during the trip home.

Malay often uses dalam in time-like or situation-like expressions, not just for physical location. So here it means during the journey home, not literally inside something.

Both pulang and balik can relate to returning, but they are not exactly the same in tone and usage.

• pulang usually means to go home
• balik means to return / go back, and can also mean turn over in other contexts

So:

• saya pulang = I go home
• saya balik ke pejabat = I return to the office

In everyday speech, many speakers also use balik for go home, so dalam perjalanan balik may also be heard. But perjalanan pulang sounds a bit more standard and specifically tied to going home.

Singgah means to stop by, drop in, or make a brief stop somewhere.

It suggests a short, purposeful stop, often on the way to somewhere else.

So in this sentence:

• saya singgah di farmasi = I stopped by the pharmacy

This is different from just berhenti, which means to stop in a more general sense. For example:

• Bas itu berhenti = The bus stopped
• Saya singgah di farmasi = I stopped by the pharmacy

So singgah is the better choice when you mean a quick visit or stopover.

Because di here is a preposition meaning at / in / to a place, and prepositions are written separately in Malay.

• di farmasi = at the pharmacy

Compare that with di- as a prefix used in passive verbs:

• dibeli = bought
• ditulis = written

A useful rule:

• di + place → write separately
• di- + verb → write together

So di farmasi is correct.

This is a very common learner question. The short answer is: untuk beli is natural in less formal or conversational Malay, while untuk membeli is more fully marked and a bit more formal.

• untuk beli ubat batuk = to buy cough medicine
• untuk membeli ubat batuk = also to buy cough medicine

The root verb is beli = buy.
The form membeli is the meN- active verb form.

In everyday speech and informal writing, Malay often drops the prefix in contexts like this, especially after words like nak, mahu, boleh, or sometimes untuk.

So this sentence is natural, but if you want a more formal version, you can say:

• Dalam perjalanan pulang, saya singgah di farmasi untuk membeli ubat batuk.

It sounds natural and neutral, but with a slightly informal/conversational touch because of untuk beli instead of untuk membeli.

Parts of the sentence are quite standard:

• dalam perjalanan pulang
• saya singgah di farmasi

The less formal part is mainly:

• untuk beli

So you could think of it this way:

• Current sentence: everyday natural Malay
• More formal version: Dalam perjalanan pulang, saya singgah di farmasi untuk membeli ubat batuk.

Malay does not usually use articles like a, an, or the the way English does.

So:

• di farmasi can mean at a pharmacy or at the pharmacy
• ubat batuk can mean cough medicine or the cough medicine, depending on context

Malay relies heavily on context rather than articles. If you really need to make something specific, Malay may use other words such as:

• itu = that / the one we’re talking about
• sebuah / seekor / seorang etc. for certain kinds of a/an, depending on the noun class

But in most normal sentences, no article is needed.

In Malay, the main noun usually comes first, and the word describing or specifying it comes after.

So:

• ubat batuk = medicine for cough / cough medicine
• rumah besar = big house
• kereta merah = red car

Here:

• ubat = medicine
• batuk = cough

So ubat batuk literally means cough medicine or medicine for coughing.

This word order is very common in Malay and often feels reversed compared with English.

It can mean cough medicine in general, not only syrup.

Depending on context, it could refer to:

• cough syrup
• tablets
• lozenges
• other medicine for cough

If a speaker wants to be more specific, they can add another word:

• sirap ubat batuk = cough syrup
• tablet batuk = cough tablets (depending on usage/context)

But ubat batuk by itself is a broad, natural expression.

Saya means I, and it is the standard polite/neutral first-person pronoun.

Yes, in some contexts, Malay can omit the subject if it is already understood. For example, in conversation, someone might say:

• Singgah di farmasi untuk beli ubat batuk.

That can still be understood as [I] stopped by the pharmacy to buy cough medicine, depending on context.

However, including saya makes the sentence clear and complete, especially for standard written Malay.

Malay does not mark tense on the verb the way English does.

So:

• saya singgah could mean I stop by, I stopped by, or sometimes I am stopping by, depending on context.

In this sentence, the surrounding meaning usually makes it clear that it is past: the speaker is describing something that happened on the way home.

If needed, Malay can add time words:

• tadi = earlier / just now
• semalam = yesterday
• akan = will
• sedang = in the process of

For example:

• Tadi, saya singgah di farmasi... = Earlier, I stopped by the pharmacy...

So tense is usually understood from context rather than verb changes.

Here, untuk means to or in order to and introduces the purpose of the action.

So:

• saya singgah di farmasi untuk beli ubat batuk = I stopped by the pharmacy to buy cough medicine

It answers the question why did I stop by?

You can think of it as a purpose marker. Other natural Malay ways to express purpose include:

• untuk
• bagi (more colloquial in some contexts)
• sometimes no explicit marker, depending on sentence structure

But untuk is very common and clear.

The comma is helpful, but not always strictly necessary.

Dalam perjalanan pulang is an opening phrase that sets the scene, like On the way home in English. A comma makes the sentence easier to read:

• Dalam perjalanan pulang, saya singgah di farmasi untuk beli ubat batuk.

Without the comma, it is still understandable:

• Dalam perjalanan pulang saya singgah di farmasi untuk beli ubat batuk.

But the comma is better in careful writing because it separates the introductory phrase from the main clause.

Yes. The given sentence is already natural, but spoken Malay often uses slightly different phrasing. For example:

• Dalam perjalanan balik, saya singgah farmasi beli ubat batuk.
• Masa nak balik, saya singgah di farmasi untuk beli ubat batuk.

Things that often happen in speech:

• pulang may become balik
• di before a familiar place may sometimes be dropped in casual speech
• untuk may be reduced or omitted depending on style

Still, your original sentence is good Malay and perfectly understandable.