Kakak saya suka jenama teh itu, tetapi saya lebih suka yang tanpa gula.

Kakak means older sister.

A few useful contrasts:

• kakak = older sister
• abang = older brother
• adik = younger sibling, younger brother, or younger sister

So kakak saya means my older sister.

Malay usually puts the possessor after the noun.

Examples:

• kakak saya = my older sister
• rumah saya = my house
• buku Ali = Ali’s book

So the pattern is:

noun + possessor

That is why kakak saya is natural Malay.

No. Malay verbs do not usually change according to person or number.

So:

• saya suka = I like
• dia suka = he/she likes
• mereka suka = they like

The verb suka stays the same. This is very different from English, where like becomes likes with he/she.

Jenama means brand, and teh means tea.

So jenama teh means:

• tea brand
• or more literally, brand of tea

Malay often puts nouns together like this:

• jenama kereta = car brand
• cawan teh = tea cup
• kedai buku = bookshop

In jenama teh itu, the main noun is jenama, and teh tells you what kind of brand it is.

In Malay, demonstratives like ini and itu normally come after the noun phrase.

Examples:

• teh itu = that tea
• rumah ini = this house
• jenama teh itu = that tea brand

So Malay says the equivalent of brand tea that, not that tea brand.

They both mean but.

The difference is mainly style:

• tetapi = more formal or standard
• tapi = more casual and very common in speech

So this sentence uses the more standard written form:

• ... tetapi saya ...

In everyday speech, many people would naturally say:

• ... tapi saya ...

Literally, lebih suka means like more.

That is how Malay often expresses prefer:

• Saya lebih suka kopi = I prefer coffee
• Saya lebih suka yang tanpa gula = I prefer the one without sugar

So the pattern is:

lebih + verb/adjective

Here:

• lebih = more
• suka = like

Together: lebih suka = prefer / like more

If you want to state both sides of the comparison clearly, you can add daripada:

• Saya lebih suka teh tanpa gula daripada teh manis.
• I prefer unsweetened tea to sweet tea.

Here, yang is standing in for the one that is... or the one with...

So:

• yang tanpa gula = the one without sugar

Malay often uses yang when the noun is understood from context.

You can think of it like this:

• full idea: teh yang tanpa gula
• shortened in context: yang tanpa gula

In this sentence, the listener already knows we are talking about tea, so repeating teh is unnecessary.

Because Malay often omits repeated nouns when the meaning is clear.

So instead of saying:

• ... saya lebih suka teh yang tanpa gula

the sentence says:

• ... saya lebih suka yang tanpa gula

This sounds natural because tea is already understood from the earlier context.

English does something similar with the one:

• My sister likes that brand of tea, but I prefer the one without sugar.

It can work like the one without sugar in context, and the phrase tanpa gula literally means without sugar.

So:

• teh tanpa gula = tea without sugar
• yang tanpa gula = the one without sugar

A related expression is tidak bergula, which can also mean unsweetened or not sugary, depending on context.

But tanpa gula is very straightforward and literal: no sugar added / without sugar.

Yes. Saya is a standard, polite, and neutral word for I.

Other possibilities exist, depending on situation:

• saya = neutral/polite
• aku = informal, close, and sometimes rough depending on context

So in a general learning sentence like this, saya is the safest and most standard choice.

Yes, it is natural.

A few natural alternatives are:

• Kakak saya suka jenama teh itu, tetapi saya lebih suka teh tanpa gula.
• Kakak saya suka jenama teh itu, tapi saya lebih suka yang tanpa gula.

These alternatives change the style slightly:

• repeating teh makes it a bit more explicit
• using tapi makes it more casual

But the original sentence is perfectly good Malay.

A rough breakdown is:

• Kakak saya = my older sister
• suka = likes
• jenama teh itu = that tea brand
• tetapi = but
• saya = I
• lebih suka = prefer / like more
• yang tanpa gula = the one without sugar

So the structure is very close to English in clause order:

subject + verb + object, but subject + verb + object

The biggest differences are:

• possession: kakak saya
• demonstrative position: teh itu
• shorthand with yang: yang tanpa gula