Belakang saya sakit sedikit hari ini.

to be

Breakdown of Belakang saya sakit sedikit hari ini.

• hari ini: today
• saya: my
• sakit: painful

Questions & Answers about Belakang saya sakit sedikit hari ini.

Why is saya after belakang instead of before it?

In Malay, possession is usually shown as:

noun + possessor

So:

• belakang saya = my back
• rumah saya = my house
• kawan saya = my friend

This is different from English, where the possessor comes first.

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Does belakang really mean the body part back here? I thought it could mean behind or rear.

Yes. Belakang has a broad meaning: back / rear / behind.

Its exact meaning depends on context. In this sentence, because it is followed by saya and then sakit, it clearly refers to the body part:

• belakang saya = my back
• sakit = hurts / is painful

So here it does not mean behind me. It means my back.

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Where is the word for is or hurts in this sentence?