Saya simpan kotak telefon di dalam almari supaya tidak hilang.

I keep the phone box in the wardrobe so it does not get lost.

Breakdown of Saya simpan kotak telefon di dalam almari supaya tidak hilang.

• saya: I
• supaya: so that
• tidak: not
• simpan: to keep

Questions & Answers about Saya simpan kotak telefon di dalam almari supaya tidak hilang.

What does each part of Saya simpan kotak telefon di dalam almari supaya tidak hilang mean?

A word-by-word breakdown is:

• Saya = I
• simpan = keep / store / put away
• kotak telefon = phone box / box for a phone
• di dalam = in / inside
• almari = cupboard / cabinet / wardrobe
• supaya = so that / in order that
• tidak = not
• hilang = lost / disappear / go missing

So the sentence structure is roughly:

I store the phone box in the cupboard so that it does not get lost.

Why is there no word for the or a in this sentence?

Malay normally does not use articles like a, an, or the.

So:

• kotak telefon can mean a phone box, the phone box, or just phone box
• almari can mean a cupboard, the cupboard, or simply cupboard

The exact meaning depends on context.

That is very normal in Malay. If needed, Malay can add extra words to make things more specific, but very often it just leaves them out.