Nenek saya kata kari tanpa santan terasa kurang sedap.

In Malay, possessors usually come after the noun.

• nenek saya = my grandmother
• rumah saya = my house
• kawan saya = my friend

So the pattern is:

noun + possessor

This is different from English, where my comes before the noun.

Usually, nenek means grandmother. In some contexts, it can also refer to an elderly woman, but in nenek saya, it very naturally means my grandmother.

So in this sentence, learners should understand it as:

• nenek saya = my grandmother

Malay often omits the equivalent of English that when reporting speech or opinions.

• Nenek saya kata kari tanpa santan terasa kurang sedap.
• Literally: My grandmother said curry without coconut milk tastes less delicious.

In English, we often say My grandmother said that..., but in Malay, leaving out bahawa is very normal.

You could say Nenek saya kata bahawa..., but that sounds more formal and is less common in everyday speech.

Here, kata means said or says, depending on context.

Malay verbs do not change form for tense the way English verbs do. So kata can work for:

• said
• says
• sometimes told in looser translation, depending on structure

In this sentence, the natural meaning is:

• Nenek saya kata... = My grandmother said... / My grandmother says...

The exact tense comes from context, not from the verb form itself.

Malay verbs usually do not change form for past, present, or future.

So kata stays kata whether you mean:

• said
• says
• will say

Time is usually understood from context or shown with time words such as:

• semalam = yesterday
• sekarang = now
• esok = tomorrow
• dulu = earlier / in the past

In your sentence, there is no time word, so English could translate it as either said or says, depending on context.

kari tanpa santan means curry without coconut milk.

Breakdown:

• kari = curry
• tanpa = without
• santan = coconut milk

Malay often puts modifiers and phrases after the main noun:

• kari tanpa santan = curry without coconut milk
• literally: curry without coconut milk

So the order is very natural in Malay.

Santan is coconut milk, especially the rich liquid used in cooking in Malay and Indonesian cuisine.

It is an important food word, so it is worth learning as a standalone vocabulary item. In many dishes, santan gives richness, creaminess, and a fuller taste.

So kari tanpa santan suggests a curry made without that rich coconut element.

Terasa here means something like:

• feels
• tastes
• seems to taste
• is felt to be

In this sentence, terasa gives the idea of how the curry comes across to the senses. It sounds a bit more like it tastes / it feels than a direct statement with rasa.

Compare:

• rasa kurang sedap = tastes less good / is less tasty
• terasa kurang sedap = feels/tastes less good, with a slightly more experiential nuance

For a learner, the easiest understanding here is:

• terasa kurang sedap = tastes less delicious / doesn’t taste as good

Not exactly in the same way English learners might expect. The prefix ter- can do several things in Malay, and one of its uses can give a sense of something being experienced, perceived, or happening unintentionally/naturally.

In this sentence, terasa is not best understood as a simple passive like is tasted. A better sense is:

• feels
• is perceived as
• comes across as

So kari tanpa santan terasa kurang sedap means the curry tastes/feels less delicious, not that someone is actively tasting it in a passive construction.

Kurang means less or not enough, and sedap means delicious, tasty, or pleasant-tasting.

So:

• kurang sedap = less tasty
• not as delicious
• not very tasty in some contexts

It does not necessarily mean the food is bad. It often suggests a milder judgment:

• not as good as expected
• lacking something
• less flavorful

In this sentence, that nuance fits well: the curry is not terrible, but without coconut milk it is less tasty.

Malay often does not need a verb like to be in the same way English does.

English:

• The curry is less tasty.

Malay can simply say:

• Kari itu kurang sedap.

In your sentence, there is already the verb terasa, so there is even less need for anything like is.

Malay sentence structure is often more compact than English, and learners should get used to the fact that is/am/are is often absent.

Yes, in casual speech, kata and cakap can both relate to speaking, but they are not always identical.

• kata often works well for say/said
• cakap often means speak/talk/say

So:

• Nenek saya kata... = very natural for My grandmother said...
• Nenek saya cakap... = also possible in informal speech

However, kata is especially common in this kind of reported-speech sentence.

It is natural, everyday Malay and sounds fairly neutral to informal.

Why?

• kata is common in speech and casual writing
• there is no very formal connector like bahawa
• the structure is straightforward and conversational

So this sounds like something a person would naturally say in daily life.

Sometimes in context, yes, but not as a direct one-word equivalent.

• kurang sedap literally means less tasty / not as tasty
• bland is stronger and more specific: lacking flavor

In this sentence, if the idea is that curry without coconut milk lacks richness, bland might be a reasonable natural translation. But grammatically, the Malay itself is broader and softer than bland.

So the safest understanding is:

• kurang sedap = less tasty
• possible contextual translation: a bit bland

Yes. Because Malay verbs do not mark tense the way English verbs do, this sentence can sound like either:

• My grandmother said curry without coconut milk tastes less good.
• My grandmother says curry without coconut milk tastes less good.

If there is no time marker, the sentence can express:

• a past comment
• a repeated opinion
• a general belief

Context tells you which is intended.