Di gerai minuman, saya minta teh tanpa gula.

Di gerai minuman means at the drink stall or at a beverage stall.

The word di is a preposition meaning at / in / on, depending on context. Starting the sentence with this phrase sets the scene first, a bit like saying:

• At the drink stall, I ordered tea without sugar.

This is natural in Malay. You could also say:

• Saya minta teh tanpa gula di gerai minuman.

That version puts the location at the end instead.

Gerai means stall or small stand, usually a simple place selling food or drinks.

Minuman means drinks or beverages. It comes from the root minum (to drink).

So gerai minuman literally means drink stall or beverage stall.

It usually suggests a casual place, not a formal restaurant.

In everyday Malay, minta is the normal word for ask for, request, or sometimes want in service situations.

So saya minta teh means:

• I asked for tea
• I’d like tea
• I ordered tea

The form meminta does exist, but it sounds more formal or written. In normal conversation, especially when ordering food or drinks, minta is much more common.

It can mean both, depending on context.

In this sentence, because the setting is a drink stall, minta teh naturally means:

• ask for tea
• order tea

Malay often uses everyday verbs in a broader way than English. You do not always need a special verb meaning to order.

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

So:

• teh can mean tea, a tea, or the tea
• gerai minuman can mean a drink stall or the drink stall

The exact meaning comes from context.

This is very normal in Malay, so learners should not expect an article before every noun.

Tanpa means without, and gula means sugar.

So teh tanpa gula means tea without sugar.

In Malay, modifiers like this often come after the noun they describe. So instead of putting without sugar earlier, Malay naturally says:

• teh tanpa gula = tea without sugar

This is the normal and natural order.

Yes, you can, but it is a little different in nuance.

• teh tanpa gula = tea without sugar
• teh tidak bergula = unsweetened tea or tea that isn’t sugared

Both are understandable. For ordering at a stall, tanpa gula is very clear and common.

If your goal is simply to ask for no sugar, tanpa gula is probably the easiest phrase to use.

Not always.

Malay often allows the subject to be omitted when it is obvious from context. At a stall, a person might simply say:

• Minta teh tanpa gula.

That sounds natural in conversation.

Including saya makes the sentence more complete and clear, which is often helpful for learners. But in real-life ordering, shorter forms are very common.

No, not by itself.

Malay verbs usually do not change form for tense. The verb minta stays the same. The time is understood from context.

So saya minta teh tanpa gula could mean:

• I ask for tea without sugar
• I asked for tea without sugar
• I am asking for tea without sugar

In real situations, context tells you which meaning is intended.

If needed, Malay can add time words such as:

• tadi = earlier / just now
• sekarang = now
• semalam = yesterday

Yes. The comma helps separate the opening location phrase:

• Di gerai minuman, saya minta teh tanpa gula.

It is similar to English when you begin with a phrase like At the drink stall, ...

In casual writing, people may leave the comma out, but using it is fine and clear.

The sentence is grammatical and clear, but in real conversation, native speakers often use shorter and more direct phrasing, such as:

• Teh tanpa gula, ya.
• Minta teh tanpa gula.
• Nak teh tanpa gula.
  (nak is a very common spoken form meaning want.)

So your sentence is good for learning structure, but real spoken Malay is often more compact.

Yes, it is generally acceptable, especially in casual everyday situations.

If you want to sound a bit softer or more polite, you can add words like:

• boleh = can / may
• tolong = please / help
• ya = a softening particle, depending on context

For example:

• Boleh saya minta teh tanpa gula? = May I have tea without sugar?
• Minta teh tanpa gula, ya. = Tea without sugar, please.

So the original sentence is fine, but there are more polite or softer ways to say it depending on the situation.