Adik perempuan saya gaul kubis dengan mayonis, tetapi saya lebih suka kubis dengan cuka.

My younger sister mixes cabbage with mayonnaise, but I prefer cabbage with vinegar.

Breakdown of Adik perempuan saya gaul kubis dengan mayonis, tetapi saya lebih suka kubis dengan cuka.

• saya: I
• dengan: with
• saya: my
• tetapi: but

Questions & Answers about Adik perempuan saya gaul kubis dengan mayonis, tetapi saya lebih suka kubis dengan cuka.

Why is adik perempuan saya ordered that way? Why not something like saya adik perempuan?

Malay usually puts:

• the main noun first
• descriptions after it
• possession after the whole noun phrase

So:

• adik = younger sibling
• perempuan = female
• saya = my / I

Literally, adik perempuan saya is something like younger sibling female my, which natural English turns into my younger sister.

This same pattern appears in many simple phrases:

• rumah saya = my house
• kawan baik saya = my good friend
• kereta merah itu = that red car

Why use adik perempuan? Doesn't Malay have a single word for sister?

Malay often talks about siblings in terms of relative age first.

Common words are:

• adik = younger sibling
• kakak = older sister / older female sibling
• abang = older brother / older male sibling

So adik perempuan specifically means younger sister. If the gender is already clear from context, people may simply say adik.

This is different from English, where sister does not automatically tell you whether she is older or younger.