Sebelum makan malam, saya hiris timun dan tomato untuk salad.

Yes, literally makan = eat and malam = night/evening, but together makan malam is the normal expression for dinner or the evening meal.

So in this sentence, Sebelum makan malam most naturally means Before dinner.

A few related meal words:

• sarapan = breakfast
• makan tengah hari = lunch
• makan malam = dinner

Malay often uses multi-word expressions like this very naturally.

Malay does not use articles like a/an/the the way English does.

So:

• timun can mean cucumber or the cucumber
• tomato can mean tomato or the tomato
• salad can mean salad or the salad

The exact meaning depends on context. In English, we must choose a or the, but Malay usually leaves that unstated unless it needs to be made clear in some other way.

Malay nouns usually do not change form for plural.

So:

• timun = cucumber / cucumbers
• tomato = tomato / tomatoes

Context tells you whether the noun is singular or plural. If you really want to show plurality clearly, Malay can use reduplication:

• timun-timun
• tomato-tomato

But in normal speech and writing, that is often unnecessary if the meaning is already obvious.

This is a very common learner question.

In formal standard Malay, after a subject like saya, you would often expect:

• Sebelum makan malam, saya menghiris timun dan tomato untuk salad.

The form menghiris is the standard active verb form.

The shorter hiris can appear in:

• casual or conversational usage
• recipe-style language
• note-like or simplified sentences
• some non-formal contexts where the root verb is used directly

So if you are aiming for careful standard Malay, menghiris is safer. If you see saya hiris, understand it as a more informal or simplified usage.

Hiris means slice or cut into slices, not just any kind of cutting.

So this sentence is specifically about slicing the cucumber and tomatoes, probably into thin pieces for a salad.

Compare:

• potong = cut
• hiris = slice
• cincang = chop/mince

So hiris is more specific than potong.

Malay basic word order is usually:

• Subject + Verb + Object

So:

• saya = I
• hiris / menghiris = slice / am slicing
• timun dan tomato = cucumber and tomato

That gives:

• Saya hiris timun dan tomato = I slice/sliced the cucumber and tomato

This is very similar to English word order in simple sentences.

Malay verbs do not usually change form for tense the way English verbs do.

So saya hiris or saya menghiris could mean:

• I slice
• I am slicing
• I sliced

The time is usually understood from context. In this sentence, sebelum makan malam gives a time setting, but it still does not force a single English tense by itself. The broader context would decide whether the best translation is past, present, or habitual.

If needed, Malay can add time words such as:

• sedang = in the middle of / currently
• sudah / telah = already
• akan = will

That fronted phrase gives the time setting first:

• Sebelum makan malam = Before dinner

Putting time expressions at the beginning of a sentence is very common in Malay, just as in English:

• Before dinner, I sliced the cucumber and tomatoes for the salad.

You could also place the time expression later in some cases, but starting with it is very natural.

No, here it is best understood as a time phrase, not a full clause.

It means:

• before dinner
• before the evening meal

If you wanted a full clause such as before I eat dinner, Malay would normally say something more explicit, for example:

• sebelum saya makan malam

So the original sentence is more compact and idiomatic.

Here untuk means for and shows purpose.

So:

• untuk salad = for the salad

In other words, the cucumber and tomato are being sliced to use in a salad.

This is a very common use of untuk:

• untuk makan = to eat / for eating
• untuk saya = for me
• untuk salad = for salad

Yes. Salad is a borrowed word and is widely used in Malay.

Malay contains many loanwords, including food-related ones. A borrowed word can still function as a normal Malay noun.

So salad in this sentence is completely natural.

The comma separates the opening time phrase from the main clause:

• Sebelum makan malam, = opening time phrase
• saya hiris timun dan tomato untuk salad. = main clause

This is similar to English punctuation in sentences like:

• Before dinner, I sliced the cucumber and tomatoes for the salad.

In less formal writing, Malay punctuation can sometimes be lighter, but the comma here is perfectly normal and helpful.

Yes, but the tone changes.

• saya = neutral, polite, standard I
• aku = more informal, personal, and not suitable in all situations

So:

• Sebelum makan malam, saya menghiris timun dan tomato untuk salad.
  is a safe, standard version.

Using aku would sound more casual and conversational, depending on who is speaking and to whom.

Timun is a standard and common Malay word for cucumber.

You may also encounter regional variation or slightly different usage in different places, but timun is the normal word learners should know.

So timun dan tomato is a very straightforward, everyday combination here.