Saya isi borang aduan.

This is a very common question.

In formal Standard Malay, you would usually say:

Saya mengisi borang aduan.

The prefix meng- is often used with active verbs when the subject is doing the action.

However, in everyday spoken Malay, people often drop the prefix and just use the root verb:

• isi instead of mengisi
• beli instead of membeli
• buat instead of membuat

So Saya isi borang aduan sounds casual and conversational, while Saya mengisi borang aduan sounds more formal and standard.

Here, isi means to fill in / to complete a form.

In English, we usually say fill in a form or fill out a form. Malay does not need a separate word like in or out here. The verb isi already covers that idea in this context.

So with forms, boxes, blanks, and similar things, isi is the normal verb.

Examples:

• isi borang = fill in a form
• isi maklumat = fill in information
• isi tempat kosong = fill in the blank

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

So:

• borang aduan can mean a complaint form or the complaint form
• the exact meaning depends on the context

If the situation is already clear, Malay often leaves it unspecified.

For example:

• Saya isi borang aduan could mean I’m filling in a complaint form or I’m filling in the complaint form

Context tells you which one is meant.

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

So Saya isi borang aduan could mean different things depending on context, such as:

• I fill in the complaint form
• I am filling in the complaint form
• I filled in the complaint form
  (if the context already shows it is past)

Malay often uses time words or extra markers instead of changing the verb itself.

Examples:

• Saya sedang isi borang aduan. = I am filling in the complaint form.
• Saya sudah isi borang aduan. = I have already filled in the complaint form.
• Semalam saya isi borang aduan. = Yesterday I filled in the complaint form.

In more formal Malay, you may also hear:

• Saya sedang mengisi borang aduan
• Saya sudah mengisi borang aduan

Yes. Borang aduan is a noun phrase made of:

• borang = form
• aduan = complaint

Together, they mean complaint form.

This is a very common pattern in Malay: the main noun comes first, and the second noun describes it.

So:

• borang aduan = complaint form
• surat khabar = newspaper
• kad pengenalan = identity card

This is different from English, where the describing noun also comes before the main noun, but Malay noun combinations do not use apostrophes or prepositions here.

In Malay, the usual order is:

main noun + describing noun

So the item itself comes first, then the type or category.

Here:

• borang is the main thing
• aduan tells you what kind of form it is

That is why borang aduan is correct.

If you said aduan borang, it would sound unnatural or wrong in normal Malay.

Sometimes, yes.

In conversation, Malay often allows the subject to be dropped if it is already clear from context. For example, if someone asks what you are doing, you might simply say:

Isi borang aduan.

That can mean (I’m) filling in the complaint form.

However, including saya makes the sentence clearer, especially for learners and in more careful speech.

So:

• Saya isi borang aduan. = clear and complete
• Isi borang aduan. = possible in context, more conversational

Yes, but it sounds casual.

A more formal or standard version would be:

Saya mengisi borang aduan.

So the difference is mostly about register:

• Saya isi borang aduan. = everyday spoken Malay
• Saya mengisi borang aduan. = formal speech, writing, standard grammar

Both are understandable, but if you are writing, taking an exam, or aiming for formal Malay, use mengisi.

You can add sedang, which marks an ongoing action.

Examples:

• Saya sedang isi borang aduan. = I am filling in the complaint form.
• Saya sedang mengisi borang aduan. = same meaning, but more formal

If you want to make it even clearer that it is happening now, you can add sekarang:

• Saya sedang mengisi borang aduan sekarang.

In casual speech, sedang is sometimes omitted if the context already makes the timing obvious.

Here, aduan is a noun.

It means complaint in the sense of a complaint/report submitted to someone.

So in borang aduan, it describes the type of form: a form used for complaints.

This is useful to notice because English speakers may expect something like complaining form or form for complaint, but Malay simply uses the noun aduan after borang.

You could say that, and it would be understood as a form for complaints, but borang aduan is the more natural and compact expression.

Malay often prefers the shorter noun-noun combination when it is a common expression.

So:

• borang aduan = the usual and natural phrase
• borang untuk aduan = understandable, but less idiomatic in many contexts

For a learner, borang aduan is the best version to remember.