Mereka berdua memeriksa bungkusan.

Mereka means they in this sentence.

A useful thing to know is that mereka is a third-person plural pronoun, so it refers to more than one person. In other contexts, it can also correspond to them, depending on sentence structure, but here it is the subject, so they is the natural translation.

Berdua means the two of them, both of them, or together as a pair.

So mereka berdua is literally something like they, the two of them.

It adds information that there are exactly two people involved. Without berdua, mereka just means they, which could be any number of people greater than one.

In Malay, words like berdua, bertiga, berempat, etc. often come after a pronoun or noun to show how many people are involved together.

So:

• mereka berdua = the two of them
• kami bertiga = the three of us
• Ali dan Abu berdua = Ali and Abu, the two of them

This placement is normal and natural in Malay.

Yes.

Mereka memeriksa bungkusan simply means They inspect / examined the package(s).

Adding berdua gives extra detail:

• Mereka memeriksa bungkusan = they checked the package(s)
• Mereka berdua memeriksa bungkusan = the two of them checked the package(s)

So berdua is not required for grammar, but it adds meaning.

Often it is very close, but not always exactly identical.

Berdua emphasizes two people together. In many sentences, translating it as both works well:

• Mereka berdua = both of them

But it can also carry the idea of the two of them as a pair or together.

So in this sentence, a natural sense is:

• Both of them checked the package or
• The two of them checked the package together

Memeriksa means to inspect, to examine, or to check.

It comes from the base word periksa. The prefix meN- turns it into an active verb:

• periksa = examine/check
• memeriksa = to examine/check

This is a very common Malay verb pattern. In standard Malay, memeriksa is the expected form in a sentence like this.

In standard written Malay, active transitive verbs usually take the meN- prefix, so memeriksa is the grammatically complete form.

So:

• Mereka berdua memeriksa bungkusan = standard, formal/neutral Malay

In everyday speech, people sometimes drop the prefix and say periksa, especially in casual conversation, but memeriksa is the safer form for learners to use in standard Malay.

Bungkusan means package, parcel, or wrapped item, depending on context.

It comes from the idea of something that is wrapped or packaged. In different situations, it could refer to:

• a parcel
• a package
• a bundle
• something wrapped up

So the best English translation depends on context.

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

So bungkusan could mean:

• a package
• the package
• sometimes even packages, depending on context

Malay relies much more on context than English does for definiteness.

If a speaker wants to be more specific, they might add something like:

• bungkusan itu = that package / the package
• sebuah bungkusan = a package

By itself, bungkusan does not have to show singular or plural.

Malay nouns often do not change form for number. So bungkusan can mean:

• package
• packages

Context tells you which one is meant.

If the speaker really wants to make plural very clear, Malay can use reduplication:

• bungkusan-bungkusan = packages

But in many real sentences, Malay leaves this unstated.

The sentence follows the normal Malay Subject–Verb–Object order:

• Mereka berdua = subject
• memeriksa = verb
• bungkusan = object

So the structure is:

[Subject] + [Verb] + [Object]

This is similar to English:

• They both checked the package

No, not by itself.

Malay verbs usually do not change form to show tense the way English verbs do. So memeriksa can mean:

• inspect
• are inspecting
• inspected
• were inspecting

The exact time usually comes from context or from added time words.

For example:

• Semalam mereka berdua memeriksa bungkusan. = Yesterday the two of them checked the package.
• Sekarang mereka berdua memeriksa bungkusan. = Now the two of them are checking the package.

You can add sedang before the verb:

• Mereka berdua sedang memeriksa bungkusan.

This means:

• The two of them are inspecting the package
• They are both checking the package

Sedang is commonly used to show an action is in progress.

Normally, mereka is used for people, not things.

So mereka berdua strongly suggests two people.

If you are talking about things or animals, Malay usually uses other wording instead of mereka. That is why this sentence is naturally understood as referring to two human beings checking the package.

Yes. This is a very useful pattern:

• berdua = in twos / the two of them
• bertiga = the three of them
• berempat = the four of them
• berlima = the five of them

Examples:

• Kami bertiga pergi ke pasar. = The three of us went to the market.
• Mereka berempat makan bersama. = The four of them ate together.

So berdua is part of a larger, common pattern in Malay.