Dia sakit, maka dia berehat.

Dia can mean either he or she. Malay does not normally mark gender in this pronoun.

So:

• Dia sakit = He is sick or She is sick
• Dia berehat = He rests or She rests

You figure out which one is meant from context.

In Malay, you usually do not need a verb like to be in simple sentences like this.

So:

• Dia sakit literally looks like He/She sick
• but it naturally means He/She is sick

This is very normal in Malay. The same thing happens in many similar sentences:

• Dia penat = He/She is tired
• Rumah itu besar = That house is big

Here, sakit means sick or ill. It functions like a predicate adjective/state word.

So Dia sakit means He/She is sick.

But sakit can also appear in other meanings depending on context, such as painful or hurt:

• Kaki saya sakit = My leg hurts
• Sakit kepala = headache / literally head pain

So the core idea of sakit is illness or pain.

Maka means so, therefore, or thus.

In this sentence:

• Dia sakit, maka dia berehat.
• He/She is sick, so he/she rests.

However, maka sounds more formal, written, or sometimes literary than everyday spoken Malay.

In casual speech, people are more likely to say:

• Dia sakit, jadi dia berehat.
• Dia sakit, sebab itu dia berehat.

So maka is correct, but not the most conversational choice.

Berehat means to rest, to take a rest, or sometimes to take a break.

So:

• dia berehat = he/she rests or he/she is resting

The word contains the prefix ber-, which often forms verbs. You do not need to break it apart as a beginner; it is best to learn berehat as a whole word meaning rest.

Yes, Malay can sometimes leave out subjects when they are understood from context, but repeating dia is very normal and clear.

So this sentence:

• Dia sakit, maka dia berehat.

is perfectly fine.

If you leave out the second dia, the meaning may still be understandable in context, but for learners, repeating the subject is the safest and most natural choice in a full sentence like this.

Malay verbs usually do not change form for tense the way English verbs do. Tense is often understood from context or shown with time words.

So Dia sakit, maka dia berehat could mean something like:

• He/She is sick, so he/she rests
• He/She was sick, so he/she rested
• He/She is sick, so he/she is resting

If you want to make the time clearer, Malay can add words like:

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

Examples:

• Dia sakit, maka dia sedang berehat. = He/She is sick, so he/she is resting.
• Dia sakit, maka dia telah berehat. = He/She was sick, so he/she rested.

The comma is natural here, especially in writing, because maka connects two clauses:

• Dia sakit
• maka dia berehat

So the comma helps show the pause and the logical connection.

Malay punctuation is sometimes a bit flexible in simple sentences, but this comma is completely acceptable and helps readability.

Yes, it is grammatical and understandable, but it sounds a bit formal because of maka.

A more everyday version would be:

• Dia sakit, jadi dia berehat.

That is probably what you would hear more often in conversation.

So you can think of the original sentence as correct, but slightly more formal in tone.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

• Dia ≈ dee-yah
• sakit ≈ sah-kit
• maka ≈ mah-kah
• berehat ≈ buh-reh-hat

So the whole sentence is roughly:

dee-yah sah-kit, mah-kah dee-yah buh-reh-hat

A few helpful points:

• Malay pronunciation is generally quite phonetic.
• a is usually like the a in father
• e in berehat is a schwa-like sound at the start: buh-

Not usually. Berehat means rest, not specifically sleep.

So if someone is sick:

• dia berehat = he/she rests or takes a break
• dia tidur = he/she sleeps

Resting may include lying down or taking it easy, but it does not necessarily mean sleeping.