This is the 299th most frequent Malay word.
dahulu
"Previously" or "before."
Here, 'dahulu' functions to indicate a time in the past, emphasizing that the action occurred before the present moment.
Saya pernah tinggal di kampung dahulu.
I once lived in the village before.
In this sentence, 'dahulu' is used to mean 'first' or 'prior', specifying the sequence of actions.
Dia perlu menyelesaikan tugas ini dahulu sebelum pergi.
He needs to finish this task first before leaving.
Here, 'dahulu' refers to a past time period, portraying a specific characteristic of the place during that time.