Itu is the neutral Standard Malaysian Malay demonstrative traditionally translated as English that or those. Physical distance is an important use, but it is only the starting point. Speakers also use itu when a person, object, event, or idea is already identifiable from an earlier mention or from shared knowledge, even when it is not physically far away.
Nampak rumah putih itu?
Do you see that white house?
Saya sudah membaca buku itu.
I have read that book / those books.
Like ini, itu is number-neutral and normally follows the complete noun phrase. All main examples here use neutral Standard Malay. Shortened tu is extremely common (informal) in Malaysian conversation and messages; use full itu in careful speech and writing.
Distal pointing: away from the speaker
In its clearest deictic use, itu directs the listener toward a referent outside the speaker's immediate space. A gesture, gaze, or visible contrast usually makes the intended item obvious. The distance is relative: it may be the other shirt on a counter, a building across the road, or a mountain on the horizon.
Tolong ambilkan payung hitam itu.
Please pass me that black umbrella.
Kanak-kanak itu sedang menunggu ibunya di pintu masuk.
That child is waiting for his or her mother at the entrance.
Gunung yang kelihatan dari sini itu ialah Gunung Kinabalu.
That mountain visible from here is Mount Kinabalu.
The order is noun + description + itu, not English that + description + noun. In payung hitam itu, the listener first identifies the class “black umbrella” and then uses itu to select the distal member. The demonstrative therefore tends to close the noun phrase.
Number neutrality: that or those
Itu does not have separate singular and plural forms. Kereta itu may refer to one car or to a contextually understood group. Reduplication, a numeral, or a quantifier can make plurality explicit: kereta-kereta itu, dua kereta itu, semua kereta itu.
Dua kereta itu menghalang pintu pagar.
Those two cars are blocking the gate.
Pelajar-pelajar itu datang dari sekolah yang sama.
Those students come from the same school.
After an exact number, the noun normally remains unreduplicated: dua kereta itu, not dua kereta-kereta itu. English forces the speaker to choose that or those, but Malay lets the number come from elsewhere in the phrase or from context.
A narrative callback: the book already introduced
Once a speaker introduces a referent, itu can retrieve it on the next mention. This anaphoric use resembles English the as often as English that. Imagine the following short narrative:
Di atas meja ada sebuah buku lama. Buku itu kepunyaan datuk saya.
There was an old book on the table. The book belonged to my grandfather.
The first sentence introduces sebuah buku lama, an old book not yet identifiable to the listener. The second sentence uses buku itu to signal “the particular book I have just made available in our conversation.” No physical contrast with a nearer book is required.
Aina menerima satu tawaran kerja semalam. Tawaran itu memerlukan dia berpindah ke Johor Bahru.
Aina received a job offer yesterday. The offer requires her to move to Johor Bahru.
Kami menonton sebuah dokumentari tentang laut. Dokumentari itu sangat menarik.
We watched a documentary about the sea. The documentary was very interesting.
The ability to retrieve an earlier referent makes itu central to coherent storytelling. Formal news and administrative writing may use tersebut for an explicitly institutional tone; ordinary narrative and conversation normally prefer itu. That contrast is developed on the tersebut page.
Shared knowledge and identifiability
Something need not have been mentioned in the current conversation if both speakers can identify it from shared experience. Mesyuarat itu may mean “the meeting we both know about,” and kedai itu may mean “the shop we always discuss.” The decisive question is not simply “Is it far?” but “Can you identify which one I mean?”
Awak jadi datang ke mesyuarat itu petang nanti?
Are you coming to the meeting this afternoon after all?
Kedai itu tutup setiap hari Isnin, kan?
That shop is closed every Monday, right?
Jangan lupa bawa borang itu esok.
Don't forget to bring the form tomorrow.
In the last example, the form might be in the listener's hand, not distant from either participant. Itu works because the form is mutually identifiable. Conversely, a distant object that the listener cannot distinguish may need a fuller description rather than itu alone.
Topic and comment with standalone itu
Itu can stand alone as a demonstrative pronoun: Saya tidak mahu itu “I don't want that.” It can also form the subject of a nominal clause, followed directly by a noun-phrase predicate: Itu masalah besar “That is a big problem.” Malay does not require a present-tense copula equivalent to English is here.
Itu bukan telefon saya.
That isn't my phone.
Itu keputusan pengurus, bukan keputusan saya.
That is the manager's decision, not mine.
This pattern differs from masalah itu besar “that/the problem is serious.” Compare the structures:
| Malay | Structure | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| masalah itu | noun + modifying demonstrative | that/the problem |
| Itu masalah besar. | demonstrative subject + noun-phrase predicate | That is a big problem. |
| Masalah itu besar. | identified subject + adjectival predicate | That/The problem is serious. |
In speech, itu can also frame a previously mentioned proposition as a topic: Itu saya tak pasti “That, I'm not sure about” (informal). This topic-comment order is marked in comparison with neutral Saya tidak pasti tentang hal itu. It presents “that matter” first and then comments on the speaker's knowledge.
Yang itu: selecting “that one”
When choosing among alternatives, yang itu means “that one” or “those ones.” Yang lets the speaker omit a recoverable head noun while retaining the description or demonstrative that identifies it.
Saya pilih yang itu sebab saiznya lebih sesuai.
I'll choose that one because its size is more suitable.
Yang itu sudah rosak; cuba guna yang ini.
That one is already broken; try using this one.
Do not use satu itu merely because English contains the noun one. A numeral satu counts; yang itu selects an understood member from a set.
Itu is not a compulsory definite article
Malay has no direct, obligatory equivalent of English the. A bare noun can be definite when context is sufficient: Tutup pintu naturally means “Close the door” when there is one relevant door. Adding itu makes the referent explicitly distal, previously mentioned, contrastive, or mutually identified; it is not mechanically attached to every English noun with the.
Tolong tutup tingkap sebelum keluar.
Please close the window before leaving.
Tolong tutup tingkap belakang itu, bukan tingkap depan.
Please close that back window, not the front window.
The second sentence benefits from itu because the speaker contrasts a particular window. In the first, the situation alone identifies the relevant window. English speakers who translate every the as itu make Malay sound unnecessarily pointed and repetitive.
Common Mistakes
1. Putting itu before a modified noun
❌ Saya mahu itu baju biru.
Incorrect for ‘I want that blue shirt’ — itu has been copied into English position.
✅ Saya mahu baju biru itu.
I want that blue shirt.
2. Treating itu only as physical “that over there”
❌ Saya membeli sebuah buku semalam. Buku sangat menarik.
Incomplete reference — the second mention does not clearly retrieve the introduced book.
✅ Saya membeli sebuah buku semalam. Buku itu sangat menarik.
I bought a book yesterday. The book was very interesting.
3. Changing the demonstrative for plural number
❌ Semua kereta itus perlu dialihkan.
Incorrect — itu never receives an English-style plural ending.
✅ Semua kereta itu perlu dialihkan.
All those cars need to be moved.
4. Adding itu for every English “the”
❌ Sila buka itu pintu.
Incorrect — itu is misplaced, and the situation already identifies the door.
✅ Sila buka pintu.
Please open the door.
Key Takeaways
Neutral Standard Malay itu normally follows the full noun phrase, remains identical with singular and plural referents, and can signal distance, previous mention, or shared identifiability. Its anaphoric use often corresponds to English the, but it is not an obligatory definite article. Keep buku itu “that/the book” distinct from standalone Itu buku saya “That is my book,” and use yang itu when selecting “that one.”
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- tersebut in Formal Reference Chains in Malaysian MalayB1 — Use postnominal tersebut to retrieve a previously introduced referent in news, legal, and administrative prose without importing its formal tone into casual conversation.
- Definite and Indefinite Readings in Malaysian MalayA2 — Understand how context, demonstratives, classifiers, and -nya express identifiable and newly introduced referents without articles.
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