Pencawang itu jauh dari bangunan.

In Malay, demonstratives like ini and itu normally come after the noun.

So: pencawang itu = that substation or, depending on context, the substation

This is different from English, where this and that come before the noun.

It can feel like either, depending on context. Its basic meaning is that, but in many sentences it also helps make the noun definite, so in natural English it may be translated as the.

So pencawang itu could be understood as:

• that substation
• the substation

Malay does not use articles exactly the way English does, so itu often covers part of that job.

Malay often leaves out the verb to be in simple descriptive sentences.

So: Pencawang itu jauh dari bangunan.

literally looks more like: That substation far from building.

But the natural English meaning is: The substation is far from the building.

This is completely normal in Malay.

Yes. Jauh means far or distant. In this sentence, it works as the description of pencawang itu.

So the structure is roughly: pencawang itu + jauh + dari bangunan

That is, the substation + far + from the building

Malay adjectives often come after the noun when they directly modify it, but in a sentence like this, jauh is part of the predicate: it tells you what the substation is like.

Dari means from, and it is the normal word used when talking about physical distance from a place or object.

So: jauh dari bangunan = far from the building

That is the standard pattern: jauh dari ... = far from ...

Because they mean different things.

• di usually means at, in, or on
• dengan usually means with
• dari means from

Since the sentence is talking about distance from the building, dari is the correct choice.

So:

• jauh dari bangunan = correct
• jauh di bangunan = not the right meaning
• jauh dengan bangunan = not the normal way to express this

Yes, you can say:

Pencawang jauh dari bangunan.

This is grammatical, but it sounds less specific. With itu, the noun is more clearly identified as a particular substation. Without itu, it can sound more general, less anchored in the context, or more like a simple statement with no special emphasis on which substation you mean.

By itself, bangunan does not have to show singular or plural. Malay nouns often do not change form for number.

So bangunan can mean:

• building
• buildings

In this sentence, English would usually choose the building if the context is about one specific building. If the context were different, it could also be understood more generally.

Yes, that is grammatical, but it changes what the sentence is centered on.

• Pencawang itu jauh dari bangunan focuses on the substation.
• Bangunan itu jauh dari pencawang focuses on the building.

The physical relationship is basically the same, but the topic of the sentence changes.

You may hear daripada in some contexts and varieties, but for physical distance from a place or object, dari is the simplest and most standard choice.

So for a learner, jauh dari bangunan is the best pattern to remember.

A simple guide is:

pen-cha-wang ee-too jauh da-ree ba-ngoo-nan

A few useful points:

• c in Malay sounds like ch
• ng sounds like the ng in sing
• r is usually lightly rolled or tapped
• jauh is pronounced as two syllables, roughly ja-uh

So the rhythm is: pen-ca-wang i-tu ja-uh da-ri ba-ngu-nan