Kami sangka jalan itu selamat.

Malay has two different words for we:

• kami = we, but not including the person being spoken to
• kita = we, including the person being spoken to

So Kami sangka jalan itu selamat means the speaker and some others thought so, but the listener was not part of that group.

Sangka usually means something like:

• to think
• to assume
• to suppose
• to suspect

It often suggests an assumption or belief, sometimes one that later turns out to be wrong.

So in this sentence, sangka is not just neutral thinking in every possible sense. It has more of an we assumed / we thought feeling.

Both sangka and menyangka can be used as verbs.

In everyday Malay, sangka by itself is very common and natural:

• Saya sangka...
• Kami sangka...

Menyangka is also possible, but it can sound a bit more formal or less common in ordinary conversation.

So this sentence is normal as it is.

Malay often leaves out the equivalent of that when it is understood.

So:

• Kami sangka jalan itu selamat.

can also be expanded to:

• Kami sangka bahawa jalan itu selamat.

Here, bahawa means that, but in natural Malay it is often omitted.

In Malay, demonstratives usually come after the noun:

• jalan ini = this road
• jalan itu = that road

This is the normal pattern:

• noun + ini/itu

So jalan itu literally follows the Malay word order, even though English says that road.

Not always. Jalan can mean several related things depending on context, such as:

• road
• street
• way
• path
• sometimes even to walk as a verb in other contexts

In this sentence, because it comes before itu and is followed by selamat, it is clearly a noun meaning something like road, path, or route.

Malay often does not use a verb like to be in simple sentences.

So:

• jalan itu selamat

literally looks like:

• that road safe

But it naturally means:

• that road is safe
• that road was safe

The tense comes from context, not from a separate is/was verb.

Also, adalah is generally not used in a simple sentence like this.

Selamat most often means safe, but it has a wider range of meanings depending on context, including:

• safe
• well
• secure
• part of greetings, like selamat pagi

In this sentence, selamat clearly means safe.

So jalan itu selamat means the road/path was considered safe.

The sentence breaks down like this:

• Kami = subject
• sangka = main verb
• jalan itu selamat = the thing we thought

That last part is a whole clause:

• jalan itu = subject inside the clause
• selamat = predicate adjective

So Malay is basically saying:

• We thought [that road safe]
• more naturally in English: We thought that road was safe

Malay verbs usually do not change form for tense.

So sangka itself does not automatically mean thought rather than think. The time is understood from context.

Depending on context, Kami sangka jalan itu selamat could mean:

• We thought the road was safe
• We think the road is safe

But in many situations, English will translate it as past because the surrounding context makes that the most natural meaning.

If Malay wants to make time clearer, it can add time words like:

• tadi = earlier
• semalam = yesterday
• dulu = before

A simple approximation is:

• Kami → kah-mee
• sangka → sahng-kah
• jalan → jah-lahn
• itu → ee-too
• selamat → seh-lah-maht

A few helpful notes:

• ng in sangka is like the sound in sing
• j in jalan sounds like English j in jam
• Malay vowels are usually clearer and more stable than English vowels
• Stress is usually fairly light, not as strong as in English

So the whole sentence is roughly: kah-mee sahng-kah jah-lahn ee-too seh-lah-maht