Lubang itu dalam.

• lubang = hole
• itu = usually that, but in many sentences it can also make something definite, so English may translate it as the
• dalam = deep here

So the structure is:

• lubang itu = that hole / the hole
• dalam = the description about it

Malay often does not use a copula in simple sentences with adjectives.

So where English says:

• The hole is deep

Malay simply says:

• Lubang itu dalam

This is a very common pattern:

• Rumah itu besar = The house is big
• Air itu sejuk = The water is cold

So in this sentence, dalam works as the predicate adjective, and no separate word for is is needed.

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

So:

• lubang itu = that hole / the hole
• rumah itu = that house
• orang itu = that person

This is different from English, where that comes before the noun.

It can feel like either one in translation, depending on context.

Literally, itu is that. But Malay does not have a word exactly like English the, so itu is often used when the speaker means something specific and already identifiable.

So Lubang itu dalam could be understood as:

• That hole is deep
• The hole is deep

Both can be natural English translations.

Here it means deep.

That is important because dalam can also be used in expressions related to inside/in, but in Lubang itu dalam, it is functioning as an adjective describing the hole.

A useful contrast:

• Lubang itu dalam = The hole is deep
• di dalam lubang itu = inside that hole
• dalam lubang itu = in/inside that hole in some contexts

So the sentence structure tells you that dalam here is an adjective, not a location phrase.

This is a very useful word-order contrast.

• Lubang itu dalam = The hole is deep
• Lubang dalam itu = that deep hole

Why?

Because in a noun phrase, Malay usually places the adjective after the noun, and itu comes at the end:

• lubang dalam itu = that deep hole

But in the sentence Lubang itu dalam, the part lubang itu is the subject, and dalam is the predicate.

So:

• Noun + itu + adjective often makes a full sentence
• Noun + adjective + itu makes a noun phrase

You can, but it may mean something different.

• lubang dalam is most naturally understood as a deep hole or deep hole
• lubang itu dalam clearly means the/that hole is deep

Without itu, the phrase can sound more like a noun phrase than a full statement.

So if you specifically want to say The hole is deep, keeping itu is helpful.

Use tidak before the adjective:

• Lubang itu tidak dalam = The hole is not deep

For adjectives, tidak is the normal negator.

Not:

• Lubang itu bukan dalam ← this is usually not the correct choice here

A good basic rule:

• tidak for verbs and adjectives
• bukan mainly for nouns and noun phrases

In everyday Malay, you can often just use question intonation:

• Lubang itu dalam? = Is the hole deep?

A more formal way is:

• Adakah lubang itu dalam?

Both are understandable, but the intonation-only version is very common in speech.

A simple guide is:

• lubang → loo-bang
  
  • the ng sounds like the end of sing
• itu → ee-too
• dalam → dah-lam

So roughly:

• loo-bang ee-too dah-lam

Malay pronunciation is usually quite regular, and the vowels are generally clearer and more consistent than in English.