Ulat itu di bawah daun.

that

Breakdown of Ulat itu di bawah daun.

• di: at
• bawah: under
• daun: the leaf

Questions & Answers about Ulat itu di bawah daun.

What does each word in Ulat itu di bawah daun mean?

Word by word:

• ulat = caterpillar or worm, depending on context
• itu = that (and in many sentences it can feel a lot like the)
• di bawah = under / below
• daun = leaf

So the structure is literally something like:

caterpillar that under leaf

Natural English adds is and articles, but Malay often does not.

Why is itu placed after ulat instead of before it?

In Malay, demonstratives like ini (this) and itu (that) usually come after the noun.

So:

• ulat itu = that caterpillar / the caterpillar
• daun itu = that leaf / the leaf

This is normal Malay word order.
English says that caterpillar, but Malay says caterpillar that.

Does itu mean that or the here?