Kami membaja tumbuhan itu setelah tunas baharu tumbuh.

Kami means we, but it is the exclusive form: it does not include the person being spoken to.

• kami = we, not including you
• kita = we, including you

So in this sentence, Kami membaja tumbuhan itu... means the speaker and some other people fertilized the plant, but the listener was not part of that group.

Baja is the root word, meaning fertilizer or related to fertilizing.
To make it an active verb, Malay often adds the meN- prefix.

So:

• baja = fertilizer / fertilize
• membaja = to fertilize

The prefix changes form depending on the first sound of the root. Since baja begins with b, meN- becomes mem-, giving membaja.

By itself, membaja does not mark tense the way English verbs do. Malay verbs usually do not change form for past, present, or future.

So depending on context, membaja can mean:

• fertilize
• fertilized
• are fertilizing

In this sentence, because of the full context, English might naturally translate it as fertilized or fertilize.

They come from the same root:

• tumbuh = to grow, sprout, appear
• tumbuhan = plant, vegetation

The ending -an often turns a root into a noun. So tumbuhan is a noun meaning something like a plant / a growing thing, while the final tumbuh is the verb to grow.

So the sentence uses the same root twice, but in two different forms:

• tumbuhan = plant
• tumbuh = grew / grow

In Malay, demonstratives such as ini and itu usually come after the noun.

So:

• tumbuhan itu = that plant
• rumah ini = this house

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

Yes, in many contexts it can.

Literally, itu means that, but in real usage it often also helps mark something as definite, so tumbuhan itu may be understood as:

• that plant
• the plant

The best English translation depends on context.

Because adjectives usually come after the noun in Malay.

So:

• tunas baharu = new shoots
• buku baharu = new book
• rumah besar = big house

This is one of the most important word-order differences from English.

Both baharu and baru mean new.

• baru is more common in everyday speech
• baharu is more formal or standard in some written contexts

So tunas baharu and tunas baru both mean new shoots. The version in your sentence just sounds a bit more formal.

Setelah means after.

It is very similar to:

• selepas
• sesudah

In many cases, these can be used interchangeably. Setelah often sounds a bit more formal or written, but the meaning is basically the same here.

So:

• setelah tunas baharu tumbuh = after new shoots grew / after new shoots had grown

It may feel repetitive in English, but it is completely natural in Malay.

• tunas = shoot, bud
• tumbuh = grow, sprout, appear

So tunas baharu tumbuh means new shoots grew or new shoots appeared.

It is not strange in Malay, even though English might sometimes prefer a smoother wording like after new shoots appeared.

Malay usually does not have to mark singular and plural the way English does. The noun often stays the same.

So tunas baharu could mean:

• a new shoot
• new shoots

Context tells you which is more natural. If the speaker wants to emphasize plurality, Malay can use reduplication:

• tunas-tunas baharu = new shoots

But very often that is unnecessary.

The sentence has two parts:

1. Kami membaja tumbuhan itu
   = We fertilized / fertilize that plant

2. setelah tunas baharu tumbuh
   = after new shoots grew

So the overall structure is:

• Subject: Kami
• Verb: membaja
• Object: tumbuhan itu
• Time/subordinate clause: setelah tunas baharu tumbuh

A very literal word-for-word order would be:

• We fertilize/fertilized plant that after shoots new grow

That helps show how Malay word order differs from English.