Negara itu kaya dengan budaya.

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

So:

• negara itu = that country / the country
• budaya itu = that culture

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

It can feel like either one, depending on context.

In many sentences, itu literally means that, but in natural translation it often works more like the when the noun is already known or specific.

So negara itu could mean:

• that country if you are pointing it out or contrasting it with another one
• the country if it is already understood which country you mean

Malay often leaves this kind of distinction to context.

There is no separate word for "is" here.

Malay often forms simple descriptive sentences without a copula (without a word like is/am/are). The structure is simply:

• Negara itu = the country / that country
• kaya dengan budaya = rich in culture

So Malay says it more like:

• That country rich with culture

but in correct English we translate it as:

• That country is rich in culture

This is very normal in Malay.

Here, kaya is an adjective, meaning rich.

It describes negara itu.

So the sentence structure is:

• negara itu = subject
• kaya = adjective describing the subject
• dengan budaya = phrase explaining what it is rich in

Malay adjectives can come directly after the noun phrase in this kind of sentence, without needing a word like is.

Dengan usually means with, but in this sentence it helps express the idea of being rich in something.

So:

• kaya dengan budaya = rich with culture / rich in culture

This is a common Malay pattern:

• kaya dengan pengalaman = rich in experience
• kaya dengan sumber alam = rich in natural resources

Even though English prefers rich in, Malay uses kaya dengan.

Yes, depending on context.

Malay nouns do not usually change form for singular and plural the way English nouns do. So budaya can mean:

• culture
• cultures

If the context is general, English often translates it as culture:

• kaya dengan budaya = rich in culture

If you want to make plurality clearer in Malay, you might sometimes see:

• budaya-budaya

But in many cases, plain budaya is enough.

It is less standard for this meaning.

The most natural phrasing is:

• Negara itu kaya dengan budaya

because kaya dengan is the usual pattern for saying rich in something.

If you remove dengan, the sentence may sound incomplete or unnatural to many speakers.

A simple approximate pronunciation is:

• neh-GAH-rah EE-too KAH-yah DENG-an boo-DAH-yah

A few helpful notes:

• ng in dengan and negara sounds like the ng in sing
• r is usually lightly rolled or tapped
• a is usually pronounced clearly, like ah
• kaya has two syllables: ka-ya
• budaya has three syllables: bu-da-ya

Malay spelling is fairly regular, so pronunciation is usually more predictable than in English.

Yes, very normal.

The pattern is:

• noun phrase + adjective + complement

So:

• Negara itu = noun phrase
• kaya = adjective
• dengan budaya = complement

This kind of structure is common in Malay:

• Rumah itu besar = The house is big
• Dia bangga dengan anaknya = He/She is proud of his/her child
• Kawasan itu terkenal dengan makanan laut = That area is famous for seafood

For adjectives in Malay, you usually use tidak to negate them.

So:

• Negara itu tidak kaya dengan budaya.

This means:

• That country is not rich in culture.

A useful rule is:

• tidak is used with verbs and adjectives
• bukan is mainly used with nouns and noun phrases

Since kaya is an adjective, tidak is the correct choice here.

Yes. This is a very productive pattern in Malay.

Examples:

• Negara itu kaya dengan sejarah. = The country is rich in history.
• Negara itu kaya dengan tradisi. = The country is rich in tradition.
• Negara itu kaya dengan sumber alam. = The country is rich in natural resources.
• Daerah itu kaya dengan flora dan fauna. = The region is rich in flora and fauna.

So once you learn kaya dengan + noun, you can use it in many situations.