Askar itu menjaga sempadan.

that

Breakdown of Askar itu menjaga sempadan.

• sempadan: the border
• menjaga: to protect
• askar: a soldier

Questions & Answers about Askar itu menjaga sempadan.

What does askar mean here? Is it soldier or army?

Here, askar most naturally means soldier.

So Askar itu is usually understood as that soldier or the soldier.

A few notes:

• askar can sometimes refer more generally to military personnel.
• For army as an institution, Malay more commonly uses tentera or angkatan tentera, depending on context.

In this sentence, the most straightforward reading is:

• Askar itu = the/that soldier

Why is itu after askar instead of before it?

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

So:

• askar itu = that soldier
• rumah itu = that house
• buku ini = this book

This is different from English, where demonstratives come before the noun.

Also, in everyday Malay, itu after a noun can sometimes feel like the as well as that, depending on context. So askar itu may be translated as:

• that soldier
• the soldier

What does menjaga mean exactly?