Dia orang yang mulia.

he/she

Breakdown of Dia orang yang mulia.

• orang: the person
• yang: that/which
• mulia: noble; honourable

Questions & Answers about Dia orang yang mulia.

What does dia mean here? Is it he or she?

Dia can mean either he or she. Malay does not usually mark gender in third-person singular pronouns, so the context tells you which one is meant.

A few useful notes:

• dia = he/she
• It is normally for one person
• For a more respectful he/she, Malay often uses beliau

So an English speaker has to get used to the fact that dia does not tell you the person’s gender.

Why is there no word for is in this sentence?

Malay often leaves out the verb to be in simple sentences like this.

So:

• Dia orang yang mulia
• literally: He/she noble person
• natural English: He/She is a noble person

This is completely normal in Malay. The idea of is is understood from the sentence structure.

Why is orang used here?