Radio itu di atas meja.

In Malay, a sentence like this usually does not need a verb meaning to be.

So English says:

• The radio is on the table

But Malay simply says:

• Radio itu di atas meja

This is very normal. In location sentences, Malay often just puts:

• thing + location

So you can think of it as:

• radio that/on the table

with the meaning understood as The radio is on the table.

Itu usually means that, but in many sentences it can also help make a noun more definite, like the in English.

So radio itu can mean:

• that radio
• the radio (depending on context)

Malay does not have articles exactly like English a/an/the, so words like itu and ini often help show which thing is being talked about.

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

So:

• radio itu = that radio / the radio
• meja itu = that table / the table

This is different from English, where we say that radio.

A very common pattern in Malay is:

• noun + ini
• noun + itu

Di atas means on, on top of, or more literally at the upper part/surface of.

In this sentence:

• di = at / in / on
• atas = top / upper part

Together, di atas means on top of or simply on.

So:

• di atas meja = on the table

Because here di is a preposition, not a verb prefix.

In Malay:

• di atas = on / above
• di rumah = at home
• di sekolah = at school

This di is written separately from the following word.

But there is also a different di-, which is a passive verb prefix, and that one is written attached to the verb:

• ditulis = written
• dibuka = opened

So:

• di atas → separate, because it is a preposition
• ditulis → attached, because it is a verb form

Malay does not use the the way English does.

The noun meja can mean:

• a table
• the table
• just table

The exact meaning depends on context.

In di atas meja, the listener usually understands on the table from the situation. Malay often leaves this kind of definiteness unstated unless it needs to be clearer.

If you want to be more specific, you could say:

• di atas meja itu = on that table / on the table

Standard Malay normally uses di in this kind of location phrase, so Radio itu di atas meja is the correct and natural form.

Without di, atas meja sounds incomplete in standard grammar for this sentence.

So use:

• di atas meja = on the table

not usually:

• atas meja by itself after the subject in a full standard sentence

Yes, you can, but the meaning changes slightly.

• di meja = at the table / on the table / by the table, depending on context
• di atas meja = specifically on top of the table

So di atas meja is more precise. If the radio is physically resting on the surface of the table, di atas meja is the clearest choice.

Yes. It is grammatically correct, but the meaning changes.

• radio itu = that radio / the radio
• radio ini = this radio

So:

• Radio itu di atas meja = That/The radio is on the table
• Radio ini di atas meja = This radio is on the table

Use ini for something near the speaker, and itu for something farther away or already identified in the conversation.

Yes, Radio di atas meja can be understood, but it is usually less specific.

Compare:

• Radio itu di atas meja = The/that radio is on the table
• Radio di atas meja = A radio / radio is on the table or a more general statement, depending on context

Adding itu makes it clearer that you are talking about a particular radio.

Yes. Radio is a normal Malay word, borrowed from other languages, and it is commonly used.

Malay has many loanwords, and radio is one of them. So this sentence sounds completely natural.