Buku lama itu berharga.

In Malay, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.

So:

• buku lama = old book
• literally, it is closer to book old

This is normal Malay word order, and it applies to many adjectives:

• rumah besar = big house
• kereta baru = new car
• orang muda = young person

So buku lama is the expected pattern.

In Malay, itu often comes after the whole noun phrase, not before the noun the way that does in English.

So:

• buku itu = that book / the book
• buku lama itu = that old book / the old book

A useful way to think about it is:

• noun first
• then adjective
• then demonstrative like ini or itu

Examples:

• rumah besar itu = that big house
• kereta merah itu = that red car

So buku lama itu is completely natural Malay word order.

It can feel like either, depending on context.

Literally, itu means that. But in real Malay, it also often helps make something definite, so in English it may be translated as the if that sounds more natural.

So buku lama itu could be understood as:

• that old book
• the old book

The exact English choice depends on the situation, not just the Malay words by themselves.

There is no separate word for is here, because Malay often leaves it out in simple descriptive sentences.

So:

• Buku lama itu berharga.
• literally: Old book that valuable
• natural English: That old book is valuable.

This is very common in Malay. You do not need a word like is in many everyday sentences.

Compare:

• Dia sakit. = He/She is sick.
• Rumah itu besar. = That house is big.
• Buku lama itu berharga. = That old book is valuable.

Berharga means valuable, worth something, or sometimes costly depending on context.

It comes from harga, which means price or value.

So berharga has the idea of having value.

In this sentence, it most naturally means:

• valuable
• possibly worth a lot

Depending on context, it might refer to:

• money value
• historical value
• sentimental value
• rarity

So an old book could be berharga because it is rare, collectible, important, or expensive.

Not exactly.

• mahal = expensive
• berharga = valuable / of value / worth something

Sometimes they overlap, but the nuance is different.

For example:

• Buku itu mahal. = The book is expensive.
• Buku itu berharga. = The book is valuable.

A book can be:

• mahal because it costs a lot
• berharga because it is rare or meaningful

So if you want to emphasize price, mahal is often the more direct choice. If you want to emphasize value, berharga is better.

In berharga, the ber- prefix is part of the word and gives the sense of having or possessing value.

So:

• harga = price, value
• berharga = having value, valuable

More broadly, ber- appears in many Malay words and can have several functions, so it is not always best to force one single English meaning onto it. In this sentence, the safest learner-friendly understanding is:

• berharga = valuable

It is usually best to learn berharga as a whole vocabulary item.

Yes, lama can mean either old or long, depending on context.

Here, because it describes buku (book), it means old:

• buku lama = old book

When talking about time or duration, lama often means long:

• sudah lama = for a long time
• lama menunggu = waited a long time

So the meaning changes with context. In Buku lama itu berharga, old is the natural reading.

Yes, you can, but the meaning becomes less specific.

Compare:

• Buku lama itu berharga. = That/The old book is valuable.
• Buku lama berharga. = Old books are valuable / An old book is valuable / Old book(s) are valuable, depending on context

With itu, you are talking about a specific book. Without it, the sentence can sound more general or less definite.

So if you mean one particular old book, itu is helpful.

You would usually use tidak before berharga:

• Buku lama itu tidak berharga.

That means:

• That old book is not valuable.

Use tidak for adjectives and verbs.

Do not normally use bukan here, because berharga is not a noun phrase in this sentence.

A useful contrast:

• tidak berharga = not valuable
• tidak mahal = not expensive

If you want to be clearly plural, you can reduplicate the noun:

• Buku-buku lama itu berharga. = Those old books are valuable.

But Malay often leaves plural unmarked if the meaning is already clear from context.

So in some situations, just buku lama itu might still be understood from context, though buku-buku makes the plurality explicit.

This is one of the ways Malay differs from English: you do not always have to mark plural as strictly.