Hadirin itu sangat terhibur.

Hadirin is a formal word meaning the audience, those present, or attendees/listeners present at an event. It is normally understood as a plural/collective noun.

So in this sentence, hadirin itu refers to a group of people, not just one person.

A few notes:

• It is quite formal.
• You often hear it in speeches, ceremonies, announcements, and official events.
• In casual conversation, other words might be more natural depending on context, such as penonton for viewers/spectators.

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

So:

• hadirin itu = that audience / the audience
• buku itu = that book / the book

This is normal Malay word order. English puts that before the noun, but Malay usually puts itu after it.

In many contexts, itu can also make the noun feel more definite, so hadirin itu can be translated as the audience even if English does not explicitly say that audience.

Sangat means very.

It usually comes before the adjective or descriptive word it modifies:

• sangat terhibur = very entertained
• sangat besar = very big
• sangat baik = very good

So in this sentence:

• Hadirin itu sangat terhibur.
• Literally: The audience very entertained.
• Natural English: The audience was very entertained.

Malay often does not use a verb equivalent to to be in simple sentences like this.

So where English says:

• The audience was very entertained

Malay simply says:

• Hadirin itu sangat terhibur

This is completely normal. In Malay, a noun can be followed directly by an adjective or descriptive predicate without needing is/are/was/were.

Compare:

• Dia gembira. = He/She is happy.
• Rumah itu besar. = That house is big.
• Hadirin itu sangat terhibur. = The audience was very entertained.

The time reference often comes from context rather than a special verb.

Terhibur means entertained, amused, or cheered up, depending on context.

In this sentence, it means the audience felt entertained.

It comes from the root hibur, which relates to entertaining, amusing, or cheering someone up.

So:

• hibur = entertain / cheer
• terhibur = entertained / amused / cheered up

In context, sangat terhibur most naturally means:

• very entertained
• sometimes greatly amused

In this sentence, ter- helps form a state or resulting condition. So terhibur describes someone as being in the state of feeling entertained/amused.

For learners, the easiest way to understand it here is:

• hibur = to entertain
• terhibur = to become/be entertained

It is not exactly the same as an active verb like menghibur.

Compare:

• menghibur = to entertain someone
• terhibur = to be/become entertained

So:

• Pelawak itu menghibur hadirin. = The comedian entertained the audience.
• Hadirin itu terhibur. = The audience was entertained.

In sentences like this, it is often best understood as an adjectival or stative predicate describing a condition: entertained.

Malay does not always divide words into categories in exactly the same way English does. A form like terhibur can behave like a descriptive predicate, so in practice it works much like an adjective in this sentence.

That is why sangat fits naturally before it:

• sangat terhibur

If you are an English speaker, thinking of it as a descriptive state is usually the most helpful approach.

Because menghibur means to entertain someone, not to be entertained.

So:

• menghibur = active meaning
• terhibur = state/result meaning

Compare:

• Artis itu menghibur hadirin. = The performer entertained the audience.
• Hadirin itu terhibur. = The audience was entertained.

If you said Hadirin itu sangat menghibur, it would sound like The audience is very entertaining, which changes the meaning.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Malay itu often works like:

• that
• or a marker of something already known/identified, which may be translated as the

So hadirin itu could be:

• that audience
• the audience

In many English translations, the audience sounds more natural unless the speaker is specifically contrasting one audience with another.

No. Malay often does not require explicit plural marking when the meaning is already clear.

Also, hadirin is already a collective/formal word referring to a group. So:

• Hadirin itu already clearly refers to multiple people.

You would not normally say hadirin-hadirin itu here.

Malay only uses reduplication for plurality in some cases, and even then it is often omitted if context already shows the noun is plural.

Yes, it sounds fairly formal, mainly because of hadirin.

The structure itself is normal and neutral, but hadirin is a formal event/speech word. You might hear this kind of sentence in:

• a ceremony
• a formal report
• an emcee’s remarks
• a speech about an event

In a less formal context, different nouns might be chosen depending on who the people are:

• penonton itu sangat terhibur = the spectators/audience were very entertained
• mereka sangat terhibur = they were very entertained