Orang itu tercekik dan tidak boleh bernafas.

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

So:

• orang itu = that person / the person
• buku ini = this book

This is different from English, where that comes before the noun.

In this sentence, orang itu refers to a specific person already known from the context, so it can often be translated as the person or that person.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Malay does not have a separate word for the like English does. Because of that, itu is often used when talking about a specific, identifiable thing or person.

So orang itu could be understood as:

• that person
• the person

In many real situations, English would naturally translate it as the person even though the Malay uses itu.

Tercekik comes from the root cekik, which is related to choking/strangling. The prefix ter- often gives the idea that something happens unintentionally, accidentally, or as a resulting state.

So tercekik usually means something like:

• to be choking
• to choke accidentally
• to become choked

In this sentence, it describes the person’s condition: the person is choking.

For learners, it is often easiest to understand tercekik here as a complete word meaning is choking or has choked.

Dan simply means and.

It joins the two parts of the sentence:

• Orang itu tercekik
• tidak boleh bernafas

So the whole sentence says that the person is choking and cannot breathe.

Malay uses tidak to negate verbs and adjectives, while bukan is mainly used to negate nouns and noun phrases.

Here, boleh is functioning as a verb-like modal meaning can / be able to, so the correct negation is:

• tidak boleh = cannot / not able to

Examples:

• Dia tidak boleh datang. = He/She cannot come.
• Itu bukan rumah saya. = That is not my house.

So in your sentence, tidak boleh is the natural and correct choice.

In Malay, boleh can mean several related things depending on context:

• can / be able to
• may
• be allowed to

In this sentence, tidak boleh bernafas clearly means cannot breathe or is unable to breathe, not is not allowed to breathe.

So context tells you that boleh here is about physical ability, not permission.

Nafas means breath as a noun.
Bernafas means to breathe.

The prefix ber- often turns a noun or root into an intransitive verb, often meaning to have, to use, or to do something connected with that root.

So:

• nafas = breath
• bernafas = breathe / to breathe

In this sentence, you need the verb form because the meaning is cannot breathe.

Word-for-word, yes, it lines up roughly like that:

• tidak = not
• boleh = can / able to
• bernafas = breathe

But natural English would be:

• cannot breathe
• can’t breathe
• is unable to breathe

So the literal structure helps you understand the grammar, but the best translation in English is cannot breathe.

No, Malay verbs do not change form for tense the way English verbs do.

Tercekik and bernafas stay the same whether the situation is present, past, or future. Time is usually understood from context or shown with time words such as:

• semalam = yesterday
• sekarang = now
• nanti = later

So this sentence by itself does not explicitly mark tense. In context, it will usually be understood as something happening now:

• The person is choking and cannot breathe.

Yes. Tak is a very common informal spoken shortening of tidak.

So these are both possible:

• tidak boleh bernafas = more neutral/formal
• tak boleh bernafas = more conversational/spoken

In writing, especially in learning materials or more formal contexts, tidak is often preferred. In everyday speech, tak is extremely common.

Malay often does not need a verb equivalent to is/are in the same way English does.

English says:

• The person is choking and cannot breathe.

Malay says:

• Orang itu tercekik dan tidak boleh bernafas.

There is no separate word for is before tercekik. Malay commonly states the subject and then directly gives its condition or action.

This is very normal in Malay and is something English speakers need to get used to.

Yes, orang can refer to person or people depending on context.

In this sentence, orang itu is understood as that person / the person, so it is singular.

Context usually makes the number clear. If Malay wants to be very explicit about plurality, it can use reduplication or other words, for example:

• orang-orang itu = those people
• ramai orang = many people

But very often, Malay leaves number to context. Here, the sentence is naturally read as singular.