Kanak-kanak itu membaca cerita tentang wira.

that

Breakdown of Kanak-kanak itu membaca cerita tentang wira.

• tentang: about
• membaca: to read
• cerita: the story

Questions & Answers about Kanak-kanak itu membaca cerita tentang wira.

Why is kanak-kanak repeated? Does it mean more than one child?

Yes. In Malay, full reduplication often marks plurality or a general class of things. So kanak-kanak means children.

A single child is more commonly seorang kanak-kanak in careful speech, but in everyday Malay people often use budak for child/kid.

So here:

• kanak-kanak = children

What does itu mean here, and why does it come after kanak-kanak?

Itu usually means that/those. In Malay, demonstratives normally come after the noun, not before it as in English.

So:

• kanak-kanak itu = those children / the children

This word order is very normal in Malay:

• buku itu = that book
• rumah itu = that house

Depending on context, itu can sometimes feel like the in English, not just that.

Why is it membaca instead of just baca?