Mission—Team—FAQ—Privacy—Terms—Sponsors—Grammar—Typing Course—Donate

© 2026 Elon Automation B.V.

Learn Hardcore Malay: Najis itu busuk. - Those feces smell foul.

Hardcore Malay
/Maintaining a bicycle at home
/Najis itu busuk.

Najis itu busuk.

Word

Najis itu busuk.

Meaning

Those feces smell foul.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Lesson

Maintaining a bicycle at home

Breakdown of Najis itu busuk.

foul-smelling; rotten

Elon.io is an online learning platform

We have an entire course teaching Malay grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Malay now

Questions & Answers about Najis itu busuk.

Why does itu come after najis instead of before it?

In Malay, demonstratives like ini (this) and itu (that) usually come after the noun, not before it.

So:

najis itu = that excrement / the excrement
buku ini = this book
rumah itu = that house

This is normal Malay word order.

Does itu only mean that, or can it also mean the here?

It often literally means that, but in real usage it can also make a noun feel specific or definite, so in many contexts najis itu can be understood as the excrement.

That means the sentence could feel like:

That excrement is smelly
or The excrement is smelly

Which one sounds better in English depends on context.

Why is there no word for is in the sentence?

Malay often leaves out the present-tense copula is / am / are.

So:

Najis itu busuk literally looks like Excrement that smelly
but it naturally means That excrement is smelly

This is very common in Malay. You do not need a separate word for is in simple sentences like this.

Is busuk an adjective or a verb?

Busuk is basically an adjective meaning rotten, smelly, or stinky, depending on context.

In Malay, adjectives can act directly as the predicate of a sentence, so:

Najis itu busuk = That excrement is smelly

So even though busuk is an adjective, it works in a way that English would often translate with is + adjective.

How is Najis itu busuk different from najis busuk itu?

This is a very useful distinction:

Najis itu busuk = That excrement is smelly
- full sentence
- busuk is the predicate
najis busuk itu = that smelly excrement
- noun phrase, not a full statement by itself
- busuk describes najis inside the noun phrase

So word order changes the structure and meaning.

If I wanted to say smelly excrement, would najis busuk be correct?

Yes. Najis busuk means smelly excrement.

Compare:

najis busuk = smelly excrement
najis itu busuk = the excrement is smelly

The first is a noun phrase.
The second is a complete sentence.

Does busuk only mean smelly?

Not always. Busuk can mean several related things, such as:

rotten
foul-smelling
stinking
sometimes figuratively bad or corrupt

For food, busuk often means rotten.
For something like najis, it naturally comes across as smelly or stinking.

So the exact English translation depends on what is being described.

Is najis a normal everyday word for poop?

It is understandable, but its tone is a bit more formal, polite, or sometimes religious/legal than the most casual everyday words.

Depending on context, najis can mean:

excrement / feces
or more broadly impurity, especially in Islamic usage

So in some contexts it sounds more formal than a casual everyday word like poop.

How do you pronounce Najis itu busuk?

A simple approximate pronunciation is:

Najis → NA-jis or na-JIS with a soft j like in jam
itu → ee-too
busuk → boo-sook

A helpful rough guide:

nah-jis ee-too boo-sook

In many Malay accents, the final k in busuk may sound very light or like a cut-off stop rather than a strong English k.

Could I say Najis ini busuk instead?

Yes. That would mean This excrement is smelly.

The difference is:

ini = this
itu = that

Both come after the noun:

najis ini
najis itu

So the sentence changes depending on whether the thing is felt to be near or farther away, physically or mentally.

Is this sentence natural Malay?

Yes, it is grammatically natural.

It is a very simple and direct sentence:

najis itu = the specific excrement
busuk = smelly

So Najis itu busuk is a normal basic Malay sentence structure. The only thing that may feel unusual is the topic itself, not the grammar.

Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io