Kanak-kanak itu melihat beruang itu.

This is called reduplication, and it is very common in Malay.

In this case, kanak-kanak is the normal word for children. It comes from repeating kanak, but in modern Malay the full reduplicated form is what people normally use. So you should learn kanak-kanak as a standard vocabulary item, not just as a mechanical repetition.

Reduplication in Malay can often show:

• plural meaning
• variety
• repeated action
• a fixed dictionary word

Here, it gives the noun phrase kanak-kanak itu = the children / those children.

Usually, yes: kanak-kanak normally refers to children as a plural or general group.

However, Malay often does not force the same strict singular/plural distinction that English does. In some contexts, Malay nouns can be neutral about number unless the context makes it clear. But for kanak-kanak, learners should generally understand it as children.

If you wanted a child, a much more common word would be seorang kanak-kanak or simply seorang budak depending on style and context.

Itu literally often means that, but in sentences like this it also works a lot like the in English by marking something as definite or already identifiable.

So:

• kanak-kanak itu can mean those children or the children
• beruang itu can mean that bear or the bear

The exact translation depends on context. If the meaning has already been established, itu is helping point to a specific child/group and a specific bear.

Because that is the normal Malay pattern.

In English, we say:

• that child
• the bear

In Malay, the demonstrative or definite-like word usually comes after the noun:

• kanak-kanak itu
• beruang itu

So Malay noun phrases often look like:

• noun + itu
• noun + ini

For example:

• rumah itu = that house / the house
• buku ini = this book

Because each noun phrase has its own modifier.

The sentence has two noun phrases:

1. kanak-kanak itu = the/those children
2. beruang itu = the/that bear

Malay does not usually let one itu cover both nouns. If both the subject and object are definite or specifically identified, each noun phrase can take its own itu.

So the structure is completely normal:

• [kanak-kanak itu] [melihat] [beruang itu]

Melihat is the standard active verb meaning to see or to look at.

It comes from the root lihat with the prefix meN-, which often forms active verbs in Malay. With lihat, that prefix appears as me-, giving melihat.

So:

• lihat = root, often glossed as see/look
• melihat = active verb, to see / saw / are seeing, depending on context

In everyday informal speech, people may sometimes use lihat by itself, but melihat is the more standard form in a sentence like this.

No, melihat does not show tense by itself.

Malay verbs usually do not change form for:

• present
• past
• future

So melihat could mean:

• see
• saw
• are seeing
• were seeing

The time is usually understood from context or from time words such as:

• semalam = yesterday
• sekarang = now
• esok = tomorrow

So Kanak-kanak itu melihat beruang itu could mean:

• The children saw the bear
• The children are looking at the bear depending on the situation.

The basic word order is Subject–Verb–Object, just like in English.

Breakdown:

• Kanak-kanak itu = subject
• melihat = verb
• beruang itu = object

So literally the structure is:

• The children
  • see/saw
    • the bear

That makes this sentence quite straightforward for an English speaker.

Yes. That is a very common thing for English-speaking learners to notice.

In Malay, itu is often translated as:

• that
• the

Which one sounds best in English depends on context.

So:

• kanak-kanak itu might be those children if you are contrasting them with other children
• or the children if you are just referring to a known group

The same applies to beruang itu.

Malay does not have a separate article system that works exactly like English the and a.

No, not here.

Malay does not have articles exactly like English a/an and the.

If you want to make one explicit, Malay often uses a classifier construction such as:

• seorang kanak-kanak = a child
• seekor beruang = a bear

Without that kind of marker, a bare noun can be general, indefinite, or definite depending on context. In this sentence, the use of itu makes both nouns definite/specific.

Because Malay does not require plural marking in the same way English does.

The noun beruang can mean:

• bear
• bears depending on context

If Malay wants to clearly mark plurality, it can use reduplication:

• beruang-beruang = bears

But if the meaning is already clear from context, Malay often leaves the noun unchanged.

In this sentence, beruang itu is most naturally understood as the bear / that bear, singular, because that is the most likely reading in context.

The hyphen shows full reduplication in standard spelling.

Malay often writes repeated forms with a hyphen:

• kanak-kanak
• buku-buku
• rumah-rumah

So the hyphen helps show that the word is made from repetition. In formal written Malay, this is the normal spelling.

Yes, absolutely.

Because itu can be understood as that/those as well as a definite marker, this sentence could reasonably be translated as:

• The children saw the bear
• Those children saw that bear

Which English version is best depends on the wider context. If the sentence is pointing to specific children and a specific bear, those children and that bear may fit better. If it is just talking about already-known participants, the children and the bear may sound more natural.