Dia melihat babi itu.

Yes. Dia can mean either he or she. Malay does not usually mark gender in third-person singular pronouns the way English does.

So Dia melihat babi itu could mean:

• He sees/saw the pig
• She sees/saw the pig

You normally know which one is meant from context.

Lihat is the basic root, meaning see/look.
Melihat is the verb form built from that root with the prefix meN-.

In many sentences, meN- forms an active verb, especially in more standard or careful Malay. So:

• lihat = root
• melihat = to see / sees / saw

A learner should know that everyday spoken Malay often drops prefixes more than formal written Malay does, but melihat is a very normal and correct full form.

Yes, melihat sounds a bit more standard or formal than some everyday alternatives.

In casual speech, you may also hear:

• Dia nampak babi itu = He/She saw/sees that pig
• Dia tengok babi itu = He/She looked at / saw that pig
• Dia lihat babi itu = possible in less formal usage

Very roughly:

• melihat = standard, neutral, a bit more formal
• tengok = very common in speech
• nampak = often emphasizes actually noticing or being able to see something

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

So:

• babi itu = that pig / the pig
• rumah itu = that house / the house
• orang itu = that person / the person

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

It can mean either, depending on context.

Literally, itu often corresponds to that. But in many natural sentences, noun + itu also works a lot like the + noun in English, especially when the thing is specific and already identifiable.

So babi itu may be understood as:

• that pig
• the pig

Context tells you which sounds best in English.

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

Instead, specificity is often shown through:

• context
• word order
• demonstratives like ini and itu

So:

• babi can mean a pig, pigs, or pig, depending on context
• babi itu makes it more specific: that pig or the pig

This is a very common adjustment for English speakers learning Malay.

The basic word order is:

Subject + Verb + Object

So in Dia melihat babi itu:

• Dia = subject
• melihat = verb
• babi itu = object

That is quite similar to normal English word order:

• He/She sees the pig
• She saw that pig

So the structure itself is familiar, even if some details, like itu after the noun, are different.

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

So Dia melihat babi itu could mean:

• He sees the pig
• He is seeing the pig
• He saw the pig
• She sees that pig
• She saw that pig

Time is usually understood from context or added with time words such as:

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

For example:

• Dia melihat babi itu semalam = He/She saw that pig yesterday

Yes. Dia melihat babi is grammatically fine.

Without itu, babi is less specific. Depending on context, it could mean:

• He/She sees a pig
• He/She saw pigs
• He/She sees pig(s)

Adding itu makes the noun more definite or identifiable:

• Dia melihat babi itu = He/She sees/saw that pig / the pig

So the version with itu points to a specific pig.

A simple learner-friendly approximation is:

dee-ah meh-lee-hat bah-bee ee-too

A few notes:

• dia = two syllables: di-a
• melihat = me-li-hat
• babi = ba-bi
• itu = i-tu

Malay pronunciation is usually fairly regular, much more regular than English spelling.

Babi is the ordinary word for pig. Grammatically, it is neutral.

However, culturally, it can feel sensitive in some situations because pigs are associated with religious taboos for many Muslims, and Malaysia, Brunei, and parts of the Malay-speaking world have many Muslim speakers.

So:

• as a dictionary word, babi is normal
• as an insult, it can be rude
• in ordinary description, it is just the standard noun for pig

A learner should mainly be aware of the cultural sensitivity, not a grammar issue.

In full standard sentences, dia is normally included here.

Malay can sometimes omit subjects in conversation when context makes them obvious, but for a clear basic sentence, Dia melihat babi itu is the normal full version.

For a beginner, it is best to keep the subject unless you have already learned when omission sounds natural.