Bir itu sejuk.

Malay often leaves out the verb to be in simple descriptive sentences.

So where English says The beer is cold, Malay simply says:

• Bir itu sejuk
• literally: beer that cold

This is completely normal and natural in Malay. You do not need to add a separate word for is in a basic sentence like this.

Itu usually means that, but after a noun it can also make the noun sound definite, like the in English.

So bir itu can mean:

• that beer
• or, depending on context, the beer

In this sentence, itu helps point to a specific beer rather than beer in general.

In Malay, demonstratives like ini and itu usually come after the noun.

So:

• bir itu = that/the beer
• bir ini = this beer

This is different from English, where we say that beer.

Because sejuk is the predicate adjective here. Malay commonly puts the thing being talked about first, followed by the description.

So the pattern is:

• [noun phrase] + [adjective]

In this sentence:

• bir itu = the thing being talked about
• sejuk = the description

So Bir itu sejuk means The beer is cold.

Yes, usually.

• bir sejuk normally means cold beer
• bir itu sejuk means the/that beer is cold

This is an important difference:

• bir sejuk = noun + adjective inside one noun phrase
• bir itu sejuk = full sentence

So if you want to say The beer is cold, Bir itu sejuk is much clearer.

Normally, no in everyday speech.

Bir itu sejuk is the natural way to say it.

If you say Bir itu adalah sejuk, it sounds unnatural or overly formal for a simple sentence like this. English speakers often look for a direct equivalent of is, but in Malay you usually just leave it out.

So the best form here is simply:

• Bir itu sejuk

It can mean both, depending on context.

For drinks, weather, air, or objects, sejuk can cover a range from cool to cold. The exact English translation depends on the situation.

So in Bir itu sejuk, sejuk could be understood as:

• cold
• or nice and cool

If you need to make it stronger, Malay can add words like:

• sangat sejuk = very cold/cool

Add tidak before the adjective:

• Bir itu tidak sejuk = The beer is not cold

Use tidak with adjectives and verbs.

Do not use bukan here.
Bukan is generally used to negate nouns or identifications, not adjectives like sejuk.

In everyday Malay, you can often just use rising intonation:

• Bir itu sejuk? = Is the beer cold?

You can also make it more explicit with adakah:

• Adakah bir itu sejuk?

Both are understandable, but the plain intonation version is very common in speech.

A rough guide is:

• bir ≈ beer
• itu ≈ ee-too
• sejuk ≈ suh-jook

A few useful pronunciation notes:

• i is usually like ee
• u is usually like oo
• the e in sejuk is a weak vowel, like the a in about
• the final k in sejuk is often not strongly released in many accents, and may sound like a light stop

So the whole sentence is roughly:

• beer ee-too suh-jook

Bir is the standard Malay spelling for beer. It is a loanword, but it is used as a normal Malay noun.

So in Malay writing, you would usually write:

• bir

not the English spelling beer.

That is why the sentence uses Bir itu sejuk rather than Beer itu sejuk.