Kekuatan isyarat itu kuat.

In Malay, you often do not need a verb like is/are when the predicate is an adjective.

So:

• Kekuatan isyarat itu kuat = The signal strength is strong

Malay commonly links the subject directly to an adjective without a copula.

Compare:

• Rumah itu besar = The house is big
• Dia sakit = He/She is sick

So the sentence is normal even without a separate word for is.

Itu usually means that, but in many sentences it can also function like the in English, depending on context.

In this sentence:

• kekuatan isyarat itu

means something like:

• that signal strength
• or more naturally in English, the signal strength

So itu helps point to a specific signal strength that both speaker and listener know about.

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

So Malay says:

• rumah itu = that house / the house
• isyarat itu = that signal
• kekuatan isyarat itu = that signal strength

This is one of the basic word-order differences from English.

Kuat means strong.

Kekuatan means strength.

So they are closely related:

• kuat = an adjective, strong
• kekuatan = a noun, strength

The noun kekuatan is formed from kuat using the affix pattern ke-...-an, which often turns a quality into an abstract noun.

Examples:

• kuat = strong
• kekuatan = strength

So in this sentence:

• kekuatan isyarat = signal strength
• kuat = strong

It can feel repetitive to an English speaker because English also repeats the same idea in signal strength is strong.

But grammatically it is fine:

• kekuatan = strength
• kuat = strong

So the sentence literally says something like:

• The strength of the signal is strong

That said, in real usage, some speakers might prefer a more natural alternative depending on context, such as:

• Isyarat itu kuat = The signal is strong
• Kekuatan isyarat itu tinggi = The signal strength is high

Especially in technical contexts, tinggi (high) may sound more natural than kuat after kekuatan isyarat.

Yes, it is understandable and grammatical, but it may sound a little less natural than some alternatives.

Common alternatives:

• Isyarat itu kuat = The signal is strong
• Kekuatan isyarat itu tinggi = The signal strength is high

Why?

• If you are talking about the signal itself, kuat is very natural.
• If you are talking about the level/measurement of signal strength, tinggi may sound more idiomatic.

So the original sentence is not wrong, but depending on context, another version may sound smoother.

Yes, in a way. It is a noun-noun structure where the second noun modifies the first.

• kekuatan isyarat literally = strength signal
• natural English = signal strength
• or more literally = the strength of the signal

This is very common in Malay. The head noun usually comes first.

Examples:

• buku guru = the teacher’s book / teacher book
• warna kereta = the color of the car
• kekuatan isyarat = signal strength

So Malay often expresses of relationships just by placing nouns next to each other.

Yes. Isyarat can mean:

• signal
• sign
• gesture
• cue

The exact meaning depends on context.

For example:

• in technology: isyarat = signal
• in body language: isyarat tangan = hand gesture
• in instructions or communication: isyarat = cue/sign

In your sentence, because of kekuatan (strength), the technological meaning signal is the most likely one.

Yes, absolutely.

• Isyarat itu kuat = The signal is strong

This is often simpler and more natural in everyday speech.

Use:

• Isyarat itu kuat when you just want to describe the signal.
• Kekuatan isyarat itu kuat when you specifically want to talk about signal strength as a concept.

So both are possible, but the shorter version is often the more natural choice.

Usually, no.

Malay generally does not use adalah before an adjective like kuat.

So:

• Kekuatan isyarat itu kuat ✔
• Kekuatan isyarat itu adalah kuat ✘ or at least unnatural in standard usage

Adalah is more commonly used before nouns or in formal definitions, not before adjectives in ordinary sentences.

So for adjective predicates, it is best to leave it out.

Here is the breakdown:

• kekuatan = strength
• isyarat = signal
• itu = that / the
• kuat = strong

So the structure is:

• [Subject] kekuatan isyarat itu
• [Predicate adjective] kuat

A more literal gloss would be:

• signal strength that strong

A natural English translation is:

• The signal strength is strong