Perayauan itu mahal.

In this sentence, itu points to a specific thing already known from the context.

So perayauan itu means something like:

• that roaming
• the roaming
• that roaming service/charge/activity

In Malay, itu often works like that, but in many sentences it can feel closer to English the when the speaker is referring to something already identified.

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

So:

• Perayauan itu mahal.
• literally: That roaming expensive.
• natural English: That roaming is expensive.

This is completely normal in Malay. When a subject is followed by an adjective, the meaning is is usually understood.

Yes. Mahal means expensive and functions as an adjective.

In this sentence, it describes perayauan itu:

• perayauan itu = the subject
• mahal = the description/predicate

So the structure is basically:

• [Subject] + [Adjective]

Because mahal here is not directly modifying the noun inside a noun phrase. It is the predicate of the sentence.

Compare:

1. Perayauan itu mahal.
   = That roaming is expensive.
   Here, mahal is the main description of the subject.

2. perayauan mahal
   = expensive roaming
   Here, mahal directly modifies perayauan inside a noun phrase.

So in the full sentence, the word order is normal: subject first, then predicate.

Perayauan is a noun.

It is formed from the root rayau, which has the idea of wandering, roaming, or going around. The pattern peN-...-an often creates nouns related to an action, process, or concept.

So perayauan can mean something like:

• roaming
• wandering
• the act/process of roaming

In modern usage, it can also be used in technical contexts such as mobile roaming.

It is understandable, but whether it sounds fully natural depends on the context.

For general everyday Malay, speakers may more often use other phrasing depending on the meaning:

• caj perayauan itu mahal = the roaming charges are expensive
• roaming itu mahal = common in casual telecom-related speech
• kos perayauan itu mahal = the cost of roaming is expensive/high

So Perayauan itu mahal is grammatical, but in real-life use, many speakers might prefer a more specific noun like caj or kos if they mean phone roaming charges.

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly.

• Perayauan itu mahal. = That/the roaming is expensive.
  This refers to a specific roaming situation already known in context.

• Perayauan mahal. = Roaming is expensive or Roaming tends to be expensive.
  This sounds more general.

So itu makes the noun phrase more definite and specific.

Grammatically, learners often try this, but it is usually not the most natural choice.

The natural sentence is simply:

• Perayauan itu mahal.

In Malay, adalah is not used like English is in most ordinary adjective sentences. It is more common in formal definitions or certain written styles, and even then it does not normally go before an adjective in this kind of simple statement.

So for everyday Malay, stick with:

• X itu mahal
• not usually X itu adalah mahal

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

So:

• perayauan itu = that roaming
• buku itu = that book
• rumah itu = that house

This is a very common pattern in Malay and is different from English, where this/that comes before the noun.

A simple approximate pronunciation for an English speaker is:

• pe-ra-yau-an ee-too ma-hal

A few notes:

• r is usually tapped or lightly rolled
• au in yau sounds like the ow in cow
• mahal has two clear syllables at the end: ma-hal

So the rhythm is roughly:

• pe-ra-YAU-an i-TU ma-HAL

You can add an intensifier:

• Perayauan itu sangat mahal. = That roaming is very expensive.
• Perayauan itu terlalu mahal. = That roaming is too expensive.
• Perayauan itu agak mahal. = That roaming is rather expensive.

This is a useful pattern:

• [noun phrase] + [intensifier] + [adjective]

To negate an adjective in Malay, use tidak:

• Perayauan itu tidak mahal. = That roaming is not expensive.

This is the normal way to negate mahal.

You could also hear:

• Perayauan itu tak mahal.

Here tak is a common spoken short form of tidak.