Kanak-kanak itu melihat serigala itu.

Malay often uses reduplication (repeating a word) for nouns. In this case, kanak-kanak is the normal word for child/children in standard Malay.

A useful thing to know is that this is not just a transparent kanak + kanak = plural situation. Kanak-kanak is largely a fixed lexical item. Depending on context, it can refer to a child or children, although in many sentences it is naturally translated as children.

For one child, Malay can say seorang kanak-kanak.

In standard Malay spelling, full reduplication is normally written with a hyphen.

So:

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

The hyphen helps show that the form is reduplicated.

Itu usually means that, but after a noun it very often works like the in English by marking something as specific or already identifiable.

So:

• kanak-kanak itu = the child/children or that/those child/children
• serigala itu = the wolf or that wolf

Which English translation sounds best depends on context.

Because in Malay, demonstratives like ini (this) and itu (that) normally come after the noun.

So Malay says:

• kanak-kanak itu literally child/children that
• serigala itu literally wolf that

This is normal Malay word order.

Because each noun phrase can be marked separately as specific.

So in:

• Kanak-kanak itu = the specific child/children
• serigala itu = the specific wolf

Using itu twice is completely normal. It does not sound repetitive in the way it might in English. It just means both the subject and the object are being identified as known or specific.

Malay usually uses Subject–Verb–Object word order, just like basic English.

So:

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

That means the child/children saw the wolf, not the other way around.

Malay does not use case endings like some languages do, so word order is very important.

Melihat is the active verb form built from the root lihat (see).

The prefix meN- is added to many verbs in standard Malay to form an active verb. With lihat, this becomes melihat.

So:

• lihat = root/base form
• melihat = to see / sees / saw, in a normal active sentence

In careful or standard Malay, melihat is the expected form here.

Malay verbs do not change form for tense the way English verbs do.

So melihat can mean:

• see
• saw
• will see

depending on context.

Malay usually shows time with:

• time words: semalam (yesterday), esok (tomorrow)
• aspect markers: sudah (already), sedang (in the middle of), akan (will)

Without extra context, the sentence itself does not force one tense the way English does.

Yes, melihat is more standard and a bit more formal or neutral.

In everyday speech, many speakers would often use tengok:

• Kanak-kanak itu tengok serigala itu.

That sounds more colloquial.

A rough guide:

• melihat = standard, textbook, formal-neutral
• tengok = everyday spoken look/watch/see
• nampak = see/be visible/notice, slightly different in meaning

So melihat is a very normal textbook choice.

Yes.

For example:

• Kanak-kanak melihat serigala.

That is grammatical, but it is less specific. Depending on context, it could mean something like children saw a wolf or simply the children saw wolves/the wolf if the context already makes it clear.

Adding itu makes both noun phrases more clearly specific:

• Kanak-kanak itu melihat serigala itu.

Potentially either, depending on context.

That is because itu can function as:

• a true demonstrative: that/those
• a definiteness marker: something like the

So kanak-kanak itu might be translated as:

• the children
• those children

And serigala itu might be:

• the wolf
• that wolf

English usually forces you to choose one, but Malay often leaves that distinction more flexible.

Malay often makes number clear through context, but it can also use numbers or classifiers.

For example:

• seorang kanak-kanak = one child
• dua orang kanak-kanak = two children

So if the speaker wants to be very clear, they can add that information. Otherwise, Malay often leaves number less explicit than English does.