Keajaiban itu berlaku semalam.

Keajaiban is a noun meaning miracle or wonder.

It comes from the root ajaib, which means miraculous, amazing, or strange/marvelous, plus the circumfix ke-...-an:

• ajaib = miraculous, amazing
• keajaiban = miracle, wonder

That ke-...-an pattern often turns a root into an abstract noun.

It can feel like either, depending on context.

In Malay, itu literally means that, but after a noun it often works like a marker of something specific and already identifiable, so in English it may be translated as:

• that miracle
• the miracle

So keajaiban itu is something like that/the miracle.

Because that is the normal Malay pattern.

Malay demonstratives such as ini and itu usually come after the noun:

• buku ini = this book
• rumah itu = that house
• keajaiban itu = that/the miracle

For an English speaker, this is one of the most important word-order differences to get used to.

Here, berlaku means happened, occurred, or took place.

So in this sentence, it is the main verb.

A useful thing to know is that berlaku can have other meanings in other contexts, such as to be valid/in effect, but in Keajaiban itu berlaku semalam, it clearly means happened.

We know from semalam.

Malay verbs do not usually change form for tense the way English verbs do. The verb berlaku stays the same, and the time is shown by a time word:

• semalam = yesterday / last night

So the past meaning comes from the time expression, not from changing the verb.

This is a very common question.

In Malay, semalam often means yesterday, but depending on context it can also be understood as last night.

So the exact English translation depends on the situation and on how the sentence is being used. If the meaning has already been provided to the learner, follow that translation, but it is good to know that semalam can be a little broader than a single English word.

Yes. It follows a very common Malay pattern:

• Subject: Keajaiban itu
• Verb: berlaku
• Time expression: semalam

So it is basically:

• The miracle happened yesterday

Malay often uses this straightforward order.

Yes. Malay is fairly flexible with time expressions.

For example, you can also say:

• Semalam, keajaiban itu berlaku.

That puts extra focus on the time: Yesterday, the miracle happened.

The original version, though, is completely natural and neutral.

No, not here.

Because semalam already makes the time clear, telah or sudah is usually unnecessary.

You could say:

• Keajaiban itu telah berlaku semalam.

But many speakers would simply say:

• Keajaiban itu berlaku semalam.

That is shorter and very natural.

Yes, you can, but the meaning becomes less specific.

• Keajaiban itu berlaku semalam = that/the miracle happened yesterday
• Keajaiban berlaku semalam = a miracle happened yesterday or a less specifically identified miracle

So itu helps point to a particular miracle that the speaker and listener already know about.

A simple pronunciation guide would be:

• Keajaiban: keh-ah-jai-bahn
• itu: ee-too
• berlaku: ber-lah-koo
• semalam: seh-mah-lahm

A key point for English speakers: Malay spelling is usually quite regular, so words are often pronounced close to how they are written.