Learn Hardcore Malay: Perjalanan jauh ke pantai itu sangat berbaloi. - The long trip to that beach is very worthwhile.

perjalanan is a noun meaning “journey” or “trip.” It’s built from the verb root jalan (“to walk/go”) with the affixes per-...-an, which turn the action of going into the thing you go on—a journey.

Why is jauh placed after perjalanan instead of before?

In Malay, adjectives normally follow the noun they describe. So perjalanan jauh literally reads “journey long,” which corresponds to the English “long journey.”

How is ke pantai itu structured, and what does each word do?

• ke = “to” (preposition)
• pantai = “beach” (noun)
• itu = “that” (demonstrative)
Prepositions come before the noun, and demonstratives follow it. Hence ke pantai itu = “to that beach.”

What role does itu play in pantai itu?

itu is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that.” By following pantai, it specifies “that beach” rather than just any beach.

Why isn’t there an “it” or dummy subject at the beginning of the sentence?

Unlike English, Malay doesn’t need a dummy pronoun like “it” in sentences like this. The whole noun phrase perjalanan jauh ke pantai itu acts as the subject/topic, so no extra “it” is required.

What is berbaloi and what part of speech is it?

berbaloi is technically a verb formed with the prefix ber- on the root baloi. It means “to be worth it”, but in this sentence it functions like an adjective (a predicative verb describing the journey’s worth).

What does sangat berbaloi mean exactly?

sangat means “very.” Combined with berbaloi (“worth it”), sangat berbaloi = “very worthwhile” or “really worth it.”

Can we use another word instead of sangat to say “very”?

Yes. Common alternatives are:

amat (more formal/literary)
teramat (stronger, still literary)
You can also add the particle -lah for emphasis (sangatlah berbaloi), but in everyday speech sangat alone is most natural.