Learn Hardcore Malay: Buku ini mudah difahami. - This book is easy to understand.

In Malay, when linking a noun to an adjective, you usually omit the copular verb. Buku ini mudah difahami literally reads “This book easy to-be-understood.” If you need a formal link, you can insert adalah, but it’s rarely used in everyday speech: Buku ini adalah mudah difahami.

What does mudah mean, and what part of speech is it?

Mudah means easy. It is an adjective, and here it modifies the passive verb phrase, giving the sense “easy to understand” rather than describing the book directly as “easy.”

Why is the verb written as difahami? What do the affixes di- and -i do?

The prefix di- marks the passive voice in Malay, and the suffix -i indicates a transitive verb with focus on the object. The root faham means “understand,” so difahami means to be understood.

Should you write di fahami, di-fahami, or difahami?

In standard Malay, prefixes attach directly to the root without spaces or hyphens. So the correct form is difahami.

Why is it spelled difahami and not dipahami?

This reflects a Malaysian Malay vs Indonesian spelling difference. Malaysian Malay uses f in many words where Indonesian uses p, so in Malaysia it’s difahami, while in Indonesia you’d see dipahami.

Why does ini come after buku, and what’s the difference between ini and itu?

In Malay, demonstrative pronouns follow the noun. ini means this, and itu means that. So buku ini = this book, and buku itu = that book.

How do I specify who understands the book (e.g., “easy to understand by students”)?

Add oleh (“by”) plus the agent: Buku ini mudah difahami oleh pelajar. That means “This book is easy to understand for/by students.”

Can I say mudah faham instead of mudah difahami?

In informal speech you might hear mudah faham, but formally you use the passive mudah difahami. faham on its own is active (“understand”), so mudah faham is a shortcut that speakers sometimes use, but mudah difahami is more standard and clearer.