Learn Hardcore Malay: Anak perempuan itu bermain bola di taman.

Itu is a demonstrative that usually means “that” or “those”, but very often it functions like a definite article (similar to “the”) in Malay.

In Anak perempuan itu bermain bola di taman:

anak perempuan itu ≈ that girl / the girl

Whether you translate it as “that” or “the” depends on context:

If speakers are clearly talking about a specific girl they both know or see: “the girl”.
If they are contrasting with something nearby or pointing: “that girl”.

Malay has no separate word for “the” or “a”; itu (that) and ini (this) are often used to indicate specific, known things.

Why does itu come after anak perempuan instead of before, like “that girl” in English?

In Malay, demonstratives like itu (that) and ini (this) usually follow the noun phrase:

anak perempuan itu = that/the girl
buku itu = that/the book
guru ini = this/the teacher

So the natural pattern is:

[noun] + itu/ini

Putting itu before the noun (itu anak perempuan) is possible in some contexts, but it usually sounds like you are pointing something out or starting a topic, more like:

Itu anak perempuan, (dia...) = That girl, (she...)

For a simple noun phrase like “the girl”, the normal order is anak perempuan itu.

Why is “girl” translated as anak perempuan and not just perempuan?

Literally:

anak = child
perempuan = female / woman (general term)
anak perempuan = female child → girl

If you only say perempuan, it usually means woman / female (adult), not specifically a girl.

Some related words:

anak lelaki = male child → boy
lelaki = man (male adult)
budak perempuan = girl (more casual; budak = kid)

So anak perempuan is a common way to clearly say “girl” in a neutral, standard way.

Is anak always “child”? Can anak perempuan ever mean “daughter”?

Anak by itself is “child”, but it can also mean “son/daughter”, depending on context.

anak perempuan can mean:
- girl (a female child in general), or
- daughter (someone’s female child), if the conversation is about family.

For example:

Ini anak perempuan saya.
Literally: This (is) my female child.
Natural translation: This is my daughter.

In your sentence, Anak perempuan itu bermain bola di taman, with no family context, it’s best read as “The girl is playing ball in the park.”

Why does bermain have ber- on it? What is the difference between main and bermain?

The base word is main (to play).
ber- is a verb prefix that often makes an intransitive verb (no direct object, or the action is more general).

bermain = to play (neutral, standard)
main = to play (more casual/colloquial speech, especially in conversation)

In many everyday situations, natives say:

Dia main bola. (very common in speech) But in more formal or standard written Malay, you’ll often see:
Dia bermain bola.

Both are understood as “play(s) ball”. In your sentence, bermain is a standard, slightly more formal form.

Does bermain bola mean “play with a ball” or “play football/soccer”?

Literally:

bermain bola = play ball

It can mean:

Simply “play with a ball” (any kind of ball), or
Depending on context, play football/soccer, because in everyday use bola often strongly suggests football/soccer.

If you want to be specific:

bermain bola sepak = play football/soccer
bermain bola keranjang = play basketball
bermain bola tampar = play volleyball

Without extra words, bermain bola is just “play ball”.

How do you show past or future tense in this sentence? There’s no “is playing / played / will play” distinction.

Malay verbs do not change form for tense. Bermain stays the same for “play / is playing / played / will play”. The tense comes from context or from time words.

Your sentence:

Anak perempuan itu bermain bola di taman.

Possible translations, depending on context:

The girl plays ball in the park.
The girl is playing ball in the park.
The girl played ball in the park.
The girl will play ball in the park. (less likely without a time word)

To make tense clear, add time expressions:

tadi (earlier), semalam (last night), esok (tomorrow), etc.

Examples:

Anak perempuan itu tadi bermain bola di taman.
= The girl was playing/played ball in the park earlier.
Esok anak perempuan itu akan bermain bola di taman.
= Tomorrow the girl will play ball in the park.
(akan is a common future marker.)

How would you say “The girls are playing ball in the park”? The sentence looks singular—how do you show plural?

Malay often does not mark plural explicitly. Anak perempuan itu can mean:

that/the girl, or
those/the girls, if the context makes it clear.

To be explicitly plural, you can:

Reduplicate the noun:
- anak‑anak perempuan itu = the girls
Use a number
- classifier:
  - dua orang anak perempuan itu = those two girls
    (orang is a common classifier for people.)

So:

Anak‑anak perempuan itu bermain bola di taman.
= The girls are playing ball in the park.

What does di mean in di taman, and how is it different from ke and dari?

Di, ke, and dari are basic prepositions:

di = in / at / on (location, where something is)
- di taman = in/at the park
- di rumah = at home
ke = to / towards (movement to a place)
- ke taman = to the park
- ke sekolah = to school
dari = from (origin)
- dari taman = from the park
- dari rumah = from home

In your sentence:

di taman = in the park / at the park, describing where she is playing.

What exactly does taman mean? Is it “park”, “garden”, or something else?

Taman can mean a few related things, depending on context:

Park (public green area):
- taman permainan = playground
- taman rekreasi = recreational park
Garden (yard or decorative garden):
- taman bunga = flower garden
In Malaysia especially, residential area / housing estate:
- Taman Melati (used as the name of a housing area)

In Anak perempuan itu bermain bola di taman, without more context, taman is naturally understood as “park” or “garden”, and in most beginner contexts it’s taught as “park”.

Is there any difference between di taman and di dalam taman?

Yes, there’s a small nuance:

di taman = at/in the park (general)
di dalam taman = inside the park (more explicitly inside the boundary)

Dalam means inside.
You use di dalam when you want to stress that something is inside something else, not just at or near it.

In everyday speech, di taman is usually enough unless you need that extra precision.

What is the word order in this sentence? Can the order be changed?

The basic Malay sentence order is Subject – Verb – Object – (Place/Time), similar to English.

Your sentence breaks down as:

Anak perempuan itu = Subject (the girl)
bermain = Verb (play/s)
bola = Object (ball)
di taman = Place phrase (in the park)

So, structure:

[Subject] [Verb] [Object] [Place]
→ Anak perempuan itu bermain bola di taman.

Most of the time, this order is not changed in simple declarative sentences. You can sometimes move place/time to the front for emphasis:

Di taman, anak perempuan itu bermain bola.
= In the park, the girl is playing ball. (emphasis on in the park)

But for learners, keeping to S–V–O–(Place) is safest.

Can I just say Anak itu bermain bola di taman and still mean “The girl is playing ball in the park”?

You can say Anak itu bermain bola di taman, but it means:

That child / the child is playing ball in the park.

Anak by itself is gender‑neutral = child (could be a boy or a girl).

anak perempuan = specifically a female child (girl)
anak lelaki = specifically a male child (boy)

So if you want to clearly say “the girl”, use anak perempuan itu, not just anak itu.

Is di ever joined to the next word as a prefix, like diberi, ditulis? How is that different from the di in di taman?

Yes, Malay has two different “di” forms:

Preposition di (separate word):
- Shows location.
- Always written separately:
  - di taman (in the park)
  - di rumah (at home)
- Here, di is its own word.
Prefix di- (attached to verb root):
- Forms passive voice:
  - diberi = given
  - ditulis = written
  - dimakan = eaten
- Always written together with the verb.

In di taman, di is the preposition (location word), not the passive prefix.
Correct writing:

di taman (two words)
Never *ditaman in this sense.

How do you pronounce Anak perempuan itu bermain bola di taman naturally?

A rough pronunciation guide (using English‑friendly sounds):

Anak ≈ ah-nak (both a like in “father”)
perempuan ≈ puh-ruhm-pu-an
- pe = puh
- rem (schwa-ish)
- puan = pu-an
itu ≈ ee-too
bermain ≈ ber-ma-in (nearly three syllables: ber
- ma
  - in)
bola ≈ boh-lah
di ≈ dee
taman ≈ tah-mun (a as in “father”, final -an a bit like uhn)

Malay stress is usually even, but if you must stress, it often feels like it’s near the second‑to‑last syllable:

a‑NAK
pe‑RUM‑puan
ber‑MA‑in
BO‑la
TA‑man

Spoken smoothly:

ah-nak puh-RUM-pu-an ee-too ber-MA-in BOH-lah dee TA-man