Learn Hardcore Malay: Lauk itu sangat sedap. - That side dish is very delicious.

Lauk usually means the dishes you eat with rice – for example meat, fish, vegetables, curries, etc.
It usually does not refer to the rice itself.
Makanan is a general word for food of any kind.

So:

Lauk itu sangat sedap. = That (side) dish is very delicious.
Makanan itu sangat sedap. = That food is very delicious. (more general)

Is lauk singular or plural in this sentence?

Malay doesn’t normally mark singular vs plural on the noun itself, so lauk can mean:

one dish or
several dishes, depending on context.

If you really want to show plural, you can say things like:

lauk-lauk itu – those dishes
banyak lauk – many dishes
pelbagai lauk – various dishes

But in normal speech, lauk itu is enough, and context tells you whether it’s one dish or more.

What does itu mean here? Is it always that?

Itu is basically that, referring to something a bit further away or already known in the conversation.

In practice, itu can function like:

that: Lauk itu sangat sedap. – That dish is very delicious.
sometimes almost like the: Lauk itu can feel like the dish we’ve been talking about.

Compare:

lauk ini – this dish (near the speaker)
lauk itu – that dish (a bit further away or already mentioned)

Why is there no word for is in Lauk itu sangat sedap?

Malay usually does not use a separate verb for “to be” when linking a noun and an adjective.

So:

Lauk itu sangat sedap.
Literally: dish that very delicious
Natural English: That dish is very delicious.

The “is” is just understood from the structure [noun] + [adverb if any] + [adjective].

You add a form of “to be” (like adalah) only in more formal or specific structures, usually before nouns or longer phrases, not simple adjectives like sedap.

Why is sedap after lauk itu? Can I say sangat sedap lauk itu?

In Malay, adjectives normally come after the noun they describe:

lauk sedap – delicious dish
rumah besar – big house
baju baru – new shirt

So the natural order is:

lauk itu sangat sedap – [noun + demonstrative] + sangat + adjective

You can sometimes move things around for emphasis (for example, in casual speech you might hear sedapnya lauk itu – how delicious that dish is), but sangat sedap lauk itu on its own sounds odd or incomplete.

Stick to:

Lauk itu sangat sedap.

What does sangat mean? Is it the same as very?

Yes, sangat is a common word meaning very:

sangat sedap – very delicious
sangat cantik – very beautiful
sangat letih – very tired

Other words with a similar meaning:

amat sedap – very delicious (slightly more formal)
terlalu sedap – too delicious (can be literal “too” or sometimes just “very”, depending on context)
sungguh sedap – truly/very delicious

But in everyday conversation, sangat = very is perfectly natural.

What’s the difference between sangat sedap and sedap sangat?

Both can mean very tasty, but there are some differences:

sangat sedap
- more neutral/standard
- works in both formal and informal contexts
sedap sangat
- more colloquial / spoken
- often carries an extra sense of “so tasty!” or emotional emphasis

Examples:

Lauk itu sangat sedap. – That dish is very tasty. (neutral)
Lauk itu sedap sangat! – That dish is so tasty! (stronger feeling, casual)

Does sedap only describe taste, or can it be used in other ways?

Sedap primarily means tasty / delicious, but it can be used more broadly for things that give a pleasant, enjoyable feeling.

Common uses:

Taste: Lauk itu sangat sedap. – That dish is very delicious.
Smell: Bau kopi ini sedap. – The smell of this coffee is nice.
Sound/comfort/feeling: Sedap tidur dengan bantal baru. – It’s comfortable/nice sleeping with the new pillow.

Other words you might see with similar meanings:

enak – tasty, pleasant (more common in Indonesian, also understood in Malay)
lazat – delicious (more formal / written / menus)

Is Lauk itu sangat sedap formal or informal? Can I say this in everyday speech?

Lauk itu sangat sedap is perfectly natural everyday speech and also fine in neutral written Malay.

It’s not slang.
It’s not overly formal.

You can say it:

at home: Lauk mak hari ni sangat sedap. – Mum’s dish today is very tasty.
at a restaurant: Lauk kat sini sangat sedap. – The dishes here are very tasty.

To sound even more casual, people might add a tag like:

Lauk itu sangat sedap, kan? – That dish is very tasty, isn’t it?

How do I pronounce Lauk itu sangat sedap correctly?

Key points:

lauk – lau̯k
- au like in English “cow”
- final k is short and often unreleased (almost like a little stop in the throat)
itu – ee-too (short, clear vowels)
sangat – sang-gat
- ng like in “sing”
sedap – suh-dup
- both vowels are short
- final p is also a short, unreleased stop

Rhythm tends to be fairly even: LAUK i-tu SANG-at se-DAP, each syllable clear and not heavily stressed like in English.

How do I say That dish is not tasty using this pattern?

You negate the adjective sedap with tidak (or tak in casual speech):

Lauk itu tidak sedap. – That dish is not tasty.
Very casual: Lauk itu tak sedap.

Everything else stays the same; you just put tidak/tak before the adjective.

How would I turn this into a question like Is that dish tasty?

You can form questions in a few natural ways:

Neutral / more standard:
- Adakah lauk itu sedap? – Is that dish tasty?
Very common in speech: just add tak at the end:
- Lauk itu sedap tak? – Is that dish tasty?
- Or: Sedap tak lauk itu?

If you want to keep sangat:

Lauk itu sangat sedap tak? – Is that dish very tasty? (casual)
Adakah lauk itu sangat sedap? – Is that dish very tasty? (more formal/neutral)

Could I say just Itu sangat sedap? What would that mean?

Yes, you can say:

Itu sangat sedap. – That is very delicious.

Here, itu works like a pronoun “that” referring to something already clear from context (maybe a dish someone just pointed at or something you just tasted).

Lauk itu sangat sedap is a bit more specific (that dish is very delicious), while Itu sangat sedap is more like That (thing) is very delicious.