Learn Hardcore Malay: Buku sejarah Melayu itu menarik. - That Malay history book is interesting.

buku – book
sejarah – history
Melayu – Malay (Malay people / the Malay language / relating to the Malays)
itu – that / the (a demonstrative pointing to something known or visible)
menarik – interesting / attractive (literally from the root tarik, “to pull”)

So literally: book history Malay that interesting → “That Malay history book is interesting.”

Why is there no word for is in this sentence?

Malay normally does not use a separate word for “is/are/am” when linking a noun to an adjective.

So:

Buku sejarah Melayu itu menarik.
= The/That Malay history book *is interesting.*

The link “is” is understood from the structure [subject] + [adjective]. You only see words like ialah / adalah in more specific situations (often when linking to a noun phrase, not a simple adjective), e.g.:

Buku itu ialah buku sejarah. – That book is a history book.

But with a simple adjective like menarik, you just place it after the subject, with no extra verb.

Can I use adalah here, as in Buku sejarah Melayu itu adalah menarik?

In normal, natural Malay, you do not say:

✗ Buku sejarah Melayu itu adalah menarik.

That sounds unnatural or overly influenced by English.

With predicate adjectives (like menarik, cantik, mahal), you simply say:

Buku sejarah Melayu itu menarik.

You’ll see adalah or ialah mainly before nouns or more complex phrases, especially in formal writing:

Masalah utama adalah kekurangan dana.
The main problem is the lack of funds.

What exactly does itu mean here? Is it that or the?

itu is a demonstrative that literally means that (as opposed to ini = this).

However, in Malay it also works as a kind of definite marker, similar to the in English. Depending on context, buku sejarah Melayu itu can mean:

that Malay history book (e.g. one we’re pointing at or have just mentioned), or
the Malay history book (a specific one known to both speaker and listener).

So:

Buku sejarah Melayu itu menarik.
Could be translated as either:
That Malay history book is interesting / The Malay history book is interesting.

Why does itu come after Melayu instead of before the noun like in English?

In Malay, ini (this) and itu (that) usually come after the whole noun phrase, not before it.

Patterns:

buku itu – that/the book
buku sejarah itu – that/the history book
buku sejarah Melayu itu – that/the Malay history book

So the structure is:

[buku] [sejarah] [Melayu] [itu]
head noun + modifiers + demonstrative

Putting itu at the end tells you “that particular one (that we know or see)”.

Can I say Itu buku sejarah Melayu menarik instead?

Itu buku sejarah Melayu menarik is not the normal, neutral way to say this sentence.

Itu buku sejarah Melayu menarik.
Could be parsed as something like: “That, a Malay history book, is interesting” in a very odd, disjointed way, and sounds off to native speakers in standard Malay.

The natural way is:

Buku sejarah Melayu itu menarik.

If you put itu at the start (Itu buku…), it usually functions as a pronoun meaning that (as a standalone subject), and you would then need a full clause after it, e.g.:

Itu buku yang saya suka. – That is the book I like.

What is the basic word order and structure of this sentence?

The overall structure is:

Subject (noun phrase)
- Predicate (adjective)

Subject noun phrase:

buku (book – head noun)
sejarah (history – noun modifier)
Melayu (Malay – adjective/noun used as adjective modifying sejarah)
itu (that/the – demonstrative)

Predicate:

menarik (interesting)

So:

[Buku sejarah Melayu itu] [menarik].
[That Malay history book] [is interesting].

Is menarik an adjective or a verb?

Malay doesn’t strictly separate adjectives and stative verbs the way English does. menarik can function as:

A stative verb / adjective meaning “interesting / attractive”:
- Buku itu menarik. – The book is interesting.
An active verb meaning “to pull / to attract”:
- Dia menarik tali itu. – He/She pulled the rope.
- Iklan itu menarik perhatian saya. – The advertisement attracted my attention.

It comes from the root tarik (pull), with the prefix meN- → menarik.
In this sentence, it functions like an adjective (“interesting”).

How do I know if buku here is singular or plural?

By itself, buku is number-neutral. Buku sejarah Melayu itu menarik could mean:

That Malay history book is interesting.
Those Malay history books are interesting.

The number is usually clear from context. To make it explicit, Malay uses other words:

buku itu – that book
buku-buku itu – those books (reduplication shows plural)
banyak buku sejarah Melayu itu – many of those Malay history books
beberapa buku sejarah Melayu itu – several of those Malay history books

But in everyday speech, people often just say buku and let context show whether it’s one or more.

Why is Melayu capitalized, and what exactly does it modify?

Melayu is capitalized because it is a proper name for:

the Malay ethnic group, and
the Malay language.

In buku sejarah Melayu:

sejarah = history
Melayu = Malay

So Melayu is modifying sejarah, giving:

sejarah Melayu – Malay history (the history of the Malays / related to the Malay people/culture)

Then buku sejarah Melayu = book of Malay history / Malay history book.

Is sejarah Melayu exactly the same as “Malay history” in English? Any nuance?

Yes, sejarah Melayu corresponds well to Malay history.

Typical meanings:

The history of the Malay people and their kingdoms.
The school subject about that history.
More generally, any historical topic related to the Malay world.

So buku sejarah Melayu is naturally understood as:

a book whose topic is Malay history, not just a book written in Malay.
If you wanted to emphasize the language of the book instead, you’d say:
buku sejarah dalam bahasa Melayu – a history book in the Malay language.

How would I say “That Malay history book is very interesting” or “is not interesting”?

You keep the same structure and modify menarik:

Very interesting

Buku sejarah Melayu itu sangat menarik.
Buku sejarah Melayu itu amat menarik.

Both sangat and amat mean very.

Not interesting

Buku sejarah Melayu itu tidak menarik.
(tidak is the standard negator for adjectives and verbs.)

So the pattern is:

[Subject] + [degree word] + [adjective]
[Subject] + tidak + [adjective]

Is there a more informal or colloquial way to say this in spoken Malay?

Yes. In colloquial Malay (especially in Malaysia), itu is often shortened to tu:

Buku sejarah Melayu tu menarik.

This sounds more conversational and is very common in speech. The meaning is the same:

itu → more standard/written
tu → informal/spoken