Learn Hardcore Malay: Langganan bulanan perisian itu murah untuk pelajar universiti. - The monthly subscription for that software is cheap for university students.

but in everyday speech and normal writing, adalah is normally omitted in this kind of sentence. The simple form with just murah is the most natural spoken Malay.

What exactly does “langganan” mean, and how is it related to the verb “to subscribe”?

Langganan is a noun meaning “subscription”.

It comes from the root:

langgan – to subscribe / to be a regular customer
plus the nominalizing suffix:
-an – which often turns verbs into nouns.

So:

langgan (verb) – to subscribe
langganan (noun) – subscription

Example:

Saya melanggan perisian itu. – I subscribe to that software.
Langganan perisian itu mahal. – The subscription to that software is expensive.

Does “bulanan” mean “monthly”? How is it formed?

Yes, bulanan means “monthly”.

It comes from:

bulan – month (also moon)
plus the suffix:
-an – here it forms an adjective or noun related to “month”.

So:

bulan – month
bulanan – monthly; something that happens every month

In this sentence:

langganan bulanan = monthly subscription

Other examples:

bayaran bulanan – monthly payment
majalah bulanan – monthly magazine

How should I understand the structure “langganan bulanan perisian itu”? What is the head noun here?

The head noun of this whole phrase is langganan (“subscription”).

The structure is roughly:

langganan – subscription
bulanan – monthly (describes the subscription)
perisian itu – that software (tells you whose subscription it is)

So you can think of it as:

langganan bulanan perisian itu
= the monthly subscription of that software
= that software’s monthly subscription

In Malay, you don’t need a word like “of”; you just put the noun that owns or is associated after the head noun:

langganan perisian – software subscription
rumah Ali – Ali’s house
harga tiket – ticket price

Why is “itu” placed after perisian (perisian itu) instead of before it like in English (“that software”)?

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

Patterns:

rumah itu – that house
buku ini – this book
perisian itu – that software

Putting itu before the noun (itu perisian) is not the normal pattern and would sound odd in this context. So:

English: that software
Malay: perisian itu

Does “perisian itu” mean “that software” or “the software”? How does definiteness work here?

Perisian itu literally means “that software”, but in real usage it can often correspond to “the software” in English, especially if both speaker and listener know which software is being talked about.

Malay does not have separate words for “a/an” and “the”, so definiteness is usually shown by:

context
demonstratives (ini, itu)
or by just leaving it implicit.

So, depending on context, perisian itu could be translated as:

that software (when actually contrasting with other software)
the software (when there is only one obvious software being referred to)

Why is there no plural marker in “pelajar universiti” even though the English translation is “university students”?

Malay usually does not mark plurals explicitly when it’s already clear from context. So:

pelajar universiti can mean either:
- university student
- university students

If you really want to emphasize plurality, you have a few options:

pelajar-pelajar universiti – students (reduplication)
para pelajar universiti – the students (collective, more formal)

But in sentences like this one, where you clearly mean the group in general, pelajar universiti is perfectly natural for “university students”.

What is the function of “untuk” in this sentence, and can it be replaced with something else?

Untuk means “for” and introduces the beneficiary or target group.

In this sentence:

murah untuk pelajar universiti
= cheap for university students

So untuk here marks who benefits from the low price.

You could sometimes replace untuk with bagi, which is often slightly more formal or written:

murah bagi pelajar universiti

Both are grammatically fine, but untuk is very common and neutral.

Is “pelajar universiti” a fixed phrase meaning “university student”, or can I change the order?

The normal and natural order is:

pelajar universiti – university student(s)
literally: student of university

In Malay, the head noun generally comes first, followed by what modifies it:

pelajar sekolah – school student
guru matematik – math teacher
pekerja kilang – factory worker

Reversing the order to universiti pelajar would be ungrammatical or would not have the intended meaning.

Could I say “Langganan perisian bulanan itu” instead of “Langganan bulanan perisian itu”? Does the position of bulanan matter?

Yes, the position of “bulanan” affects what it seems to describe.

Langganan bulanan perisian itu
- natural reading: bulanan describes langganan
- meaning: the monthly subscription for that software
Langganan perisian bulanan itu
- now bulanan appears closer to perisian
- it may sound like the software itself is monthly (which is odd)
- overall this version is less natural and could be confusing.

So “langganan bulanan perisian itu” is the better, more idiomatic way to say “that software’s monthly subscription”.

Could this also be translated as “The monthly software subscription is cheap for university students”? Where exactly does “software” logically fit in?

Yes, “The monthly software subscription is cheap for university students” is a good natural translation.

Logically:

langganan – subscription (main thing being described)
bulanan – monthly (what kind of subscription)
perisian itu – that software (what the subscription is for)

So the structure is like:

[monthly subscription] [of that software] is cheap for university students.

That’s why both:

the monthly subscription for that software
and
the monthly software subscription

work as acceptable English translations.

Is there any difference in nuance if I say “murah untuk pelajar universiti” versus “murah kepada pelajar universiti”?

Yes, there is a nuance difference.

murah untuk pelajar universiti
– the standard, natural way to say “cheap for university students”
– untuk marks the intended beneficiary or target group.
murah kepada pelajar universiti
– sounds odd or unidiomatic in this context
– kepada is usually used for giving something to someone (direction of action), not for “cheap for (a group).”

So in this sentence, you should stick with “untuk”. The form with kepada would not be typical for price/affordability.