Ketuhar lama itu perlahan, tetapi kek masih sedap dan lembut.

That old oven is slow, but the cake is still tasty and soft.

Breakdown of Ketuhar lama itu perlahan, tetapi kek masih sedap dan lembut.

• adalah: to be
• itu: that
• perlahan: slow
• dan: and
• masih: still
• tetapi: but
• lama: old
• kek: the cake
• lembut: soft
• sedap: tasty
• ketuhar: the oven

Questions & Answers about Ketuhar lama itu perlahan, tetapi kek masih sedap dan lembut.

Why is there no word for “is” in “Ketuhar lama itu perlahan”?

Malay normally omits a verb like “is / are / am” when linking a noun to an adjective.

• Ketuhar lama itu perlahan
  Literally: That old oven slow → That old oven is slow.

You only use something like adalah in more formal, written, or specific structures, often before nouns, not adjectives:

• Dia adalah seorang doktor. – He/She is a doctor.
• But: Dia tinggi. (not Dia adalah tinggi.) – He/She is tall.

So with adjectives (perlahan, sedap, lembut), Malay normally does not need any equivalent of “is”.

What does “lama” mean here, and why is it after “ketuhar”?

In this sentence:

• ketuhar – oven
• lama – old
• itu – that / the

Ketuhar lama itu = that old oven / the old oven.

In Malay, adjectives usually come after the noun:

• ketuhar lama – old oven
• rumah besar – big house
• buku baharu – new book

So lama means “old” (not new), and it correctly follows ketuhar.

Note: lama can also mean “a long time” in other contexts:

• Saya sudah lama tunggu. – I have waited for a long time.

But after a concrete noun like ketuhar, it’s understood as “old”.

What exactly is “itu” doing in “ketuhar lama itu”? Is it “that” or “the”?

Itu is a demonstrative, usually translated as “that”, but in real usage it often works like English “the” for specific things already known in context.

• ketuhar itu – that oven / the oven
• ketuhar lama itu – that old oven / the old oven

Functionally, it shows that the speaker and listener both know which oven is being talked about.

Rough guide:

• itu – that / the (farther, or already known)
• ini – this (near the speaker)

Examples:

• Buku itu di meja. – That / The book is on the table.
• Ketuhar lama ini rosak. – This old oven is broken.

What’s the difference between “ketuhar lama itu” and “ketuhar itu lama”?

Word order changes the meaning slightly:

1. Ketuhar lama itu

   • Structure: noun + adjective + demonstrative
   • Meaning: that old oven (adjective is part of the noun phrase)
   • Used when identifying which oven.

2. Ketuhar itu lama.

   • Structure: noun + demonstrative + adjective
   • Meaning: that oven is old (a complete sentence)
   • Used when describing the condition of a specific oven.

So:

• Ketuhar lama itu perlahan. – That old oven is slow. (we’re talking about the old one among possible ovens)
• Ketuhar itu lama dan perlahan. – That oven is old and slow. (we’re describing that particular oven)

Can “perlahan” mean both “slow” and “slowly”? Why is it used here?

Yes. Perlahan can function as both:

• an adjective: slow
• an adverb: slowly

Malay doesn’t rigidly separate adjectives and adverbs like English.

Here, ketuhar lama itu perlahan = that old oven is slow (adjective use).

Other uses:

• Dia bercakap perlahan. – He/She speaks slowly.
• Kereta itu sangat perlahan. – That car is very slow.

You may also see perlahan-lahan, often with a nuance of gently / very slowly / gradually:

• Dia berjalan perlahan-lahan. – He/She walks slowly/gently.

What’s the difference between “perlahan” and “lambat”?

Both can be translated as “slow”, but usage differs:

• perlahan – slow in speed / pace

  • Kereta itu bergerak perlahan. – The car is moving slowly.
  • Ketuhar lama itu perlahan. – The old oven is slow.

• lambat – often “slow” in the sense of late / not on time / taking too long

  • Dia lambat ke sekolah. – He/She is late for school.
  • Internet di sini lambat. – The internet here is slow (takes a long time).

For an oven temperature or cooking speed, perlahan is more natural, because we are describing operating speed / power, not lateness.

What does “tetapi” mean, and how is it different from “tapi”?

Tetapi means “but / however” and is more formal.

• Ketuhar lama itu perlahan, tetapi kek masih sedap dan lembut.
  The old oven is slow, but the cake is still tasty and soft.

Tapi is a colloquial/neutral spoken form of the same word:

• Ketuhar lama itu perlahan, tapi kek masih sedap dan lembut.

Both are grammatically correct; choice depends on formality:

• Writing, speeches, formal text: prefer tetapi.
• Everyday conversation, informal writing: tapi is very common.

What does “masih” mean, and why is it placed before “sedap”?

Masih means “still” (continuing to be in the same state).

• kek masih sedap dan lembut
  Literally: cake still tasty and soft
  → The cake is still tasty and soft.

Position:

• masih usually comes before the adjective or verb it modifies:
  • Dia masih muda. – He/She is still young.
  • Saya masih belajar. – I am still studying.
  • Kek masih sedap. – The cake is still tasty.

Putting masih at the end (e.g. kek sedap dan lembut masih) is incorrect.

Are “sedap” and “lembut” both describing the cake? Why isn’t “kek” repeated?

Yes, both sedap and lembut describe kek.

Malay allows multiple adjectives to follow one noun without repeating the noun:

• kek masih sedap dan lembut
  – the cake is still tasty and soft

Other examples:

• baju itu murah dan cantik. – That shirt is cheap and beautiful.
• filem itu panjang tetapi membosankan. – That movie is long but boring.

You don’t need:

• ❌ kek masih sedap dan kek lembut
• ❌ kek masih sedap dan ia lembut

Just one kek is enough for both adjectives.

What’s the nuance of “sedap”? How is it different from “lazat” or “enak”?

All three can mean “delicious / tasty”, but they differ in feel:

• sedap – most common, everyday; natural in speech:

  • Kek ini sedap. – This cake is delicious.

• lazat – more formal / written, often in ads or menus:

  • Hidangan yang lazat. – A delicious dish.

• enak – more common in Indonesian; in Malaysia it can sound bookish or regional, but people understand it:

  • Rasanya sangat enak. – It tastes very good.

In your sentence, sedap is perfect: natural, conversational Malay.

Why isn’t there a plural marker for “kek”? How do we know if it’s “cake” or “cakes”?

Malay usually does not mark plural on nouns. Kek can mean “cake” or “cakes” depending on context.

• Saya beli kek. – I bought a cake / I bought cakes.
• Kek masih sedap. – The cake is still tasty / The cakes are still tasty.

If the speaker wants to make plural very clear, they can:

• use a number:
  
  • dua biji kek – two cakes
• use banyak / beberapa:
  • banyak kek – many cakes
  • beberapa kek – several cakes

In your sentence, we simply understand from context whether it’s one cake or more than one.

Could the sentence be “Ketuhar lama itu perlahan, tetapi kek itu masih sedap dan lembut”? What changes?

Yes, that is correct Malay:

• Ketuhar lama itu perlahan, tetapi kek itu masih sedap dan lembut.

Adding itu after kek makes “the cake” more specific:

• kek – cake / cakes (general, understood from context)
• kek itu – that cake / the cake (specific, known to both speaker and listener)

Meaning shift is small:

• Original: but (the) cake is still tasty and soft.
• With itu: but that particular cake is still tasty and soft.

Both are grammatical and natural; context decides whether you need the extra specificity.

Can adjectives go before nouns in Malay, like “lama ketuhar itu”?

Normally, no. In Malay, adjectives almost always come after the noun:

• ✅ ketuhar lama – old oven
• ✅ rumah besar – big house
• ✅ kek sedap – tasty cake

Putting the adjective before the noun, English-style, is ungrammatical:

• ❌ lama ketuhar itu
• ❌ besar rumah itu

So you should say:

• ketuhar lama itu – that old oven
  not lama ketuhar itu.

Is the comma before “tetapi” necessary? How are longer contrast sentences usually structured?

In writing, it’s standard and recommended to put a comma before tetapi when it joins two clauses:

• Ketuhar lama itu perlahan, tetapi kek masih sedap dan lembut.

This is similar to English:

• The old oven is slow, but the cake is still tasty and soft.

For a stronger contrast, Malay often adds walaupun / meskipun:

• Walaupun ketuhar lama itu perlahan, kek masih sedap dan lembut.
  – Although the old oven is slow, the cake is still tasty and soft.

Spoken Malay sometimes drops the clear pause/comma, but in writing the comma before tetapi is good style.