Learn Hardcore Malay: Bulu kucing jiran saya coklat. - My neighbor's cat's fur is brown.

bulu kucing = the fur of the cat
bulu kucing jiran = the fur of the neighbour’s cat
(literally: fur [of] cat [of] neighbour)
bulu kucing jiran saya = the fur of my neighbour’s cat

So bulu is the main noun, and each following noun/pronoun narrows it down: fur → cat’s fur → neighbour’s cat’s fur → my neighbour’s cat’s fur.

Why is saya at the end? Why not say saya jiran for my neighbour?

In Malay, possessors usually come after the noun they possess.

jiran = neighbour
jiran saya = my neighbour
kucing jiran saya = my neighbour’s cat
bulu kucing jiran saya = my neighbour’s cat’s fur

Putting saya before the noun (saya jiran) is wrong in Malay. The pattern is:

Noun + saya = my (that noun)
Noun + awak/kamu/anda = your (that noun)
Noun + dia = his/her (that noun)

So jiran saya literally feels like neighbour-of-me.

Why is there no word for is in this sentence?

Malay usually drops “to be” in simple “A is B” sentences when B is an adjective or a simple description.

Structure here:

Bulu kucing jiran saya = subject
coklat = predicate adjective (“brown”)

So the pattern is:

Subject + Adjective
Bulu kucing jiran saya coklat. = The fur … is brown.

You normally don’t say:

✗ Bulu kucing jiran saya adalah coklat.

That sounds stiff/overly formal and is not natural for “A is [adjective]”.
adalah/ialah are more common before nouns, not adjectives, and mainly in formal writing.

Is coklat here a noun (“chocolate”) or an adjective (“brown”)? How does that work?

coklat can be both:

Noun: Saya suka coklat. = I like chocolate.
Colour adjective: Bulu itu coklat. = The fur is brown.

In the sentence Bulu kucing jiran saya coklat, it clearly acts as a colour adjective describing the fur.

You will often see colour used in three ways:

Just the colour word:
Bulu kucing jiran saya coklat.
As “colour + X”:
Bulu kucing jiran saya warna coklat.
= The fur of my neighbour’s cat is brown in colour.
Using a verb berwarna (“to be coloured”):
Bulu kucing jiran saya berwarna coklat.
= The fur of my neighbour’s cat is (of) brown colour.
(sounds a bit more formal / descriptive)

All three are understandable; (1) is the simplest and very natural in speech.

Could I say Bulu kucing jiran saya berwarna coklat instead? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can. Both are correct:

Bulu kucing jiran saya coklat.
Bulu kucing jiran saya berwarna coklat.

Differences:

coklat alone is shorter, neutral, and very common in everyday speech.
berwarna coklat sounds a bit more explicit (“is of brown colour”) and is common in descriptions, writing, or when being a bit more formal/precise.

Meaning-wise, for normal conversation, they’re effectively the same: the fur is brown.

If I want to say My neighbour’s brown cat’s fur, how would I change the sentence?

Right now, the sentence means:

The fur (of my neighbour’s cat) is brown.

If instead you want:

The fur of my neighbour’s brown cat
(i.e. the cat itself is the one that’s brown, not just stating the fur’s colour as a sentence)

You need coklat to modify kucing, not to be the final predicate. For example:

Bulu kucing coklat jiran saya.
= The fur of my neighbour’s brown cat.

Or more explicitly with yang (a linker that turns it into a relative clause):

Bulu kucing jiran saya yang coklat.
= The fur of my neighbour’s cat that is brown.

In these, coklat is part of the noun phrase (a describing word for the cat), not the sentence-ending adjective.

Can I move coklat earlier, like Bulu coklat kucing jiran saya?

You can say bulu coklat kucing jiran saya, but the meaning/feel changes:

Bulu kucing jiran saya coklat.
= As a full sentence: The fur … is brown.
(coklat is the predicate.)
bulu coklat kucing jiran saya
= As a noun phrase: the brown fur of my neighbour’s cat.
(coklat is an attributive adjective modifying bulu, not a separate “is brown” statement.)

So:

Sentence (with a verb-like function): … coklat.
Noun phrase (no sentence yet): bulu coklat …

The original sentence uses coklat as the main statement: “is brown”.

Does bulu mean one single hair, or “fur” in general? Do I need bulu-bulu for plural?

bulu can mean both a hair and fur / body hair in general, depending on context.

In Bulu kucing jiran saya coklat, it is understood as fur as a mass/collective noun.

Plural in Malay works differently:

You can say bulu-bulu to stress “individual hairs” or “many hairs”, but you usually don’t need to.
Often, bulu by itself is enough for both singular and plural/mass.

Examples:

Ada satu bulu di meja. = There is one hair on the table.
Bulu kucing ini lembut. = This cat’s fur is soft.
Bulu-bulu di lantai. = The hairs on the floor (emphasis on multiple strands).

If I just want to say My neighbour’s cat is brown, would I still say Bulu kucing jiran saya coklat?

If you mean the overall colour of the cat, most people would simply say:

Kucing jiran saya coklat.
= My neighbour’s cat is brown.

Adding bulu focuses specifically on the fur, as opposed to, say, the eyes:

Bulu kucing jiran saya coklat. = The fur is brown.
Mata kucing jiran saya hijau. = My neighbour’s cat’s eyes are green.

So:

To describe the cat’s general colour: Kucing jiran saya coklat.
To talk specifically about the fur: Bulu kucing jiran saya coklat.

English says “My neighbour’s cat has brown fur.” How would I say that idea using has in Malay?

Malay usually doesn’t need a verb “have” for this idea. The most natural options are:

Use the original pattern:
- Bulu kucing jiran saya coklat.
  (Literally “The fur … is brown”, but it covers the meaning “has brown fur”.)
Or focus on the cat as subject:
- Kucing jiran saya berbulu coklat.
  = My neighbour’s cat is furred brown / has brown fur.

Here berbulu is a verb-like form meaning “to be furred / to have fur”. Combining it with coklat gives the idea “has brown fur”. In everyday speech, (1) or (2) are both natural.