Luka kecil itu nampak biasa, tetapi kulit di dekatnya semakin bengkak.

In Malay, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.

• luka kecil = small wound
• literally: wound small

This is a very common pattern:

• rumah besar = big house
• anak kecil = small child / young child

So luka kecil itu means that small wound or the small wound.

Itu literally means that, but after a noun it often works like the in English, especially when referring to something already known in the context.

So:

• luka kecil itu = that small wound
• or more naturally in context: the small wound

Malay does not have articles like a and the, so words like itu often help make something more specific.

Malay often does not use a verb like is/are in sentences where English does.

So instead of saying something literally like The small wound is looks normal, Malay simply says:

• Luka kecil itu nampak biasa
• literally: That small wound looks normal

This is normal Malay grammar. The sentence does not need a separate verb meaning is here.

Nampak means to look, to appear, or to seem, depending on context.

In this sentence:

• nampak biasa = looks normal / seems ordinary

It does not mean only physical visibility here. It is about appearance or impression.

Examples:

• Dia nampak letih = He/She looks tired.
• Rumah itu nampak kosong = That house looks empty.

Yes, in this context biasa can mean normal, ordinary, or nothing unusual.

So nampak biasa means:

• looks normal
• seems ordinary
• doesn’t seem unusual

Even though biasa often means usual or ordinary, in medical or descriptive contexts it can naturally be understood as normal.

Both mean but.

• tetapi = more standard, neutral, or formal
• tapi = shorter and more conversational

So this sentence uses the more standard form:

• ..., tetapi ... = ..., but ...

In everyday speech, many people would say tapi instead.

Di dekatnya means near it or nearby it, referring to something mentioned earlier.

Breakdown:

• di = at / in / on
• dekat = near
• -nya = it / its / him / her, depending on context

So:

• kulit di dekatnya = the skin near it

Here, -nya most naturally refers to luka kecil itu (the small wound). So the meaning is the skin near the wound.

Because this di is a preposition, not a verb prefix.

In Malay:

• di written separately = in / at / on
• di- written attached to a verb = passive marker

Examples:

• di rumah = at home
• di dekatnya = near it
• dibuka = opened
• ditutup = closed

So di dekatnya must be written as two parts because it is a prepositional phrase.

No. -nya can mean several things depending on context, including:

• his
• her
• its
• sometimes a general definite sense

In di dekatnya, it means near it, referring to the wound.

So here -nya is not about a person. It refers to a thing:

• luka kecil itu → -nya

This kind of reference is very common in Malay.

Semakin means increasingly, more and more, or getting more.

In this sentence:

• semakin bengkak = getting more swollen / becoming increasingly swollen

It shows change over time.

Examples:

• semakin besar = getting bigger
• semakin susah = getting harder
• semakin baik = getting better

Because bengkak already works well as an adjective meaning swollen, and after semakin, Malay often uses an adjective directly.

So:

• semakin bengkak = getting more swollen

That is the most natural phrasing here.

You may also hear forms related to membengkak (to swell / become swollen) in other contexts, but semakin bengkak is very normal when describing a condition that is worsening.

A rough breakdown is:

• kulit = skin
• di dekatnya = near it
• semakin = increasingly / more and more
• bengkak = swollen

So very literally:

• the skin near it increasingly swollen

Natural English:

• the skin near it is getting more swollen
• the skin around it is becoming more swollen

Malay often leaves out words that English requires, like is.

Yes, depending on context, a natural English translation could be near it, close to it, or around it.

Strictly speaking:

• dekat = near / close
• sekitar would be more directly around

But in a sentence about skin and swelling, English often sounds more natural with:

• the skin around it
• the skin near it

So the exact English wording may vary even though the Malay stays the same.

Malay nouns usually do not show singular/plural the way English does. Kulit can mean skin in a general sense, and the context tells you how to understand it.

Here:

• kulit di dekatnya = the skin near it

English naturally treats skin as singular/mass noun here. Malay does not need to mark that separately.

Yes. A few natural alternatives are:

• Luka kecil itu nampak biasa, tetapi kulit di sekelilingnya semakin bengkak.

  • the skin around it is getting more swollen

• Luka kecil itu kelihatan biasa, tetapi kulit di dekat luka itu semakin bengkak.

  • using kelihatan instead of nampak
  • repeating luka itu instead of using -nya

These versions are slightly different in style, but the original sentence is perfectly natural.