Anak lelaki itu menunggu ayahnya di depan pintu.

In Malay, demonstratives like ini and itu usually come after the noun phrase they describe.

So:

• anak lelaki itu = that boy
• literally, the order is closer to boy that

In context, itu can also make the noun phrase feel definite, so it may be translated as the boy as well.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Literally:

• anak = child
• lelaki = male

So anak lelaki literally means male child. In real usage, that can be:

• boy
• son

In this sentence, it most naturally means the boy, but in another context it could mean his son or their son.

Malay usually puts modifiers after the main noun.

So:

• anak lelaki = male child
• rumah besar = big house
• kereta merah = red car

Here lelaki identifies the type of anak. It is not following the English pattern male child; it follows the normal Malay pattern of noun + modifier.

Malay does not have articles exactly like English a and the.

Instead, definiteness is usually understood from:

• context
• word order
• words like ini and itu
• possessive endings like -nya

So in this sentence:

• anak lelaki itu can mean that boy or the boy
• ayahnya means his father / her father

Malay often leaves article-like meaning to context rather than using a separate word.

Because menunggu is a transitive verb in Malay. It takes a direct object.

So Malay says:

• menunggu ayahnya = wait his father

But natural English requires:

• wait for his father

This is a very common difference. With menunggu, you normally do not add a preposition before the person or thing being waited for.

The base word is tunggu = wait.

With the active verb prefix meN-, it becomes:

• menunggu = to wait for

This prefix is extremely common in Malay and often forms active verbs.

A useful extra point: when meN- is added to roots beginning with certain consonants, the form changes. With tunggu, the initial t drops:

• tunggu → menunggu

So menunggu is the normal standard verb form here.

-nya is a suffix that often means his, her, or sometimes its.

So:

• ayah = father
• ayahnya = his father / her father

In this sentence, ayahnya most likely means his father, referring back to anak lelaki itu.

Also, -nya can sometimes make a noun sound more specific or definite, depending on context, but here the possessive meaning is the most important one.

Because here di is a preposition, meaning at / in / on depending on context.

So:

• di depan = in front of

When di is a preposition of location, it is written separately:

• di rumah = at home
• di sekolah = at school
• di depan pintu = in front of the door

This is different from the passive prefix di-, which is written attached to a verb:

• ditunggu = is waited for

So the spacing matters.

Literally, it means in front of the door.

Breaking it down:

• di = at / in
• depan = front
• pintu = door

So di depan pintu describes location. Depending on the situation, English might translate it as:

• in front of the door
• at the door
• by the door

The most literal translation is in front of the door.

Yes. Di hadapan pintu is also correct and means basically the same thing: in front of the door.

The difference is mostly one of style:

• di depan pintu = very common, everyday
• di hadapan pintu = a bit more formal or literary

For normal conversation, di depan pintu is extremely natural.

Yes, to some extent.

The basic order here is:

• Anak lelaki itu = subject
• menunggu = verb
• ayahnya = object
• di depan pintu = location

So the neutral sentence is:

• Anak lelaki itu menunggu ayahnya di depan pintu.

But Malay can move the location phrase for emphasis:

• Di depan pintu, anak lelaki itu menunggu ayahnya.

That still means the same thing, but it highlights the location first. The original version is the most straightforward and neutral.