Anak perempuan itu membawa biskut ke sekolah, tetapi dia berkongsi dengan kawannya.

Literally, anak perempuan means female child.

Depending on context, it can mean:

• daughter
• girl
• sometimes the girl if the context already makes it clear who is being talked about

In this sentence, it is most naturally understood as the girl. If you wanted just woman/female, the word perempuan by itself means woman/female. So anak perempuan is specifically a younger female person.

In Malay, demonstratives like ini (this) and itu (that) usually come after the noun.

So:

• anak perempuan itu = that girl / the girl
• buku ini = this book
• rumah itu = that house

This is normal Malay word order. English speakers often expect that girl, but Malay puts that after the noun instead.

Malay does not usually use articles like a, an, and the the way English does.

That means a noun can often stand on its own:

• biskut = a biscuit / biscuits / the biscuit(s) depending on context
• sekolah = school / the school

In this sentence:

• anak perempuan itu is definite because of itu
• biskut is understood from context without needing an article
• sekolah also does not need the

So Malay relies much more on context than English does.

Bawa is the root word meaning bring/carry.
Membawa is the usual active verb form built from that root.

Malay often adds the meN- prefix to form an active verb:

• baca → membaca
• beli → membeli
• bawa → membawa

Because the root starts with b, the prefix appears as mem-, giving membawa.

Very roughly:

• bawa = dictionary/root form, often heard in casual speech too
• membawa = standard active verb form in a full sentence

So Anak perempuan itu membawa biskut... is the normal standard way to say The girl brought/is bringing biscuits...

Malay nouns do not have to change form for plural the way English nouns usually do.

So:

• biskut can mean a biscuit
• biskut can also mean biscuits

Context tells you which is meant.

Malay can show plural by reduplication:

• biskut-biskut = biscuits

But that is not always necessary, and in many sentences it would sound less natural to force a plural marking when the meaning is already clear.

Ke means to or towards a place. It is used for movement.

So:

• ke sekolah = to school
• ke rumah = to the house/home
• ke bandar = to town

Compare that with di, which shows location:

• di sekolah = at school
• di rumah = at home

So:

• membawa biskut ke sekolah = carrying/taking biscuits to school
• membawa biskut di sekolah would be wrong for this meaning

Yes, basically.

• tetapi = but (more formal/standard)
• tapi = but (shorter, very common in speech and informal writing)

So this sentence uses the more complete, standard form:

• tetapi dia berkongsi...

In conversation, many speakers would say:

• tapi dia berkongsi...

Dia can mean both he and she.

Malay third-person singular pronouns usually do not mark gender. So the word itself is gender-neutral. In this sentence, we understand it as she only because anak perempuan tells us the person is female.

So:

• dia = he, she, or sometimes just that person, depending on context

This is a very common difference from English.

The root is kongsi, related to share.
With ber-, it becomes berkongsi, meaning to share.

The prefix ber- often makes a verb that describes an action or state involving the subject. In this sentence:

• dia berkongsi dengan kawannya = she shared with her friend

You will often see berkongsi with dengan when the other person involved is mentioned.

Examples:

• berkongsi dengan adik = share with a younger sibling
• berkongsi dengan kawan = share with a friend

Dengan means with.

Here it introduces the person she is sharing with:

• berkongsi dengan kawannya = share with her friend

So the structure is:

• berkongsi = share
• dengan kawannya = with her friend

This is very natural in Malay. It is similar to English share with someone.

Kawan means friend.
The ending -nya often marks possession, so kawannya means his/her friend.

Because the subject is the girl, here it is understood as:

• kawannya = her friend

So:

• kawan = friend
• kawannya = his/her friend

You could also say kawan dia, which also means his/her friend, but kawannya is very common and compact.

Malay often leaves out an object when it is already obvious from context.

So after membawa biskut, the next clause says:

• tetapi dia berkongsi dengan kawannya

Even though biskut is not repeated, it is clearly understood that she shared the biscuits.

English often prefers to make the object more explicit:

• but she shared them with her friend
• but she shared the biscuits with her friend

Malay can do that too:

• tetapi dia berkongsi biskut itu dengan kawannya

But leaving it understood is completely natural if the listener already knows what is being shared.