Deposit sewa itu tinggi.

Malay often leaves out the verb to be in simple sentences like this.

So:

• Deposit sewa itu tinggi.
• literally: rental deposit that high
• natural English: That/The rental deposit is high.

This is completely normal in Malay. You do not need a word equivalent to is here.

Itu usually means that, but in many sentences it also works a bit like the, especially when referring to something already known in the conversation.

So deposit sewa itu can feel like:

• that rental deposit
• the rental deposit

In Malay, itu comes after the noun phrase, not before it.

Compare:

• rumah itu = that house / the house
• kereta itu = that car / the car
• deposit sewa itu = that rental deposit / the rental deposit

Malay usually puts the main noun first and the describing noun after it.

So:

• deposit sewa = rental deposit
• rumah sewa = rental house
• kad kredit = credit card

The pattern is often:

• main thing + type/purpose/category

Here, deposit is the main noun, and sewa tells you what kind of deposit it is.

Yes. In Malay, tinggi does not only describe physical height. It is also commonly used for things like:

• prices
• fees
• rates
• salaries
• deposits
• costs

So tinggi here means high in amount.

Examples:

• Harga itu tinggi. = The price is high.
• Gajinya tinggi. = His/Her salary is high.
• Deposit sewa itu tinggi. = The rental deposit is high.

Sometimes yes, but the nuance is a little different.

• tinggi = high in amount
• mahal = expensive

With something like a deposit, tinggi is usually the more natural choice because a deposit is an amount of money being set at a high level.

So:

• Deposit sewa itu tinggi. = very natural
• Deposit sewa itu mahal. = less natural, though some speakers may still understand it

A good rule:

• use tinggi/rendah for amounts, rates, fees, and prices in a more objective sense
• use mahal/murah when talking about something being expensive or cheap

Yes. Deposit is a common loanword in Malay and is widely used in everyday speech and writing.

Malay uses many loanwords, especially for business, finance, housing, and modern life. So deposit sewa sounds normal.

Depending on context, you might also see more formal or alternative expressions, but deposit itself is very common.

You can, but it changes the feel of the sentence.

• Deposit sewa itu tinggi. = refers to a specific rental deposit already known or being pointed out
• Deposit sewa tinggi. = more general, or more dependent on context

Without itu, the sentence can sound less definite. In conversation, that may be fine if the context is clear.

So if you are talking about one particular deposit, itu is often helpful and natural.

No. Malay adjectives do not change for gender or number.

So tinggi stays tinggi no matter what:

• deposit itu tinggi = that deposit is high
• deposit-deposit itu tinggi = those deposits are high

Unlike in some languages, you do not need different adjective endings.

Yes. You can add intensifiers before the adjective.

For example:

• Deposit sewa itu sangat tinggi. = The rental deposit is very high.
• Deposit sewa itu terlalu tinggi. = The rental deposit is too high.
• Deposit sewa itu agak tinggi. = The rental deposit is rather/fairly high.

These words usually come before tinggi.

Yes. It is short, clear, and natural.

It has a very common Malay structure:

• noun phrase
  • adjective

Here:

• deposit sewa itu = noun phrase
• tinggi = adjective/predicate

So the sentence is a good example of a basic and useful Malay pattern.