Tempoh sewaan ialah satu tahun.

Tempoh means period, duration, or term. In this sentence, it refers to the length of time something lasts.

So tempoh sewaan is the rental period or lease term.

Sewa is the basic word for rent, rental, hire, or to rent.

Sewaan is a noun form built from sewa with the suffix -an. In different contexts, sewaan can refer to:

• something rented,
• the act or arrangement of renting,
• a rental or lease in a more formal sense.

In tempoh sewaan, sewaan means something like the rental arrangement or the lease, so the whole phrase means the rental period.

In everyday Malay, people may also say tempoh sewa. That is often simpler and very natural.

Ialah works like is in this sentence. It links the subject and the description:

• Tempoh sewaan = subject
• satu tahun = what it is

So ialah is a linking word, often called a copula.

This sentence is structured like:

Tempoh sewaan ialah satu tahun
= The rental period is one year

In standard Malay grammar, ialah is used before a noun phrase, while adalah is usually used before other kinds of complements, especially a prepositional phrase or sometimes in more formal constructions.

Here, satu tahun is a noun phrase, so ialah is the standard choice.

A useful rule of thumb is:

• ialah
  • noun phrase
• adalah
  • prepositional phrase or other non-noun complement

So:

• Tempoh sewaan ialah satu tahun = standard
• Tempoh sewaan adalah satu tahun = commonly heard, but less standard according to traditional grammar rules

Yes, especially in less formal Malay.

You may hear or see:

Tempoh sewaan satu tahun.

This is understandable and natural in some contexts, especially in speech, notes, headings, or concise writing.

However, Tempoh sewaan ialah satu tahun sounds more complete and more formal, which is why it suits official or contractual language.

Yes. Setahun also means one year.

So these are both possible:

• Tempoh sewaan ialah satu tahun
• Tempoh sewaan ialah setahun

The version with setahun is a little more compact and very natural. The version with satu tahun can sound slightly more explicit or formal.

In Malay, the main noun usually comes first, and the word modifying it comes after it.

So:

• tempoh sewaan = literally period rental
• natural English translation = rental period

This is a very common Malay pattern. Compare:

• rumah sewa = rental house
• bayaran bulanan = monthly payment
• tempoh percubaan = probation period

So tempoh sewaan follows normal Malay noun phrase order.

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

So tempoh sewaan can mean:

• the rental period
• a rental period

The exact meaning depends on context.

In this sentence, it most likely means the rental period, because it sounds like a specific rental agreement is being discussed.

Because Malay nouns usually do not change form for singular or plural.

So you say:

• satu tahun = one year
• dua tahun = two years
• tiga tahun = three years

The noun stays tahun each time.

Unlike English, Malay does not add an -s ending. Number is shown by the numeral itself or by context.

Yes, it sounds fairly formal and administrative.

The words tempoh, sewaan, and ialah together give it an official tone, like something you might read in:

• a contract,
• a rental agreement,
• a form,
• a notice.

A more everyday version might be:

• Tempoh sewa ialah setahun
• Tempoh sewa satu tahun

These sound a bit more conversational while keeping the same meaning.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

Tempoh sewaan ialah satu tahun
tem-poh sə-wah-an ee-ah-lah sah-too tah-hoon

A few notes:

• tempoh: the o is like the vowel in more, but shorter
• sewaan: say each part clearly, se-wa-an
• ialah: three parts, i-a-lah
• tahun: two syllables, ta-hun

Malay pronunciation is usually quite regular, so once you know the spelling rules, it becomes easier to read aloud.