Kami memeriksa rumah lalu semak inventori rumah.

In Malay, both kami and kita can mean we, but they are not interchangeable.

• kami = we, not including the person being spoken to
• kita = we, including the person being spoken to

So Kami memeriksa rumah... means We inspected the house..., where the listener is not part of that group.

This is a very important distinction in Malay, and English does not normally make it.

Here, lalu means something like:

• then
• after that
• and then

So the sentence shows a sequence of actions:

1. Kami memeriksa rumah = We inspected the house
2. lalu semak inventori rumah = then checked the house inventory

In other contexts, lalu can have other meanings, such as to pass or to go by, but in this sentence it is a connector showing what happened next.

That is a very natural question, because in standard Malay you would usually expect parallel verb forms.

• memeriksa = to inspect / inspecting
• menyemak = to check / checking

So a more fully standard version would usually be:

Kami memeriksa rumah lalu menyemak inventori rumah.

Using semak without meny- can sound more:

• informal
• abbreviated
• headline-like
• or slightly less polished in formal writing

So the sentence is understandable, but many learners should know that menyemak would often be the more standard choice here.

It is understandable, but many speakers would probably find it a little uneven because of the mix of:

• memeriksa (a fully marked verb)
• semak (a bare root)

A smoother version would be:

Kami memeriksa rumah lalu menyemak inventori rumah.

You might also see:

Kami memeriksa rumah, lalu menyemak inventori rumah.

So the original sentence is not impossible, but it is slightly less balanced than what many learners would expect in careful standard Malay.

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

So:

• rumah can mean a house, the house, or just house/home
• inventori rumah can mean a house inventory, the house inventory, or home inventory

The exact meaning is usually understood from context.

This is one of the biggest differences from English. Malay often leaves definiteness unstated unless it needs to be made clearer in some other way.

The first rumah is the object of memeriksa:

• memeriksa rumah = inspect the house

The second rumah belongs to the noun phrase inventori rumah:

• inventori rumah = house inventory / home inventory

So the sentence is not accidentally repeating the same word for no reason. Each rumah has a different role.

That said, repetition can sound a bit heavy in Malay, just like in English. If the context is already clear, a speaker might sometimes shorten the second part in real usage.

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

So:

• inventori rumah = inventory of the house / house inventory
• literally something like inventory house

This is normal Malay noun order.

Compare:

• kereta polis = police car
• pintu rumah = house door / door of the house
• bilik tidur = bedroom

English often puts the modifier first, but Malay often puts it after the main noun.

It can be translated either way depending on context.

rumah commonly means:

• house
• home

In this sentence, house may sound more natural if the focus is on inspecting a property and checking its inventory. If the context is more personal or domestic, home could also work.

Malay often uses one word where English might choose between two different words.

Yes. Their meanings overlap, which can be confusing for learners.

Roughly speaking:

• memeriksa often suggests examining, inspecting, or checking carefully
• menyemak often suggests checking, reviewing, or verifying

So in this sentence:

• memeriksa rumah = inspect/examine the house
• menyemak inventori rumah = check/review the house inventory

In English, both may sometimes be translated as check, but in Malay they can carry slightly different shades of meaning.

Malay often expresses relationships between words more directly than English does.

For example:

• memeriksa rumah = inspect the house
  No extra word is needed between the verb and the object.

• inventori rumah = inventory of the house / house inventory
  Malay usually just places the nouns together.

So English often uses function words like:

• to
• of
• the

but Malay frequently does not.

Yes. A comma can help show the break between the two actions:

Kami memeriksa rumah, lalu menyemak inventori rumah.

The comma is not always strictly necessary, but it can make the sequence easier to read, especially for learners.

Without punctuation, the sentence is still understandable, but the structure may feel a little more compressed.