Kapal itu besar.

In Malay, a present-tense to be verb is often left out.

So instead of saying something like That ship is big with a separate word for is, Malay simply says:

Kapal itu besar
literally: ship that big

This is completely normal and standard in Malay. The meaning is is understood from the sentence structure.

Itu usually means that.

So kapal itu means that ship.

In many contexts, itu can also make the noun feel more definite, so depending on context, kapal itu besar can be understood as:

• That ship is big
• The ship is big

But the most direct meaning of itu is that.

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

So:

• kapal ini = this ship
• kapal itu = that ship

This is different from English, where we say that ship.

Because besar is functioning as the predicate: it is telling us something about kapal itu.

The sentence is structured like this:

• kapal itu = the subject
• besar = the description

So the meaning is That ship is big.

Compare:

• kapal besar = a big ship / big ship
  Here, besar directly modifies kapal.
• kapal itu besar = that ship is big
  Here, besar is the main description of the whole sentence.

Kapal usually means ship or vessel, but in real usage it can sometimes be broader depending on context.

For example, Malay can use different words for different kinds of watercraft, such as:

• kapal = ship, large vessel
• bot = boat
• perahu = small boat, traditional boat

So in this sentence, kapal is best understood as ship.

A simple English-friendly guide is:

kah-pahl ee-too buh-sar

A few notes:

• kapal: both a sounds are like the a in father
• itu: ee-too
• besar: roughly buh-sar, with a rolled or tapped r if possible

The stress in Malay is usually not as strong or dramatic as in English.

Yes, but it usually means something different.

• Kapal itu besar = That ship is big
• Itu kapal besar = That is a big ship

In Itu kapal besar, itu is acting more like that as a pronoun: That is ...

So the word order changes the structure and emphasis.

You would usually use tidak before the adjective:

Kapal itu tidak besar.
= That ship is not big.

Use tidak with adjectives and verbs.

For nouns, Malay often uses bukan instead, but here besar is an adjective, so tidak is correct.

In casual speech, you can often just use question intonation:

Kapal itu besar?
= Is that ship big?

In more formal Malay, you can use adakah:

Adakah kapal itu besar?
= Is that ship big?

Both are understandable, but the first is very common in everyday conversation.

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

So besar stays besar whether you are talking about:

• one ship
• many ships
• something masculine or feminine

Malay does not have grammatical gender like many European languages, so this part is much simpler than in some other languages.

Yes, it can.

Even though itu literally means that, in natural Malay it can also help mark something as already known or definite. Because of that, kapal itu besar may sometimes be translated as:

• that ship is big
• the ship is big

The best translation depends on context. If you are just learning, it is safest to first think of kapal itu as that ship.

Yes. Kapal itu besar is a completely normal and natural sentence in standard Malay.

It is short, simple, and very typical of how Malay expresses:

• a noun phrase: kapal itu
• followed by a description: besar

So it is a very useful model sentence to learn from.