Encik itu seorang pegawai.

Malay often leaves out the verb to be when one noun is being identified as another noun.

So:

• Encik itu seorang pegawai
• literally: That sir/gentleman a officer
• natural English: That man is an officer / That gentleman is an officer

This is normal Malay grammar. In sentences like this, the meaning of is is understood without saying it.

Encik is a polite form of address for a man, similar to Mr., sir, or sometimes gentleman, depending on context.

It can be used:

• before a name: Encik Ali = Mr. Ali
• by itself, politely referring to a man: Encik itu = that gentleman / that man

In this sentence, Encik itu most naturally means that gentleman or that man.

Itu usually means that.

So Encik itu means:

• that gentleman
• that man
• sometimes that Mr. ..., depending on context

It points to a specific person, just like that in English.

Seorang is made of:

• se- = one
• orang = person

Together, seorang literally means one person.

Before a noun for a person, it often works a bit like English a/an:

• seorang pegawai = an officer

Malay does not have articles exactly like a and the, but seorang is commonly used when talking about one person in a role or profession.

Only partly.

It often translates as a/an before nouns for people:

• seorang guru = a teacher
• seorang doktor = a doctor
• seorang pegawai = an officer

But grammatically it is not a true article like English a/an. It is related to the idea of one person and is used specifically with human nouns.

So it is helpful to think of it as a/an in many cases, but not as a perfect one-to-one match.

Pegawai usually means officer, official, or sometimes staff member / executive / employee, depending on context.

It is a fairly formal word. Its exact English translation depends on the situation:

• pegawai polis = police officer
• pegawai kerajaan = government officer/official
• pegawai bank = bank officer

By itself, pegawai is a general formal occupation word.

The basic structure is:

• Encik itu = subject
• seorang pegawai = predicate / description of the subject

So the pattern is:

• [subject] + [noun phrase describing the subject]

This is very common in Malay.

In English, we need is:

• That gentleman is an officer.

In Malay:

• Encik itu seorang pegawai.

No. Even though the words appear in that order, you should understand Encik itu as a natural Malay noun phrase meaning:

• that gentleman
• that man
• possibly that Mr. ... in the right context

Malay often puts demonstratives like ini and itu after the noun:

• buku itu = that book
• orang itu = that person
• Encik itu = that gentleman

So this word order is normal in Malay.

The subject is male because Encik is used for a man.

However, pegawai itself is not masculine or feminine. Malay nouns generally do not change form for gender.

So:

• Encik itu seorang pegawai = That gentleman is an officer
• Puan itu seorang pegawai = That lady is an officer

The profession word pegawai stays the same.

A simple approximate pronunciation for English speakers is:

• Encik ≈ en-cheek or en-chik
• itu ≈ ee-too
• seorang ≈ suh-or-ang
• pegawai ≈ puh-gah-wai

A rough full reading: en-chik ee-too suh-or-ang puh-gah-wai

Pronunciation can vary a little by region and speaking style, but this will get you close.

In some contexts, Malay can omit seorang, but Encik itu seorang pegawai is the clearer and more standard learner-friendly form for That gentleman is an officer.

Using seorang is especially natural when:

• the noun refers to a person
• you are identifying someone’s profession or role

So for learners, it is best to remember:

• Encik itu seorang pegawai = a very good standard sentence

It is capitalized because Encik is a title, like Mr. in English.

So you would normally write:

• Encik Ali
• Encik itu seorang pegawai.

If it is being used as a respectful title, capitalization is standard.