Lebihan makanan itu sedikit.

Malay often uses zero copula in simple sentences. That means there is no separate verb like is/are between the subject and the description.

So:

• Lebihan makanan itu = the leftover food / that excess food
• sedikit = little / small in amount

Malay simply puts them together:

• Lebihan makanan itu sedikit.

This is very normal in Malay. English needs is, but Malay does not here.

Lebihan means excess, remainder, or leftover amount, depending on context.

It comes from lebih, which often means more, over, or excessive.
With the suffix -an, it becomes a noun:

• lebih = more / excessive
• lebihan = excess, surplus, leftover

So in lebihan makanan, it refers to extra food or leftover food.

In Malay, noun phrases often work as head noun + modifier.

So:

• lebihan makanan = the excess of food / food surplus / leftover food

The main noun is lebihan and makanan tells you what kind of excess it is.

This is similar to other Malay patterns:

• rumah kayu = wooden house
• botol air = water bottle
• lebihan makanan = food excess / leftover food

If you say makanan lebihan, it may sound less natural in this context, because the intended idea is not “food that is excess” as an adjective phrase, but rather “the excess amount of food.”

Itu usually means that, but in many sentences it can also feel like the, especially when referring to something already known in context.

In lebihan makanan itu:

• lebihan makanan = leftover food / excess food
• itu = that / the aforementioned

So the phrase can mean something like:

• that leftover food
• the leftover food

A key point for English speakers: itu comes after the noun phrase in Malay, not before it.

Compare:

• English: that food
• Malay: makanan itu

Because sedikit is the predicate of the sentence — it tells you the amount.

Malay often has the pattern:

• Subject + description

So here:

• Lebihan makanan itu = subject
• sedikit = description/predicate

The sentence structure is basically:

• The leftover food is little in amount

Putting sedikit at the end is completely normal.

Here, sedikit means a little or a small amount.

Since makanan is understood as an uncountable substance here, sedikit refers to amount, not number.

So the sentence means something like:

• There is only a little leftover food
• The leftover food is a small amount

For countable things, Malay can still use sedikit in some contexts, but if you specifically want a few/several, you often see beberapa instead.

Examples:

• air sedikit = a little water
• duit sedikit = a little money
• beberapa orang = a few people

It can behave like both, depending on the sentence.

In Lebihan makanan itu sedikit, sedikit is expressing quantity, so you can think of it as a quantifier or a quantity word.

But in practice, Malay learners often find it easiest to understand it as a descriptive predicate meaning:

• small in amount
• not much

Malay word classes are sometimes more flexible than English ones, so a word like sedikit does not always fit neatly into just one English category.

Yes. Sikit is a very common spoken or informal form of sedikit.

So in conversation, you might hear:

• Lebihan makanan itu sikit.

This means the same thing, but it sounds more casual.

In writing, teaching materials, formal contexts, or careful speech, sedikit is safer.

Malay does not have to mark nouns for singular/plural the way English does.

So makanan can mean:

• food
• foods
• the food

depending on context.

Also, in this sentence, makanan is not really being counted as separate items. It refers to food as a mass noun, so plural marking would not usually be needed anyway.

Malay can show plurality in other ways, such as context, numbers, or reduplication, but none of that is necessary here.

Yes — and that is actually a very natural way to understand it in English.

A very literal breakdown might sound like:

• The leftover food is little

But natural English usually prefers:

• There is little leftover food
• There is only a small amount of leftover food
• The amount of leftover food is small

So even though the Malay structure is straightforward, the best English rendering may use a different sentence pattern.

Not always.

Lebihan makanan can mean:

• leftover food after a meal
• extra food
• surplus food
• excess food

The exact meaning depends on context.

For example:

• after dinner, it may mean leftovers
• in a discussion about waste, it may mean food surplus or excess food

So lebihan makanan is a broader phrase than English leftovers, though leftover food is often a good translation.

Yes, if the context changes.

• itu = that / the one we’re talking about
• ini = this

So:

• Lebihan makanan itu sedikit. = That/The leftover food is little.
• Lebihan makanan ini sedikit. = This leftover food is little.

Both are grammatical. The choice depends on whether the speaker is referring to something nearer (ini) or farther/already established (itu) in context.

Yes. It is grammatical and natural.

It is a simple nominal sentence with:

• a noun phrase: lebihan makanan itu
• a quantity/description: sedikit

A native speaker might also choose slightly different wording depending on context, such as:

• Lebihan makanan itu sikit. (more casual)
• Lebihan makanan itu hanya sedikit. = The leftover food is only a little.
• Makanan yang lebih itu sedikit. = The extra food is only a little.
  (different nuance)

But the original sentence is perfectly normal Malay.