Lebihan makanan itu busuk.

Lebihan comes from lebih, which means more or extra. With -an, it becomes a noun meaning excess, surplus, or leftovers/remainder.

So lebihan makanan means something like food surplus, extra food, or leftover food, depending on context.

Lebihan makanan literally means an excess of food or food leftovers/surplus. The main idea is lebihan (excess/remainder), and makanan tells you what that excess is.

Makanan lebihan may sometimes be understood, but it is less straightforward here. If you want to talk about leftover food or food scraps, Malay speakers also often use sisa makanan.

Itu is a demonstrative. It often means that, but in many real sentences it can also make the noun phrase definite, so it may feel closer to English the.

So lebihan makanan itu can be understood as:

• that leftover food
• the leftover food

The exact English choice depends on context.

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

For example:

• rumah itu = that house / the house
• makanan itu = that food / the food
• lebihan makanan itu = that leftover food / the leftover food

That word order is normal in Malay.

Malay often does not use a present-tense copula like English is/are.

So instead of saying something literally like the leftover food is rotten with a separate word for is, Malay simply says:

Lebihan makanan itu busuk.

This is a complete sentence.

Busuk is basically an adjective, meaning rotten, spoiled, or bad-smelling.

But in Malay, adjectives can also be used directly as the predicate of a sentence.

Compare:

• makanan busuk = rotten food
  Here busuk describes the noun.

• makanan itu busuk = the food is rotten
  Here busuk is the predicate.

So in your sentence, busuk is still an adjective, but it functions like is rotten in English.

Not always. Busuk can mean:

• rotten
• spoiled
• stinking
• bad-smelling
• decayed

With food, spoiled or rotten is usually the most natural meaning. The exact nuance depends on context.

Yes. This is something English speakers often notice.

Malay itu is often translated as that, especially when pointing something out or contrasting it with something else. But in ordinary speech, it can also simply mark something as known or definite, which may sound more like English the.

So both of these can work, depending on context:

• That leftover food is rotten.
• The leftover food is rotten.

Usually, you do not know from the noun alone, because Malay does not have to mark singular and plural the way English does.

So lebihan makanan can refer to:

• leftover food as a mass noun
• leftovers more generally

Context tells you which is meant.

If you say Lebihan makanan busuk, it is more likely to sound like a noun phrase such as rotten leftover food, instead of a clear full sentence.

Including itu helps mark the subject clearly:

• lebihan makanan itu = the subject
• busuk = the predicate

So itu makes the sentence structure easier to understand.

Yes. A very common alternative is Sisa makanan itu busuk.

The difference is roughly this:

• lebihan makanan = excess/surplus/leftover food
• sisa makanan = food remains, food scraps, leftovers

So if you mean uneaten remains or food waste, sisa makanan may sound more natural in some contexts. If you mean extra or surplus food, lebihan makanan fits well.