Bateri itu bertahan lama.

Itu usually means that.

In Malay, demonstratives like ini (this) and itu (that) normally come after the noun, not before it as in English.

So:

• bateri itu = that battery
• bateri ini = this battery

This word order is very common in Malay:

• rumah itu = that house
• buku ini = this book

Bertahan means something like to last, to endure, or to hold up over time.

In Bateri itu bertahan lama, it means the battery continues working for a long time.

Depending on context, bertahan can also mean:

• to endure
• to survive
• to hold out
• to defend oneself / resist

But in this sentence, the natural meaning is to last.

The base word is tahan, which has meanings related to enduring, withstanding, or holding.

The prefix ber- often forms an intransitive verb, and in this case bertahan is the common verb meaning to last / to endure.

So:

• tahan can function as a base word or adjective-like word in some contexts
• bertahan is a full verb meaning to last / endure

For learners, the safest thing is to learn bertahan lama as a common expression meaning to last a long time.

Lama means long or for a long time.

In this sentence, it describes how long the battery lasts, so it works a bit like a long time or long in English:

• bertahan lama = last long / last a long time

Malay often uses words in ways that are more flexible than English, so lama can feel adjective-like or adverb-like depending on context.

Examples:

• lama = long, old, a long time
• sudah lama = for a long time / it has been a long time

The structure is:

• Bateri itu = subject
• bertahan = verb
• lama = description of duration

So the pattern is roughly:

Subject + Verb + Duration/Description

In English, this becomes:

• That battery lasts a long time or
• The battery lasts long

Malay sentence structure is often quite straightforward, and this is a very natural basic sentence.

Malay verbs do not change form for tense the way English verbs do.

So bertahan can refer to present, past, or future depending on context.

By itself, Bateri itu bertahan lama is usually understood as a general present statement:

• That battery lasts a long time

If you want to make the time clearer, Malay usually adds time words such as:

• dulu = before / in the past
• sekarang = now
• akan = will
• sudah / telah = already
• sedang = in the process of

For example:

• Bateri itu bertahan lama dahulu. = That battery used to last a long time.
• Bateri itu akan bertahan lama. = That battery will last a long time.

Yes, Bateri itu tahan lama is also very natural and very common.

In fact, tahan lama is a very common phrase meaning:

• durable
• long-lasting
• able to last a long time

So there is a small nuance:

• Bateri itu bertahan lama focuses more on the action/state of lasting
• Bateri itu tahan lama sounds more like a property: the battery is long-lasting

In everyday Malay, many speakers would probably use tahan lama very naturally for products, batteries, materials, and so on.

No. Malay often does not use a verb equivalent to is/am/are in simple sentences.

So where English says:

• That battery is durable
• That battery is long-lasting

Malay can simply say:

• Bateri itu tahan lama

In your sentence, though, bertahan is already a verb, so there is no need for any extra word like is.

This is a very common adjustment English speakers need to make when learning Malay.

By itself, bateri can be understood as singular or plural depending on context.

In this sentence, bateri itu is normally understood as that battery, so singular.

If you want to make plurality very explicit, Malay may use reduplication:

• bateri-bateri itu = those batteries

But very often Malay relies on context instead of marking plural every time.

Malay does not use articles in the same way English does.

There is no direct equivalent that must always appear for a/an/the.

Instead, definiteness is often understood through context or shown with words like:

• ini = this
• itu = that

So:

• bateri could mean a battery or battery/batteries
• bateri itu means something more definite, like that battery or sometimes the battery

This is why English speakers often need to stop expecting an article in every noun phrase.

Yes. Bateri is the standard Malay word for battery.

It is a loanword and is used for things like:

• phone batteries
• car batteries
• remote-control batteries

Malay uses many loanwords, and bateri is completely normal.

You can negate it with tidak:

• Bateri itu tidak bertahan lama.

This means:

• That battery does not last long.

Use tidak to negate verbs and adjectives.

If you were using the other version:

• Bateri itu tidak tahan lama.

That also means:

• That battery is not long-lasting or
• That battery does not last long

A simple way is to use question intonation in speech:

• Bateri itu bertahan lama?

This can mean:

• Does that battery last a long time?

You can also use question words if needed, but for yes/no questions, Malay often just keeps the same word order and relies on tone or context.

Another possible form is:

• Adakah bateri itu bertahan lama?

This is more explicitly marked as a question and is a bit more formal.

The difference is distance or reference:

• bateri ini = this battery
• bateri itu = that battery

So:

• Bateri ini bertahan lama. = This battery lasts a long time.
• Bateri itu bertahan lama. = That battery lasts a long time.

Sometimes the distinction is physical distance, and sometimes it is just about which thing the speaker is referring to in the conversation.

A simple learner-friendly pronunciation is:

• bertahan ≈ ber-TA-han
• bateri ≈ ba-TE-ri
• lama ≈ LA-ma

A few helpful notes:

• Malay pronunciation is usually quite regular.
• The r in ber- is lightly pronounced.
• Stress in Malay is generally not as strong or dramatic as in English, but learners often say ba-TE-ri, ber-TA-han, LA-ma as a rough guide.

So the whole sentence sounds roughly like:

ba-TE-ri i-tu ber-TA-han LA-ma