Lawan itu kuat.

In this sentence, lawan means opponent, enemy, or rival, depending on context.

So Lawan itu kuat means something like:

• That opponent is strong
• The opponent is strong

A useful note: lawan can also be a verb meaning to fight or to oppose in other sentences. Here, it is being used as a noun.

Itu usually means that.

In Lawan itu kuat, it points to a specific opponent:

• that opponent
• sometimes naturally translated as the opponent

In Malay, itu is often placed after the noun, unlike English. So:

• lawan itu = that opponent

That is normal in Malay. Demonstratives like ini (this) and itu (that) usually come after the noun.

Examples:

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

So even though English says that opponent, Malay says opponent that.

Malay often does not use a verb like is/am/are in simple descriptive sentences.

So:

• Lawan itu kuat literally looks like opponent that strong
• but it naturally means That opponent is strong

This is very common in Malay:

• Dia tinggi = He/She is tall
• Rumah itu besar = That house is big

Here, kuat is an adjective meaning strong.

So the sentence structure is:

• lawan itu = the subject, that opponent
• kuat = the description, strong

Malay adjectives often come after the noun they describe when used in a full sentence like this.

Yes, a little.

Malay:

• Lawan itu kuat
• literally: Opponent that strong

Natural English:

• That opponent is strong

The main differences are:

1. itu comes after the noun
2. there is no separate word for is

But overall, the sentence is simple and very typical Malay.

Yes. In many contexts, itu can sound like that, but in natural translation it may also come across as the, especially when referring to a specific, known opponent.

So depending on context, you might translate it as:

• That opponent is strong
• The opponent is strong

The Malay sentence itself is the same.

You would say:

• Lawan ini kuat

Here:

• ini = this
• itu = that

So compare:

• Lawan ini kuat = This opponent is strong
• Lawan itu kuat = That opponent is strong

Kuat is roughly pronounced koo-aht.

A simple breakdown:

• ku sounds like koo
• at sounds like aht

Malay pronunciation is usually fairly regular, so words are often pronounced close to how they are spelled.

No, that would not be the normal word order for this meaning.

To say that opponent, Malay normally uses:

• lawan itu

not:

• itu lawan

So the correct sentence is:

• Lawan itu kuat

It is normal, standard Malay and works well in everyday use.

It is a very natural kind of sentence structure:

• noun + itu
• adjective at the end

So Lawan itu kuat is a perfectly ordinary way to say That opponent is strong.

Yes. Lawan can have a few related meanings depending on context, such as:

• opponent
• enemy
• rival

It can also be used as a verb, for example in the sense of fight or oppose.

But in Lawan itu kuat, the meaning is clearly the noun: opponent/rival.