Orang itu menggunakan akal.

That person uses reason.

Breakdown of Orang itu menggunakan akal.

• itu: that
• orang: the person
• menggunakan: to use
• akal: reason; intellect

Questions & Answers about Orang itu menggunakan akal.

What does orang mean here? Does it mean person or people?

Orang can mean either person or people, depending on context.

In Orang itu menggunakan akal, it is understood as person because:

• it is followed by itu, which points to a specific referent
• the sentence structure suggests one identifiable person, not people in general

So here orang itu means that person or sometimes the person.

Why is itu placed after orang? In English, that comes before the noun.

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

So:

• orang itu = that person
• buku ini = this book

This is a very common word order in Malay:

• noun + ini/itu

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

Does orang itu mean that person or the person?