"Kucing itu hitam."
Translation:That cat is black.
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What's the difference between saying "That cat is black" and "That black cat" in Indonesian?
So when 'itu' comes after the noun, it's "that (noun) is..." and when it comes after the adjective, it's "that ... (noun)"?
It's because you have "the/that" (itu) qualifying all that precedes it.
Sentence decomposition:
(Kucing itu) (berwarna hitam):
(The cat) (is black).
You see that "itu" (the/that) is simply qualifying "cat".
And in "Kucing hitam itu", it qualifies the whole "kucing hitam" as a block (kucing-hitam).
Sentence decomposition: "the (black cat), as a whole: the black-cat.
So, it's the way to understand when the to be verb is implied.
Kucing itu hitam: the/that cat...black.
Kucing hitam itu: the/that black-cat.
In the first one, you see that the "to be" is implied, as something is missing to make it correct English:
The/that cat... black - The/that cat IS black.
"Tu" and "ni" aren't in the dictionary. I think there are rather used orally? (Bahasa gaul?)
Indeed, they exist, but for totally different things and definitions:
https://kbbi.kemdikbud.go.id/entri/ni
https://kbbi.kemdikbud.go.id/entri/tu
The proper spelling (bahasa Indonesia yang baik dan benar) is "itu" and "ini".
(At least, it's safer to use "ini" and "itu" rather than "tu" and "ni")
Itu is both the and that. It can be used for both.
Here is more info about the use of "ini", "itu", and noun phrases:
In my opinion, no. I trust the "kamus besar", and they tell us to use "Itu" not "tu".
At least when you learn a language, it's better to use the official language, not the abbreviation or slang.