"Kucing itu hitam."

Translation: That cat is black.

[JessXu12]

What's the difference between saying "That cat is black" and "That black cat" in Indonesian?

[yogastorow]

That cat is black = Kucing itu (berwarna) hitam
That black cat = Kucing hitam itu

[kittygarden]

So when 'itu' comes after the noun, it's "that (noun) is..." and when it comes after the adjective, it's "that ... (noun)"?

[PERCE_NEIGE]

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.

[Reuben]

How's "that cat's black" wrong?

[EmPulse2]

Your answer should be correct, hope you reported it :)

[michaelo314]

Why not That is a black cat?

[Rick392366]

That is a black cat = Itu kucing hitam

[thatonebeckfan]

How??

[Rick392366]

Here is more info about the use of "ini", "itu", and noun phrases:

https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/31492712

https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/31285942

[thatonebeckfan]

Can I say "tu kucing hitam??"

[PERCE_NEIGE]

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.

[thatonebeckfan]

Kucing tu hitam!? Mengapa tak ni??

[ColeMcKenn6]

tu or itu = that
ni or ini = this

[PERCE_NEIGE]

"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.