- The Malay Language (or BM) is spoken by all Malaaysians, though dialects may differ regionally.
Adjectives always follow the noun. For example : kereta (car) and besar(big) together "kereta besar" means a big car, so cantik (nice or beautiful), kereta cantik means nice car, and so on.
In sentence constructon, the structure is subject-verb-subject: Dia(he/she) suka (loves/likes) membaca(reading) "TripAdvisors forum". Dia suka membaca 'TripAdvisors Forum" = He/She loves reading TripAdvisors Forum.
Usually when greeting a Malay, the traditional greeting is Apa khabar ? means What news, and also similar to How are you, to which the reciprocated reply is Khabar baik, terima kasih - I am fine, thank you.
So before we start off with some words and phrases, let's look at the general pronounciation guidelines:
a as in car. apa-what: makan- eat
ai as in aisle. kedai-shop; sungai-river
au as in how. pulau-island; jauh- far
This is mentioned as many of my visitors will be going to Malaysia's beautiful islands and may want to find out if it is far to get there.
c as in chat.capal-sandal; cinta- love
e as in early. membeli - to buy; besar- big
g as in go, and not gem. pergi- go; guru- teacher
gg as in single. ringgit- Malaysian currency denomination; tetangga- household
h as in halt. mahal-expensive; murah-cheap
i as in feet. minum-to drink; lagi- again
j as in judge. jalan- street; juta-million
ng as in singing.sangat-very: bunga-flower
ny as in onion. minyak- petrol/oil; banyak- alot
o as in hop. orang- people; tolong- help
u as in pool. ukiran- carving; minum- to drink (see above for i) .
There is one appendage that is widely used here and expats and even visitors have come to getting used to. It is "lah". Its purpose is purely emphatic.
As Singapore may have its Singlish, we have our Malayish also, where lah is liberally used in English; e.g. the Chinatown traders may utter, "cannot-lah" when you are trying to bargain.
At this point, it must be mentioned when Malaysians are talking to each other, it may not come as a surprise that you may hear Malay, english and even Chinese and at times Indian phrases interwinged in the sentences. To some, it is broken English.
E.g. Semalam, I pergi see show di Saloma, I tell you I jatuh cinta dengan main performer, dia bukan main cute lah.
This in proper English: Yesterday evening, I was at a show at Saloma and I feel in love with the main performer who is so cute.
I will start with some useful phrases which will impress the locals and then few phrases for the food buff so that in ordering chicken, you do not get beef.
So, let start off on a good note: Welcome to Malaysia- Selamat Datang Ke Malaysia.
Good Morning- Selamat Pagi
Good afternoon -Selamat tengah hari
Good evening - Selamat petang
Good night -Selamat malam
Good bye- Selamat tinggal
Jumpa lagi - see you again
Yes- Ya (as in German yes)
No - Tidak
Thank you- Terima kasih (Thank you very much - Terima kasih banyak banyak or in writing ribuan terimakasih)
Please sit down - Sila duduk
Please come in - Sila masuk
Please - Sila
Excuse me- sila beri jalan (or sila beri laluan)
I come from - Saya datang dari..
My name is - Nama saya ialah ..
What is your name - Siapa nama anda (though in a advertisement with little kids getting to know each other-- the kids asked - apa nama, which is also acceptable)
Can you speak Bahasa Malaysia - Boleh cakap Melayu
I like it here - Saya suka berada di sini
Where are you going- pergi ke mana
I am going to ..Saya pergi ke....
Turn right -belok kanan : turn left - belok kiri ; go straight - jalan terus
Junction - simpang
Please stop here- Sila berhenti di sini....
How much - Berapa harga
That's too expensive - Mahal sangat (mahal is also the Philippines Tagalog for expensive)
Can you reduce the price - Boleh kurang?
Wait a minute - Tunggu sekejap (usually when the shop assistance has to refer to his/her boss or a senior person)
I would like to change money -Saya hendak tukar duit/wang
Could I make an enquiry - Tumpang tanya (useful if you feel lost)
Where is the toilet - Di mana tandas...?
In the back - di belakang ; over there- di sana ; over here- di sini
What time is it - jam berapa/ pukul berapa skarang?
One thirty or half past one- pukul satu setengah
what time does the bus leave -pukul berapa bas bertolak (bus- bas ; plane- kapal terbang ; boat - sampan ; ship- perahu; train - kereta api)
Since you will be bargaining and exchanging money, words for numbers may be helpful:
1 -Satu
2- Dua
3- Tiga
4- Empat
5- Lima
6- Enam
7- Tujuh
8- Lapan
9 - Sembilan
10 -sepuloh
11 - sebelas
12- dua belas
13- tiga belas
20 - dua pluh
21- dua puluh satu
100- seratus
101- seratus satu
105.10- seratus lima dan sepuluh
1000- seribu
3000- tiga ribu
3030 - tiga ribu tiga puluh
3330 - tiga ribu tiga ratus tiga puluh
1,000,000- sejuta
Here are some useful words, which could help in moving around
Airport -lapangan terbang
post office - pejabat pos
shop - kedai
money- duit, wang
hour- jam ; minute -minit ; day - hari
week - minggu
Mr- Encik, Tuan
Mrs- Puan
Miss -Cik
The higher echleon of the society are given the Dato', Datuk, Dato' Seri, Tun, Tan Sri title and they are addressed with this title. The Datuk's spouse is addressed as Datin, whereas the Tan Sri's wife is addressed as Puan Sri.
when you address an older Malay man, you may call Pakcik and a lady- makchik. Someone obviously younger can be addressed as adik or kak.
I- saya
you (to someone the same age- awak, anda or kita) But kita applies in Borneo Malaysia only.
you (formal) encik
he, she- dia
we- kami (excluding the speaker), kita(including the speaker). E.g. Barang kita - if the goods (barang) belongs to both the speaker and the person he/she is talking to-kita is one
they- mereka
what- apa; who-siapa; where(place) - di mana: where(direction)- ke mana; when- bila; why-mengapa; how- bagaimana; mengapa - why; which - yang mana
to eat- makan ; to drink- minum; to sleep - tidur; to bathe- mandi;
And now, to words for food:-
bread- roti
beef- daging lembu
chicken -ayam (ah-yarm)
fish - ikan (ee-karn)
vegetables- sayur
fried noodles- mee goreng
fried rice- nasi goreng
simmered noddles- mee rebus
salt- garam ; sugar- gula; spicy - pedas
delicious- sedap
a cup of coffee - kopi satu (black coffee- kopi o ; coffee with milk - kopi susu). If you do not want it sweet- kurang manis, for no sugar- tanpa gula.
a cup of tea - teh satu ( a favourite tea Malaysian like is called teh tarik, and more ginger tea- teh halia)
ice lemon tea - teh o limau (if want ice- teh o limau ais)
water - air (ah-yayr)
air- udara
Add- tambah (e.g. if you want to add rice - tambah nasi)
big- besar ; small- kecil
Pasar - market
On a final note, since Malaysia was under the British administration, most products have English label and even stall in coffee shops will have their food in English.
If you are lost and need to find your way, do not hesitate to ask for directions, now that you have these Malay phrases and words.
