Bahasa Melayu

Malay

Austronesian

FamilyAustronesian Speakers~77M ScriptLatin (Rumi) / Jawi CountriesMalaysia, Brunei, Singapore Official inMalaysia, Brunei, Singapore Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3msa Glottocodemala1546

Also known as: Malay, Bahasa Melayu

Malay (Bahasa Melayu) is the national language of Malaysia, Brunei, and Singapore (~33M L1 + ~44M L2; ~290M including the closely related Indonesian sister-standard). It is a Malayic Austronesian language, shares ~80% mutual intelligibility with Indonesian, and was the lingua franca of Maritime Southeast Asia for over a millennium of Indian Ocean trade. Two writing systems coexist: Rumi (Latin, government standard since the 1972 MABBIM accord harmonizing Malaysian and Indonesian orthographies) and Jawi (Arabic-derived, 14th-c. Pasai inscriptions through 19th c. dominance; still active in Brunei, Pattani Thailand, Malaysian ceremonial contexts). Linguistically: SVO, non-tonal, extensive verbal affixation, and noun-class-free typology.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Malay

Water

air

ˈair

Fire

api

api

Sun

matahari

matahari

Moon

bulan

bulan

Star

bintang

bintaŋ

Night

malam

ˈmalam

Rain

hujan

ˈhudʒan

Snow

salji

saldʒi

Wind

angin

ˈaŋin

Earth

tanah

tanah

Stone

batu

ˈbatu

Mountain

gunung

ɡuˈnuŋ

Sea

laut

ˈlaut

Mother

ibu

ibu

Father

ayah

ajah

Daughter

anak perempuan

anak pərəmpuan

I

saya

saja

You

awak

awaʔ

We

kita / kami

kita / kami

Name

nama

nama

Person

orang

ˈoraŋ

Head

kepala

kəˈpala

Eye

mata

mata

Ear

telinga

təˈliŋə

Nose

hidung

hiˈduŋ

Mouth

mulut

ˈmulut

Tooth

gigi

ˈɡiɡi

Tongue

lidah

ˈlidah

Hand

tangan

taŋan

Foot

kaki

ˈkaki

Heart

hati

hati

Bone

tulang

ˈtulaŋ

Blood

darah

ˈdarah

Poop

tahi

ˈtahi

Love

cinta

tʃinta

Tree

pokok

pokoʔ

Dog

anjing

andʒiŋ

Cat

kucing

kutʃiŋ

Fish

ikan

ˈikan

Bird

burung

buruŋ

Butterfly

rama-rama

rama rama

Egg

telur

təˈlor

Bear

beruang

bəruaŋ

Horse

kuda

ˈkuda

House

rumah

rumah

Milk

susu

susu

Honey

madu

ˈmadu

Salt

garam

ɡaram

Wine

wain

wain

Rice

beras

bəˈras

Chocolate

coklat

ˈtʃoklat

Iron

besi

bəsi

Wheel

roda

roda

Silk

sutera

suˈtəra

Book

buku

ˈbuku

Eat

makan

makan

Drink

minum

minum

Sleep

tidur

tidor

One

satu

satu

Two

dua

dua

Three

tiga

tiɡa

Four

empat

əmpat

Five

lima

lima

Hundred

seratus

səratus

Hello

hai

hai

Thank you

terima kasih

tərima kasih

Good

baik

baiʔ

New

baru

ˈbaru

Red

merah

ˈmerah

White

putih

ˈputeh

Black

hitam

ˈhitam

Green

hijau

ˈhidʒau

Blue

biru

ˈbiru

Cuckoo

sewah

ˈsewah

Woof

gonggong

ɡɔŋɡɔŋ

Computer

komputer

kɔmˈputə(r)

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi

ˈwifi

Sushi

susyi

suʃi

Tea

teh

teh

Coffee

kopi

ˈkopi

Sugar

gula

ˈɡula

Orange

oren

ˈoren

Ninety-nine

sembilan puluh sembilan

səmbilan puluh səmbilan

Dopamine

dopamin

dopaˈmin

At sign

di

di

Internet laughter

haha

ˈhaha

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Austronesian

Meaning MalayIndonesianMusiOld MalayNorth Moluccan MalayPapuan MalayAmbon Malay
Water air /ˈair/ air /ˈair/ ayek /ajek/ air /air/ aer /aer/ air /aer/ aer /aer/
Fire api /api/ api /api/ api /api/ api /api/ api /api/ api /ˈapi/ api /api/
Sun matahari /matahari/ matahari /matahari/ matahari /matahari/ matari /matari/ matahari /matahari/ matahari /mataˈhari/ mata hari /mata hari/
Moon bulan /bulan/ bulan /bulan/ bulan /bulan/ bulan /bulan/ bulan /bulan/ bulan /ˈbulan/ bulang /bulaŋ/
Star bintang /bintaŋ/ bintang /bintaŋ/ bintang /bintaŋ/ bintang /bintaŋ/ bintang /bintaŋ/ bintang /bintaŋ/ bintang /bintaŋ/
Night malam /ˈmalam/ malam /ˈmalam/ malem /maləm/ malam /malam/ malam /malam/ malam /malam/ malang /malaŋ/
Rain hujan /ˈhudʒan/ hujan /ˈhudʒan/ ujan /uˈdʒan/ — ujang /uˈdʒaŋ/ ujan /udʒan/ ujang /udʒaŋ/
Snow salji /saldʒi/ salju /saldʒu/ — — salju /saldʒu/ salju /saldʒu/ —
Page 1/11

Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Malay
Saya ingin mencuba sut yang saya nampak di kedai bertentangan hotel
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 で 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
我 想 试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 里 看到的 那套西装
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with languages in the same classification

Gusto nako sulayan ang suit nga nakita nako sa tindahan atbang sa hotel
Au via vakatovolei e dua na ivakatagedegede ka au raica e na sitoa e na otela
Makemake au e hoʻāʻo i kahi kamaʻa aʻu i ʻike ai ma kahi hale kūʻai ma mua o ka hōkele
Kayatko a padasan ti suit a nakitak iti tiendaan sangbay ti hotel
Malay
Saya ingin mencuba sut yang saya nampak di kedai bertentangan hotel

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