Learn Malay Lah 隆重马来

Basics 基本

Hello. 哈罗
Halo. (Halo)

Hello. (informal) 哈罗（非正式）
Hai. (Hi)

How are you? 你好吗？
Apa khabar? (AH-pAh KAH-bar?)

Fine, thank you. 很好，谢谢。
Baik, terima kasih. (BAYK, TREE-muh KUS-see)

What is your name? 请问你贵姓？
Apakah nama anda? Siapa nama?

My name is ______ . 我的名叫______。
Nama saya ______ . (NUM-MUH suh-yuh _____ .)

Nice to meet you. 很高兴认识你。
Senang berjumpa dengan Anda. (SNUNG burr-jum-puh UN-duh)

Please. 请。
Silakan. (see-LUH-kunn)

Please. (request) 请求。
Tolong. (TOH-long)

Thank you. 谢谢。
Terima kasih.

You're welcome. 不客气。
Sama-sama.

Yes. 是。
Ya. (YUH)

No. 不是。
Tidak. (TEE-duck), Tak (TAHK)

Maybe 可能。
Mungkin. (Moonk-Kin)

Excuse me. (getting attention, lit. may i ask?) 不好意思。
Boleh tumpang tanya?

Excuse me. (begging pardon) 抱歉。
Maaf.

I'm sorry. 对不起。
Maafkan saya.

Goodbye. 再见。
Selamat tinggal. Selamat Jalan

Goodbye (informal) 告辞。
Bai.

I can't speak Malay [well]. 我不太会说马来语。
Saya tidak boleh berbahasa Melayu [dengan baik].

Do you speak English? 你会说英语吗？
Bolehkah anda cakap bahasa Inggeris?

Is there someone here who speaks English? 请问这里有谁会说英语？
Ada orang yang boleh berbahasa Inggeris? , Ada sesiapa yang boleh bercakap Inggeris di sini?

Help! 救命！
Tolong!

Look out! 小心！
Hati-hati!

Good morning. 早安。
Selamat pagi. (slum-mut PUH-GUEE)

Good afternoon. 午安。
Selamat tengah hari.

Good evening. 晚上好。
Selamat petang.

Good night. 晚安。
Selamat malam.

Good night (to sleep) 晚安
Selamat tidur.

I don't understand. 我不明白。
Saya tidak faham.

Where is the toilet? 厕所在哪里？
Di manakah tandas?

Short forms

Tak nak?

Colloquial Malay shortens commonly used words mercilessly.

sudah → dah
already

tidak → tak
no

hendak → nak
to want

aku → ku
I (informal)

kamu → mu
you (informal)

-ku and -mu also act as suffixes: keretaku is short for kereta aku, "my car".

Pronounciation Guide

Pronunciation guide

Malay is very easy to pronounce: it has one of the most phonetic writing systems in the world, with only a small number of simple consonants and relatively few vowel sounds. One peculiarity of the spelling is the lack for a separate sign to denote the schwa. It is written as an 'e', which can sometimes be confusing.

Vowels

a
like 'a' in "father"
ê
like 'e' in "vowel" (schwa)
e, é
like 'e' in "bed", usually the difference between a schwa and an e is not indicated in writing
i
like 'i' in "thin"
o
like 'ow' in "low", in open positions or like 'o' in "top" in close positions
u
like 'oo' in "hoop", in open positions or like 'o' in “hope” in close positions

Consonants

b
like 'b' in "bed"
c
like 'ch' in "China"
ch
old spelling of c
d
like 'd' in "dog"
f
like 'ph' in "phone"
g
like 'g' in "go"
h
like 'h' in "help"
j
like 'j' in "jug"; in older romanizations also the vowel i
k
like 'c' in "cat", often silent at the end of a word
kh
like 'ch' in "loch"
l
like 'l' in "love"
m
like 'm' in "mother"
n
like 'n' in "nice"
p
like 'p' in "pig"
q
like 'q' in "quest" (with "u", almost always, only in Arabic borrowings)
r
like 'rh' in "rheumatism"
s
like 'ss' in "hiss"
sy
like 'sh' in "sheep"

t
like 't' in "top"
v
like 'ph' in "phone"
w
like 'w' in "weight"
x
like 'cks' in "kicks"
y
like 'y' in "yes"
z
like 's' in "hiss", like 'z' in "haze", like 'dg' in "edge"

Common diphthongs

ai
like 'in' in "mind"
au
like 'ow' in "cow"
oi
like 'oy' in "boy"