Speak basic Bahasa Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur
Malaysians love to gossip!
The national language in Malaysia is called Bahasa Malaysia and, although English is extremely widely spoken, Bahasa is easy to learn and rewarding to practice. Locals are extremely receptive to foreigners who attempt to speak their language so it is well worth trying to pick up a few simple words and phrases.
And Bahasa is broadly the same language as Indonesian (with a few crucial differences in meaning for certain words) so the skill can be practiced there as well. There are many hypotheses as to where the Malay language originated. Some say it came from Sumatra as the oldest existing Malay documents dating back to the 7th century AD were found on the Bangka and Palambang off its southern coast.
The grammar involved in speaking Bahasa is simplicity itself. Nouns do not require an article and have no gender and the plural is formed by just repeating the singlar word twice. So when anak means ‘child’, anak anak means ‘children’.
Repeating a word in Bahasa Malaysia can also mean ‘doing’ something; for example, jalan jalan means ‘walking’. In addition, verbs have no tenses, while sentence order is broadly the same as English apart from adjectives which go after the noun. And Malay is certainly simpler than Thai, for example, where tonal differences drastically changes the meaning of words.
Greetings in Bahasa Malaysia
Welcome Selamat Datang
Good morning Selamat Pagi
Good evening Selamat Petang
Good bye Selamat Jalan
How are you? Apa Khabar?/Bagaimana Dengan Anda?
I’m fine Khabar Baik
I missed you so much Saya Amat Merindui Anda
Thank you Terima Kasih
I’m ok Khabar Baik Juga
You’re welcome! Sama-sama
Hey, friend! Hi, Kawan!
What’s new? Khabar Terbaru?
Nothing much Sama Sahaja
Good night Selamat Malam
See you later Jumpa Lagi
Numbers in Bahasa Malaysia
0 Nul
1 Satu
2 Dua
3 Tiga
4 Empat
5 Lima
6 Enam
7 Tujuh
8 Lapan
9 Sembilan
10 Sepuluh
12, 13, 14… Sebelas, duabelas, tigabelas…
20 Duapuluh
22, 22… Duapuluh satu, duapuluh dua..
30, 40, 50 Tigapuluh, empatpuluh, limapuluh…
100, 200, 300… Seratus, duaratus, tigaratus…
1000 Seribu
Asking for directions and help
I’m lost Saya Tersesat
Can I help you? Bolehkah Saya Membantu Anda?
Can you help me? Bolehkah Anda Membantu Saya?
Where is the bathroom? Di manakah bilik mandi?
Go straight! Jalan Lurus
Then turn left/ right! Kemudian Pusing Kiri/ Kanan
I’m looking for john Saya Sedang Mencari John
One moment please! Sila Tunggu Sebentar
How much is this? Apakah Harga Barang Ini?
Excuse me … (request) Encik? (for man) Cik? (for woman) and then request
Excuse me! (to move pass) Maafkan Saya
Menu Menu
Cold Sejuk
Hot (temp) Panas
Hot (spicy) Pedasl
I don’t eat meat or fish Saya tak makan daging
