Useful Malay phrases

A collection of useful phrases in Malay, a Malayic language spoken in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei and Thailand.

Jump to phrases

See these phrases in any combination of two languages in the Phrase Finder. If you can provide recordings, corrections or additional translations, please contact me.

Key to abbreviations: frm = formal, inf = informal

English	Bahasa melayu (Malay)
Welcome	Selamat datang
Hello (General greeting)	Selamat pagi (good morning) Selamat petang (good afternoon) Selamat malam (good night) Assalamualaikum (used by Muslims)
How are you?	Apa khabar? (What news?)
Reply to 'How are you?'	Khabar baik, terima kasih. Anda pula bagaimana?
Long time no see	Sudah lama tidak berjumpa
What's your name?	Siapa nama anda?
My name is ...	Nama saya ...
Where are you from?	Dari mana asal saudara? (frm) Asal dari mana? (inf)
I'm from ...	Saya dari ...
Pleased to meet you	Selamat berkenalan
Good morning (Morning greeting)	Selamat pagi
Good afternoon (Afternoon greeting)	Selamat tengah hari (12-2pm)
Good evening (Evening greeting)	Selamat petang (2-7pm)
Good night	Selamat malam (after 7pm)
Goodbye (Parting phrases)	Selamat tinggal (said if you're leaving) Selamat jalan (said you're staying) Sampai jumpa lagi
Good luck!	Selamat maju jaya! (go forward and victory) Semoga berjaya!
Cheers! Good Health! (Toasts used when drinking)	Sihat selalu!
Have a nice day	Semoga hari anda baik sahaja
Bon appetit / Have a nice meal	Selamat menjamu selera! (Please treat your appetite) Jemput makan! (Please eat!) Makan makan! (Eat eat!)
Bon voyage / Have a good journey	Selamat jalan!
Do you understand?	Adakah saudara faham?
I understand	Saya faham
I don't understand	Saya tidak faham
Yes	Ya
No	Tidak Tak (inf)
Maybe	Untung-untung Boleh jadi
I don't know	Saya tidak tahu Tak tau (inf)
Please speak more slowly	Boleh cakap perlahan sedikit?
Please say that again	Tolong ulang sekali lagi Tolong ulang semula Sila ulang
Please write it down	Tolong ulang sekali lagi Tolong ulang semula Sila ulang
Do you speak Malay?	Bolehkah anda bercakap bahasa Malaysia? Bolehkah anda bercakap bahasa Melayu?
Yes, a little (reply to 'Do you speak ...?')	Boleh, sedikit
I'm learning Malay	Saya belajar bahasa melayu
Do you speak a language other than Malay?	Adakah kamu boleh bercakap dalam bahasa selain daripada bahasa Melayu? ادكه كامو بوليه برچاكڤ دالم بهاس سلاين درڤد بهاس ملايو؟ Selain bahasa Melayu, apakah kamu bisa bercakap dalam bahasa lain?
How do you say ... in Malay?	Bagaimana anda cakap .... dalam bahasa Melayu? Apa bahasa Malaysianya ...?
Excuse me	Tumpang lalu (to pass by) Maafkan saya
How much is this?	Berapa harganya ini?
Sorry	Ma'af Minta maaf (asking for forgiveness) Tolong maafkan saya ('please forgive me')
Please	Tolong
Thank you	Terima kasih
Reply to thank you	Sama-sama
Where's the toilet / bathroom?	Di mana tandas?
This gentleman/lady will pay for everything	Dia akan bayar semuanya
Would you like to dance with me?	Mahukah saudari menari dengan saya? (f) Mahukah saudara menari dengan saya? (m)
Do you come here often?	Ngana jaga kamari? (Ternate Malay)
I miss you	Aku rindu pada mu Saya rindu kamu
I love you	Saya sayang kamu Aku cintakan kau Aku cinta padamu Aku mencintaimu
Get well soon	Semoga cepat sembuh
Go away!	Pergi dari sini!
Leave me alone!	Pergi dari sini!
Help!	Tolong!
Fire!	Api! Kebakaran!
Stop!	Berhenti!
Christmas greetings	Selamat Hari Natal
New Year greetings	Selamat Tahun Baru
Birthday greetings	Selamat hari jadi Selamat hari lahir
Congratulations!	Tahniah!
One language is never enough	Satu bahasa tidak pernah cukup
My hovercraft is full of eels	Hoverkraf saya penuh dengan belut

Audio recordings and some corrections provided by Lay M.

Download all the audio files (Zip format, 1.4MB)

Hear some Malay phrases:

If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.

Information about Malay | Phrases | Numbers | Tower of Babel | Learning materials

Links

Other collections of Malay phrases (some with audio)
http://mcs-bristol.tripod.com/learnmalay.htm
http://linguanaut.com/english_malay.htm
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g293951-s604/Malaysia:Important.Phrases.html
http://www.expatypus.com/wiki/malay-language-bahasa-malaysia
http://www.digitaldialects.com/Malay/Phrases.htm
http://www.voyage99.com/useful-phrases.html

Phrases in Malayo-Polynesian languages

Balinese, Banjar, Central Dusun, Chamorro (Guam dialect), Chamorro (North Marianas dialect), Coastal Kadazan, Fijian, Iban, Indonesian, Javanese, Malagasy, Malay, Māori, Palauan, Tetum, Yapese

Phrases in other languages

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