English to Bahasa Malaysia phrasebook – Part 1: Greetings
Generally, Malay is quite an easy language to learn. Words are mostly spelled phonetically, so you pronounce what you see, and the tenses are not as confusing as English or French.
If you’re new in Malaysia and you’d like to pick a up a new language, or if you’ve been here a while but you’re still a little confused, here’s a list of basic Malay phrases you can learn for your day-to-day interactions.
We’ll continue to add more pages in future so stay tuned for phrasebooks on Going Shopping, Eating and more, which you will be able to find here in our collection of BM Phrasebooks.
English Bahasa Melayu
Good morning
Selamat pagi
Good afternoon
Selamat tengah hari
Good evening
Selamat petang
Good night
Selamat malam
Goodbye
(formal) Selamat tinggal; (informal) Bye
Thank you
Terima kasih
You’re welcome
Sama-sama
I
(formal) Saya; (informal) Aku
You (singular)
Awak
He/She
Dia
We
Kami
You (two, three, etc) (plural)
Kamu (dua, tiga, etc.)
They
Mereka
How are you?
Apa khabar?
I'm fine
Khabar baik
Yes
Ya
No
(formal) Tidak; (informal) Tak
Maybe
Mungkin
I don’t know
Saya tak tahu
Excuse me (when someone is in your way)
Tumpang lalu
Excuse me (to ask someone something)
Tumpang tanya
Please help
Tolong
I’m sorry
Minta ma’af / ma’afkan saya
I’m lost
Saya sesat
I'm hungry
Saya lapar
I'm tired
Saya penat
I'm busy
Saya sibuk
My name is...
Nama saya...
What is your name?
Apa nama kamu?
I'm from...
Saya dari...
Where are you from?
Kamu dari mana?
I don't understand
Saya tidak faham
Do you speak English?
Awak boleh cakap English?
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