English to BM Phrasebook – Part 7: Malaysian slang
Apa khabar, folks? I hope these phrasebooks have been helpful to you on your journey of learning the local lingo. So far, we’ve covered greetings, numbers, days, months, how to get around, how to order food, basic conversational phrases, question words, pronouns, and honorifics.
Wa lao, that’s a lot, lah!
Today, we’re taking a step back from formal Malay. Instead, we’re going to learn some words that will help you sound a little more Malaysian. There are plenty of words other than lah which you can use to supplement your Malay conversations and blend in a little more.
Malaysian slang is a mixture of English, Malay, Tamil, and various Chinese dialects. Besides food, Manglish (a compound of ‘Malay’ and ‘English’) is a major testament to the country’s multicultural heritage. Also, Malaysians can be quite lazy with words, so some of these slang words are just a result of that laziness. You’ll see what I mean:
| Bahasa Malaysia | English |
|---|---|
| Ah | Yes / What? / I understand |
| Alamak | Oh no! |
| Belanja | To pay for something |
| Bojio | Never invite (as in, 'You never invite me') |
| Cincai | Whatever |
| Fuyoh | Used as an exclamation when impressed, eg Wow! |
| Gostan | Reverse |
| Got meh? | Are you sure? |
| Habis / Mampus | This is it / This is the end (literally, 'gone' / 'dead') |
| Kaw kaw | Extra / Very much / Very strong |
| Kena | About to get something negative (literally, 'get') |
| Kiasu | Anxious to not miss out on opportunities, almost to the point of being selfish |
| La-la | Gawdy |
| Lepak / Yum cha | Hang out |
| Macha | Buddy / Friend |
| Mat salleh / Ang Mo | Caucasian person |
| Perasan | When someone thinks something of themselves that others don't |
| Potong steam | Kill joy |
| Slambur / slamba | Laid back |
| Tapau | Take away |
| Terrer | Really good, amazing |
| Where got | No |
These random list of words are what most Malaysians use when they’re speaking to their fellow Malaysian friends. Chances are, Manglish crops up in conversations between groups of people with different native languages.
Note: Lepak, yum cha and syok are now official English words according to the Oxford dictionary. Also, ah is the epitome of laziness in Malaysian speech as it is basically just a sound with multiple meanings.
Example A
Susan: Jim’s girlfriend is mat salleh, you know.
Ben: We should go yum cha with them one day.
Susan: We can watch Ghostbusters!? I think the movie premiers tonight.
Ben: Where got? The poster says next week lah.
Susan: Oh really? Maybe we can just go to a mamak, then.
Ben: Jim just replied. He said they’re free to lepak tonight.
Susan: Great. You belanja? My cheque hasn’t cleared yet.
Ben: Ah.
—
Jim: *upon seeing Susan and Ben’s selfie at the mamak* Bojio!*
Susan: What bojio? Everytime I ask you out, you always say no. So I stopped asking lah!
*Bojio is commonly seen on social media posts.
Example B
Muthu: Macha*, what do you want to have for lunch?
Daniel: Cincai lah.
Muthu: Let’s just tapau some chicken rice and eat at home.
Daniel: Yeah! We can play Final Fantasy!
Muthu: Play? How can you be so slamba! The test is tomorrow. We should study.
Daniel: Potong steam lah, Muthu. It’s only a test.
Muthu: It’s not just any test, it’s 50% of our final grade!
Daniel: You’re so kiasu lah, cha.
Muthu: If I fail again, I will kena from my mum lah, bro. I don’t think my ears can handle another lecture.
Daniel: Oh yeah, I remember the first time you failed. Your mum lectured you kaw kaw. I thought, ‘for sure this kid mampus lah’.
*Macha is actually ‘brother-in-law’ in Tamil but is often used in Malaysia as buddy or friend. Abbreviation: Cha.
Example C
Maria: Fuyoh, nice shoes! Are thoese Nike?
Faiz: Yea! I got these on sale in PJ.
Maria: How much did you pay for them?
Faiz: I think it was a 70% discount kot. I’m not entirely sure.
Maria: And they had them in your buffalo size?
Faiz: Yea, luckily. It was either this blue pair or a sparkly pink pair which looked so lala.
Example D
*trying to parallel park*
Leong: Alamak! I think I’m too close to the car in front.
Nadia: Yes, you are. Just gostan a little bit.
Leong: Is that better now?
Nadia: Yea, great.
Leong: Thanks, Nad. You must be really terrer at parallel parking.
Nadia: I just had lots of practice.
Give Manglish a try
So, armed with a list of words and examples, you can start trying to use these words in your daily conversations. The slang works in Malay conversations too, so feel free to switch it up. That is, after all, the essence of Manglish.
One last thing, remember that these are colloquialisms and it’ll take some time to figure out the best moments to use them. So, listen closely to locals when they speak. In time, you’ll get the hang of it. Just try not to use these words in a business meeting…
If you need any clarification, leave a comment down below and we’ll try out best to help you unravel the mysteries of BM. Check out the entire series of English to BM Phrasebooks here.
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