baik

> Betawi: baik (inherited)

> Betawi: baèk (inherited)

> Betawi: baè' (inherited)

> Indonesian: baik (inherited)

desc

> Peranakan Indonesian: baek (inherited)

Uncertain, or could be inherited from an alternate form of Proto-Malayic *bait, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *bait. Compare Tagalog bait and Maori pai.

Baik, cikgu, saya akan siapkan kerja itu sekarang juga.

Ok, mister, I will finish that work right now.

okay (Used to indicate agreement or acceptance)


ia

Ia, itulah jawapan saya.


er

Possibly borrowed from English er or is a pronunciation spelling of a in non-rhotic Malay accents.

Er, kita tengah ke mana ni?


au

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *au, from Proto-Austronesian *au₂.

(Brunei, Sarawak) Used to express affirmation; yes.


nah

Nah! Ambil ini.


lah

له (Jawi)
la (alternative)
ah (alternative)

(dialectal, informal, Kelantan-Pattani, Pahang, Perak, Terengganu) Used to invite someone to do something.


hai

Hai orang-orang yang beriman!


hai

Hai, tengah buat apa ni?


apa

From Proto-Malayic *apa, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *apa (compare Maori aha).

Apa, itu jawapan yang betul?

What:
An expression of surprise or disbelief.

Apa? Aku ada hal lain lah.

What? I have other business to attend to.

What do you want? An abrupt, usually unfriendly enquiry as to what a person desires.

— Saya nak yang eerrrrrr mmmm ...
— Apa?

What did you say? I beg your pardon? This usage is often considered impolite, with the more polite "Maaf?" or "Sori?" preferred.

Dia, apa, doktor, kan?

Indicating a guess or approximation, or a pause to try to recall information.


aba

head

aba (Jawi spelling اب, also used in the form aba-aba)

اب (Jawi)
aba-aba (also used-in-the-form)

Borrowed from Indonesian aba, from Javanese ꦲꦧ (aba).

(Indonesia) Command words used in military exercises.


oi

Oi, apa kau buat tu?!


cis

ouch (expression in sympathy at another’s pain)


halo

Borrowed from Dutch hallo, possibly through Indonesian halo.

Halo, nak tanya pasal kerja rumah tadi sekejap, boleh?

Hello, can I ask about the homework earlier?

(uncommon, informal) Used to greet people; hello.


ya

From Arabic يَا (yā, “vocative particle”).

Ya, Tuhan!


ya

From Dutch ja, from Middle Dutch ja, from Old Dutch *jā, from Proto-Germanic *ja.

Ya, ini Patrick.

Dia orang kaya, ya?

Used to inquire for confirmation; right.


mari

→ Negeri Sembilan Malay: maghih

From Proto-Malayic *mari, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *maʀi.


a

A, macam itulah sepatutnya kaujawab!

Used to show excitement or to show agreement.

Dia ni, a, salah seorang Perdana Menteri Britain dulu.

This guy is, er, one of Britain's Prime Ministers in the past.


hoi

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *huy (“exclamation to express surprise, call to a friend, respond to a distant call, etc.”). Compare Cantonese 喂 (wai²) or Min Nan 喂 (oeh).

inh

Hoi, apa kau buat tu?!

hey; interjection used to call out to people


okey

Pattani Malay: اوْكيْ


kertas

From Arabic قِرْطَاس (qirṭās), ultimately from Ancient Greek χάρτης (khártēs). Doublet of carta and kad.
* Semantic loan from English paper for a set of examination questions.

(onomatopoeia) The sound of paper being crumpled.


(text messaging) An onomatopoeic representation of laughter; "hahaha".


sedia

> Indonesian: sedia (inherited)

→ Tausug: saddiya

(military) Used as a command to bring soldiers to the attention position


helo

Helo, awak di mana sekarang?


selamat makan

ms-interj

selamat makan (Jawi spelling سلامت ماکن)

سلامت ماکن (Jawi)


maaf

معاف (Jawi)
maap (alternative)
mahap (alternative)

Borrowed from Classical Persian مُعَاف (mu'āf), from Arabic مُعَافًى (muʕāfan).

bor+

Maaf, bukan itu yang saya maksudkan.

Maaf, adik tahu tak kat mana tandas?

Excuse me, do you know where the toilet is?

Used as a polite apology in various situations such as when attempting to get someone's attention; excuse me.


selamat pagi

good morning (when seeing someone for the first time in the morning)


apakah

Apakah, dia yang main tipu rupanya?!

What, so he was the one who's been cheating?!

Used to express surprise or disbelief; "what!".


aduh

ادوه (Jawi)
adoi (alternative)
waduh (alternative)

Indonesian: aduh

North Moluccan Malay: ado

→ Petjo: adoeh, adoe

From Proto-Malayic *aduh, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *aduq.

ouch (expression of pain, discomfort or shock)


sayang

سايڠ (Jawi)
ayang (alternative)
yang (alternative)
cayang (alternative childish)
syg (alternative Internet)

Indonesian: sayang

→ English: sayang

→ Hokkien: 捎央, 沙央 (sa-iang)

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *sayaŋ (“too bad! it’s a pity! what a shame!”).


butoh

(colloquial, vulgar) bullshit! nonsense!


mampus

Indonesian: mampus

North Moluccan Malay: mampos

From Proto-Malayic *mampus, probably from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ma- + *qa(m)pus (“come to an end, be destroyed”). Doublet of hapus. Compare Sundanese apus (“easily go out, extinguished (fire)”).

cog

Mampus aku, mercun aku meletup kena kat kerusi santai pak cik Lee!

Shit, my rocket burst a hole on Uncle Lee's lawnchair!


astaghfirullah

From Arabic أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللّٰهَ (ʔastaḡfiru llāha, “I seek forgiveness from God”).

bor

أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللّٰهَ

(Islam, literally) a prayer seeking for forgiveness from God.


hadir

Indonesian: hadir

present or here (an answer for roll call)


serius

سيريوس (Jawi)

Borrowed from English serious, from Middle English seryows, from Old French serieux, from Medieval Latin sēriōsus, an extension of Latin sērius (“grave, earnest, serious”), from Proto-Indo-European *swer- (“heavy”).

der

Serius, harga telefon ni lebih daripada $3000?!

Seriously, this phone costs more than $3000?!

Used to express disbelief; seriously, for real.


hampas

For use as exclamation, see also English crap (originally meaning “chaff”) for parallel semantic evolution.

Hampas betul, baru aku tangkap ikan aku je kucing dah copet bawak lari.

Goshdarnit, the cat just had to nab my caught fish away.

(slang) Expression of dismay or disappointment


betul

بتول (Jawi)
betol (alternative)
tul (alternative clipping)
tol (alternative clipping)

Betul, itulah jawapannya.


syahmat

(chess) checkmate (said when making the conclusive move in chess)


assalamualaikum

ms-interj

assalamualaikum (Jawi spelling السلامعليکم)

السلامعليکم (Jawi)

From Arabic اَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُم (as-salāmu ʕalaykum, “peace be upon you”).

bor

اَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُم

assalamu alaykum
assalamu alaykum#English

(Islam) Used by Muslims to greet other Muslims; salaam alaikum, assalamu alaykum.


jahanam

Jahanam dia!


alhamdulillah

الحمدلله (Jawi)

Borrowed from Arabic اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ (al-ḥamdu li-llāhi, literally “praise [be] to God”).

bor+

اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ

Alhamdulillah, majlis perkahwinan berjalan dengan lancar.

Thank God, the wedding ceremony went smoothly.

(Islam) Thank God (Said by someone who has just sneezed).


cantik

چنتيق (Jawi)
chantek (alternative)
cntek (alternative Internet)
cntik (alternative Internet)
cantek (alternative pronunciation-spelling)

"Ok, cikgu cakap boleh main bola." - "Cantik!"

"Ok, so the teacher says that we can play football" - "Awesome!"


betol

(1924-1972) superseded spelling of betul


ilahi

Ultimately from Arabic إِلٰهِي (ʔilāhī).


syabas

Indonesian: syabas

From Hindi शाबाश (śābāś, “well done”); derived from Classical Persian شاباش (šābāš), from the term شاد باش (šād bāš, “be happy”), from شاد (“joyful”) + باش (“be (imperative)”).


tahniah

تهنيئه (Jawi)

From Arabic تَهْنِئَة (tahniʔa, “congratulation”).


astaga

أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللّٰهَ

(slang) clipping of astaghfirullah ("oh my God")


syah

From Classical Persian شاه (šāh, “shah”). Doublet of cek.

(sports) Check; an exclamation that shows that the king piece in chess is in danger.


celaka

> Indonesian: celaka (inherited)

Borrowed from Sanskrit छलक (chalaka, “delusive, cheating”).

bor+

Used to express contempt or annoyance; damn.


walao

From Hokkien 我老的 (góa lāu--ê, literally “my elderly”). Compare Mandarin 哇老誒 /哇老诶 (wà láo ei).

der

(Singapore, Malaysia, slang) wow; dear me; good heavens; OMG


fuh

Fuh, laju Aziz kayuh basikal!


alamak

Probably contracted from Allah (“God”) + mak (“mother”), possibly under Portuguese influence (compare Kristang alamah (“Mother of God”)). Malaysian linguist Amat Juhari Moain suggested that the word is contracted from Arabic اللَّهُ مَعَكَ (al-lahu maʕaka), a traditional phrase meaning “May God be with you”.

اللَّهُ مَعَكَ

oh my God, (literally) Mother of God (expression of shock)


potong stim

(slang) you buzzkill; you ruined the entertainment


beratur

براتور (Jawi)


wahai

Wahai orang yang berdosa, bertaubatlah kepada Tuhan!

Oh, people who have sinned, repent to God!

Wahai Tuhanku, ampunkanlah semua dosaku!

Used to express sadness (to get attention, to give reminders and so on).


ha'ah

(Nonstandard) Alternative spelling of haah


mak kau hijau

ms-interj

مق کاو هيجاو

mak kau hijau (Jawi spelling مق کاو هيجاو)

مق کاو هيجاو (Jawi)
mak ko hijau (alternative)

desc

→ English: your mother is green, your mom is green

Literally "your mother is green". From a video where two boys fight and make up bizarre insults against each other. Although the hijau (literally “green”) in this phrase may have been nonsensical, there are various speculations regarding its definition, including a possible insult at the other boy's race or skin colour (the slur Keling can be heard immediately in the following, likely by indirect colour analogy of hitam) or "hijau" referring to virginity.

(slang, vulgar, humorous) An expression of contempt


Malaysia Boleh

→ English: Bolehland

Malaysia + boleh, literally "Malaysia can do it".
Coined by Malaysian politician and sports administrator Hamzah Abu Samah in 1993 as a marketing slogan for the chocolate drink brand MILO and to support local athletes during the 1993 SEA Games in Singapore. Popularised by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad as a catchphrase for Vision 2020.
With the rise of social media websites in the 2000's, the phrase was later used in a sarcastic way.

coinage

(Malaysia) "Malaysia can [do it]", an expression of patriotism or national pride.

(Malaysia, humorous, sarcastic, politics) An expression of disappointment towards failures in Malaysian society and corruption by political leaders.


jom

Borrowed from Kedah Malay jom, ultimately from an unknown origin.

Jom makan.

Jom minum.


perghhh

From the last syllable of the Malay word apa, emphasised. It literally means "What [is that]?".
Not related to the word pergi (“to go”).

(informal, text messaging, Internet slang) wow! (expression of shock)


sekejap

سکجڤ (Jawi)
jap (alternative)
kejap (alternative)
kj (alternative)
kjp (alternative)


nauzubillah

نعوذ بالله (Jawi)

From Arabic نعوذ بالله ("We take refuge with the help of God Almighty").

bor

Arabic نعوذ بالله

(Islam) May God protect someone (against a threat)


selamat sejahtera

ms-interj

سلامت سجهترا

selamat sejahtera (Jawi spelling سلامت سجهترا)

سلامت سجهترا (Jawi)

selamat (“good”) + sejahtera (“prosperous”).

compound

(formal) greetings (when addressing someone)


salam sejahtera

salam (“peaceful”) + sejahtera (“prosperous”).


haah

هاعه (Jawi)
ha'ah (alternative nonstandard)

Haah, ini Patrick.


maaf zahir dan batin

"Forgive our physical and emotional (wrongdoings)" (a traditional greeting on Eid al-Fitr)


siuh

سيوه (Jawi)
syiuh (alternative)
syuh (alternative)

Onomatopoeic. Possibly derived from English shoo.


waalaikumussalam

ms-interj

وعليکم السلام

waalaikumussalam (Jawi spelling وعليکم السلام)

وعليکم السلام (Jawi)

From Arabic وَعَلَيْكُم ٱلسَّلَامُ (waʕalaykum s-salāmu).

bor

وَعَلَيْكُم ٱلسَّلَامُ

(Islam) Used as a response greeting to assalamualaikum.


وعليکم السلام

ms-interj

وعليکم السلام


berhati-hati

af

Reduplication of <i class="Latn mention" lang="ms">hati</i>


ewah

A word to express amusement, astonishment, or praise

A word used to express dismay, satire, or even insult


tabik

Ultimately from Sanskrit क्षन्तव्य (kṣantavya, “to be pardoned or forgiven”), itself from the root क्षम् (kṣam, “to endure, pardon”) + -तव्य (-tavya, “future passive participle”), with the core semantic first component apparently dropped and only the second grammatical component retained. Compare Minangkabau tabiak, Old Javanese tabe / kṣāntabya, Toba Batak santabi (“pardon”), Tagalog sintabi (“excuse me”).

der

(dialectal, uncommon) greetings!; Hello!

(Malaysia, military) Used to bring a marching group of soldiers to salute.

(Malaysia, informal) awesome!, respect!; expression of praise


fuyoh

From possibly Hokkien 媠唷 (súi--ió, literally “beautiful!”).

bor

Fuyoh, lawa gila jaket denim kau!

An exclamation to express confirmation or admiration.


cepat jalan

چڤت جالن (Jawi)

(military, marching) A command to quick march


keluar baris

ms-interj

keluar baris (Jawi spelling کلوار باريس)

کلوار باريس (Jawi)

Literally, “exit column (group of troops, army vehicles)”.


tidak apa

From tidak+apa, literally ‘’not anything’’.

Don’t worry; it doesn’t matter; I don’t care.


senang diri

سنڠ ديري (Jawi)


brekmok

(Terengganu, derogatory or offensive, vulgar) motherfucker


nasib baik

LL-Q9237 (msa)-GinormousBuildings-nasib baik (JR).wav

LL-Q9237 (msa)-GinormousBuildings-nasib baik (B).wav

Compound of nasib (“fate”) + baik (“good”), literally "good fate".

com+

Nasib baik Isnin minggu depan cuti umum.

Thank God next Monday is a public holiday.


tacod

A wordplay of the word takut (“afraid”).

(Malaysia, slang, humorous) a mocking way of claiming to be afraid despite not feeling it in actuality


tachod

(Malaysia, slang, humorous) Alternative spelling of tacod


cantek

canték (canonical)
cntek (alternative Internet)

pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling