If you’re travelling in urban Malaysia, most locals will be able to converse in English. If you’re travelling in smaller towns or rural areas, it’s likely locals will only understand basic English phrases or not at all. Hence, learning and recognizing Malaysian languages will go a long way for your visit in Malaysia.
Here’s a guide on Malaysian languages and some basic phrases that you can learn before your visit.
Languages in Malaysia
Since Malaysia is a multicultural country, various languages are spoken here. The 3 main native languages are Malay, Mandarin Chinese, and Tamil, with many other dialects spinning off the 3 languages, especially the Chinese who also speak various dialects such as Cantonese, Hokkien, Teochew, etc.
Malay is the national language of Malaysia and is part of the national education curriculum, so all Malaysians know the language of Malay. Road signs, sign posts, and official announcements are all in Malay, occasionally paired with the other languages.
Mandarin and Tamil are widely spoken amongst the Chinese and Indian ethnic groups themselves, and are optional languages to be learned as part of the national education curriculum. There are also people from the Malay or Chinese ethnic group who can speak Tamil, Malay or Indian ethnic group who can speak Chinese, and the permutation goes on for other dialects around the country.
It is extremely common for Malaysians to mix a few different languages in the same sentence or conversation as most of us are multilingual.
Although English is also part of the national curriculum, it is only widely written and spoken daily in urban areas of Malaysia. People from smaller towns or rural areas may struggle to understand or speak fluently bar some basic phrases.
A multilingual sign is a common scene in Malaysia
Why you should learn Malaysian languages as a traveler
Learning the local languages can go a long way as a traveler. Here are a few reasons why you should learn the basics of Malaysian languages:
– Locals love it when you can speak some of their language. People in Asia generally appreciate travelers who put in the effort to learn their language and culture
– Understand basic road signs and sign posts
– Malay is easy to pick up! If you can already read English, Malay is similar in phonetics
Basic Malay phrases for travelers
The first language you should look at picking up is Malay, since that’s the most widely spoken language in Malaysia – and it is the easiest. I’ll cover the Malay language first and move to the harder Chinese and Tamil words.
Firstly, vowels in the Malay language are pronounced differently compared to English. “a” is pronounced as “ahh” like your mouth is wide open, “e” is pronounced as “uhh” like you’re hesitating, “i” is pronounced as “eee”, “o” is pronounced as “oh”, “u” is pronounced as “ooo”. Then, whatever consonants that go before the vowels are pronounced just like you would in English.
Here are some pronunciation examples:
1. Toilet – Tandas (Pronunciation)
2. Entrance – Masuk (Pronunciation)
3. Exit – Keluar (Pronunciation)
Got the hang of it? Great! Now here are some phrases you can keep as a screenshot for your daily use:
Greetings
Hello – Hai
Good morning – Selamat pagi (“Selamat” means “Safe”)
Good afternoon – Selamat tengah hari
Good evening – Selamat petang
Good night – Selamat malam
Thank you – Terima kasih
You’re welcome – Sama-sama
Please – Tolong
Excuse me – Maaf
Yes – Ya
No – Tidak or Tak
I’m or Me – Saya
Basic Questions
How are you? – Apa khabar?
I’m fine, thank you – Khabar baik, terima kasih
My name is… – Nama saya…
How much? – Berapa?
Where is… – Di mana…
Where is the bathroom? – Di mana tandas?
Getting Around
Left – Kiri
Right – Kanan
Straight – Terus
General Directions & Locations
Entrance – Masuk
Exit – Keluar
Open – Buka
Closed – Tutup
Push – Tolak
Pull – Tarik
No entry – Dilarang masuk
Toilets – Tandas
Men – Lelaki
Women – Perempuan
Transportation & Roads
Bus – Bas
Taxi – Teksi
Train – Kereta api, but people will usually call it by the type of train. Read here to find out the types of public transport in Malaysia.
Basic travel phrases in other languages
If you’d like to greet or thank someone of the Chinese or Indian ethnic group, you can always start and end the conversation in their native language, and keep the rest of the conversation in Malay and English.
Hello – Ni Hao (Chinese) and Vanakkam (Tamil)
Thank you – Xie Xie (Chinese) and Nandri (Tamil)
Resources to help with learning Malaysian languages
There are plenty of resources to learn if you want to explore further. Here’s an introductory video I found that goes through simple Malay terms including numbers:
This video of a Japanese YouTuber also showcases how Malaysians switch around different languages quickly. If you want to go a level deeper, there are plenty of YouTube videos that teach the language.
While traveling, Google Translate is also a great app to keep by your side.
Also read: Best apps to download before visiting Malaysia
Overall, pick up the most basic phrases such as hello and thank you, it’d be great if you can learn more but if you can’t, Malaysians are very friendly and helpful people that you’ll find approachable no matter what language you go in with. Happy traveling!
