Differences between Malay and Indonesian
Orthography
Before the 20th century, Malay was usually written in a modified form of the Arabic alphabet known as Jawi. Since then, Malay written with Roman letters, known as Rumi, has almost completely replaced Jawi in everyday life. The romanisations originally used in Malaya (now part of Malaysia) and the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) reflected their positions as British and Dutch possessions respectively.
In Indonesia, the vowel in the English word 'moon' was formerly represented in Indonesian as oe, as in Dutch, and the official spelling of this sound was changed to u in 1947. However, oe was retained in some proper names long after this. Similarly, until 1972, the initial consonant of the English 'chin' was represented in Bahasa Malaysia as ch, whereas in Indonesian, it continued to follow Dutch and used tj. Hence the word for 'grandchild' used to be written as chuchu in Malay and tjoetjoe in Indonesian, until a unified spelling system was introduced in 1972 (known in Indonesia as Ejaan Yang Disempurnakan or the 'Perfected Spelling') which removed most differences between the two varieties: Malay ch and Indonesian tj became c: hence cucu. Indonesian abandoned the spelling dj (for the consonant at the beginning of the word 'Jakarta') to conform to the j already in use in Malay, while the old Indonesian j for the semivowel at the beginning of the English 'young', was replaced with y as in Malay. Likewise, the velar fricative which occurs in many Arabic loanwords, which used to be written 'ch' in Indonesian, became kh in both languages.
Nevertheless, the old spelling is still encountered in some Indonesian names, such as the name of the first President, Sukarno (written as Soekarno), although the post-1972 spelling is now favoured. Other examples include Achmad and Djojo (pronounced as Akhmad and Joyo respectively).
Although the representations of speech sounds are now largely identical in the Indonesian and Malay varieties, a number of minor spelling differences remain, usually for historical reasons. For instance, the word for 'money' is written as wang in Malay, but uang in Indonesian, while the word for 'cake' is written as kuih in Malay, but kue in Indonesian.
Pronunciation
Pronunciation also tends to be very different, with East Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia speaking a dialect called Bahasa Baku,[citation needed] where the words are pronounced as spelt and enunciation tends to be clipped, staccato and faster than the Malay spoken in the Malay Peninsula, which is spoken at a more languorous pace. Many vowels are pronounced (and were formerly spelt) differently in Peninsular Malaysia: tujuh is pronounced (and was spelt) tujoh, pilih as pileh, etc., and many final a's tend to be pronounced as schwas.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary differences
Indonesian differs from Malay in having words of Javanese and Dutch origin. For example, the word for 'post office' in Malay is "pejabat pos" (in Indonesian this means 'post officer'), whereas in Indonesian it is "kantor pos", from the Dutch word for office, kantoor. There are also some Portuguese influences: in Indonesian, Christmas is known as "Natal", whereas Malay uses "Krismas", derived from English. There are also instances where the Malay version derives from English pronunciation while the Indonesian version takes its cue from Latin: compare Malay "universiti" with Indonesian "universitas."
| English | Malay | Indonesian |
|---|---|---|
| account (bank,bills) | akaun | rekening (from Dutch) |
| after | selepas | setelah(also used in Malay to indicate consecutive actions) |
| afternoon | tengah hari | sore (can also refer to the evening); petang (less frequent) |
| agent | ejen, agen (in science term) | agen |
| airport | lapangan terbang (lit. field/expanse + to fly) | bandara (from bandar udara, lit. airport), lapangan terbang (less frequent) |
| alcohol | arak | alkohol |
| apartment | pangsapuri, rumah pangsa, rumah kondo (only for 'condominium') | apartemen |
| archive | arkib | arsip |
| auction | lelong | lelang |
| August | Ogos | Agustus - from Dutch augustus |
| auntie | makcik | tante (from Dutch), bibi |
| balcony | serambi, beranda,from Bengali, Portuguese or English verandah; (also used in Indonesia but less common) | balkon, from Portuguese balcão or Dutch balkon |
| basin | besen | wastafel - from Dutch, baskom - from Dutch waskom |
| because | kerana, sebab | karena, sebab |
| billion | bilion | miliar, milyar |
| bishop | biskop, bisyop | uskup |
| breast | buah dada, payudara, tetek (slang) | payudara, buah dada (slang), susu (slang), tete (slang) |
| Britain | Britain | Inggris, Britania |
| bus | bas | bus or bis - Dutch pronunciation of "bus" |
| bus station | stesen bas | stasiun bus, terminal bus |
| bus stop | perhentian bas | halte bus/bis - derived from Dutch |
| campaign | kempen | kampanye - (similar to the pronunciation of the Dutch word campagne |
| can (to be able) | boleh (used in Indonesia in the sense of "to allow") | bisa |
| cancer | kanser, barah | kanker |
| car | kereta (in Indonesian means train) | mobil |
| card | kad | kartu (from Dutch kaart) |
| case | kes | kasus |
| cash | wang tunai | kas |
| cashier | juruwang | kasir, - (from the Dutch word caissière pemegang kas |
| census | banci (means "transsexual" or "effeminate" in Indonesian) | sensus |
| centipede | lipan (also infrequently used in Indonesian) | kelabang |
| chilli | cili, lada, cabai (used in northern states of Malaysia) | cabe, cabai |
| China | China (More widely used now), Negara Cina | China (More widely used now), Republik Rakyat Cina/China, Tionghoa (race) or Tiongkok - rarely used/old spelling (country) *note: 'Cina' is sometimes considered as pejorative* |
| cinema | panggung wayang gambar (or more popularly when contracted, pawagam) | bioskop (from Dutch bioscoop), sinema (more popular now) |
| coat | kot | jas - from Dutch jas |
| cockroach | lipas (also infrequently used in Indonesian) | kecoa - from Chinese Hokkien Dialect ka chua |
| college | kolej, maktab | kampus, kolese, perkuliahan (kuliah = lecture) |
| Commonwealth of Nations | Negara-Negara Komanwel | Negara-Negara Persemakmuran |
| counter | kaunter | loket - from Dutch, konter |
| court | mahkamah | pengadilan |
| curtain | langsir, tirai | hordeng, gordin or gorden (from Dutch gordijn), tirai |
| customs (department) | kastam | duane from Dutch duane |
| dandruff | kelemumur | ketombe |
| degree (temperature) | darjah | derajat |
| department | jabatan | departemen |
| discount | diskaun or potongan | korting (from Dutch), diskon (less frequently used) |
| driver | drebar, pemandu | supir (from: chauffeur), sopir (slang), pengemudi (formal) |
| driving licence | lesen memandu | ribewis from Dutch rijbewijs (slang), surat izin mengemudi (SIM) now more widely used |
| December | Disember | Desember (pronounced: Désember) |
| effectiveness | keberkesanan | efektivitas, kemanjuran |
| eight | lapan (also the Indonesian slang word) | delapan (also found in archaic Malaysian texts) |
| electricity | tenaga elektrik (literally "electric energy") | listrik |
| emergency | kecemasan | darurat (from Arabic; also used in Malaysia to mean a state of emergency) |
| engine | enjin | mesin (from Dutch and English "machine", also used to refer to what translates into machine in English) |
| extinct | pupus | langka, punah |
| factory | kilang - Indonesian word for mill or factory for processing or refining natural products, i.e. kilang minyak ('oil refinery') | pabrik - from Dutch fabriek |
| February | Februari | Februari, Pebruari (slang) |
| federal | persekutuan | federal |
| fermented rice | tapai | tape, tapai (Sumatera variation) |
| Finland | Finland | Finlandia |
| floor (as in "the 2nd floor") | tingkat (also used in Indonesian) | lantai |
| France | Perancis | Prancis or Perancis |
| free of charge | percuma (in Indonesia means "worthless") | gratis (from Dutch), cuma-cuma |
| government | kerajaan (derives from raja or "king") - Indonesian word for "kingdom" | pemerintah used in Singapore to refer to government. In Malaysia and Brunei understood but less frequently used |
| head office | ibu pejabat (in Indonesia means "female officer" or "mother of an officer") | kantor pusat (from Dutch) |
| headscarf | tudung | kerudung, jilbab - usually a more complete set of clothing |
| healthy | sihat | sehat |
| herb | herba | jamu (in Malay (and another definition in Indonesian), means "to treat, to entertain guests") |
| hospital | hospital | rumah sakit (literally means "sick house") from Dutch structure "ziekenhuis" ( 'rumah sakit' is still used in Brunei to refer to hospital but in Malaysia, the term 'Hospital' is more prevalent since the mid-sixties) |
| I | saya, aku | saya, aku, gue (slang, informal) |
| ice | ais | es |
| ice cream | ais krim | es krim |
| illegal drugs | dadah (means goodbye in Indonesia) | narkoba -an acronym for NARkotika dan Obat-obatan berBAhaya (narcotics and dangerous drugs) |
| immigration | imigresen | imigrasi |
| impotence | mati pucuk | impotensi, lemah syahwat |
| installment (payment) | ansuran | angsuran, cicilan |
| insurance | insurans | asuransi |
| international | antarabangsa | internasional |
| internet cafe | kafe internet, kafe cyber | warnet (short for "warung internet", warung is from Dutch "waroeng") |
| Ireland | Ireland | Irlandia |
| Italy | Itali | Italia |
| licence | lesen | izin, lisensi - from Dutch licentie |
| Japan | Jepun | Jepang |
| Jordan | Jordan | Yordania |
| June | Jun | Juni - from Dutch juni |
| July | Julai | Juli - from Dutch juli |
| lane (roads/highway) | lorong | lajur -modified version of jalur (track), (lajur is understood but not frequently used in Malaysia while jalur is used in Malaysia to mean stripe or band. e.g. broadband = jalur-lebar) |
| lawyer | peguam | pengacara ( in Malaysia, it is used to mean master of ceremony |
| Lebanon | Lubnan | Lebanon |
| lemon | lemon | jeruk limun |
| lime (fruit) | limau | jeruk limau |
| male | lelaki (also used in Indonesian but less frequent), laki-laki, jantan (animals) | pria, laki-laki, cowok (colloquial) |
| majority | majoriti | mayoritas |
| malfunction | rosak | rusak, mati, tak berfungsi (literally "not functional") |
| March | Mac | Maret - from Dutch maart |
| mattress | tilam | kasur, matras |
| mean verb | bererti | berarti |
| medication | ubat | obat |
| Middle East | Timur Tengah, Asia Barat | Timur Tengah |
| minibus | bas mini | mikrolet, angkot (angkutan kota), minibus (Dutch pronunciation) |
| minority | minoriti | minoritas |
| minute | minit | menit |
| Mrs (married woman) | puan | ibu, nyonya (from Dutch) |
| Monday | Isnin | Senin |
| money | wang, duit | uang, dana, duit (from Dutch "duit")(slang) |
| mortgage | gadai janji | hipotek (from Dutch "hypotheek") |
| Moscow | Moskow (also used in Indonesian) | Moskwa |
| motorcycle | motosikal | motor, sepeda motor literally "motor bicycle" |
| music | muzik | musik |
| naked | bogel | telanjang, bugil (slang) |
| national | kebangsaan (used in Indonesian to mean "nationality"), nasional | nasional |
| natural | semulajadi | alami |
| newspaper | surat khabar | koran, harian, surat kabar (more formal) |
| New Zealand | New Zealand | Selandia Baru |
| noisy | bising | berisik, bising (also means "buzzing"), ribut |
| Norway | Norway | Norwegia |
| not | tidak, tak (informal) | tidak, tak (rarely used - usually for the same usage as non-), enggak (slang), gak (slang - chat word) |
| number | nombor | nomor or nomer - from Dutch nummer |
| nurse | jururawat | perawat |
| office | pejabat | kantor - from Dutch kantoor |
| orange (fruit) | oren | jeruk |
| orange (colour) | jingga oren | jingga tua |
| Palestine | Palestin | Palestina |
| party (political) | parti | partai - from Dutch partij |
| passport | pasport | paspor |
| penis | zakar, kemaluan lelaki | zakar, kemaluan, kontol (slang, vulgar), titit (slang) |
| percent | peratus | persen |
| pharmacy | farmasi | apotek - from Dutch apotheek, farmasi -usually for medicine manufacturers |
| photograph | gambar, foto | foto, potret (from Dutch, means "portrait" in English) |
| pickpocket | seluk, penyeluk (saku) | copet, pencopet |
| pirate (maritime) | lanun | bajak laut |
| platform (train) | pletfom | peron (from Dutch perron) |
| police | polis | polisi (from Dutch politie) |
| post code | poskod | kode pos |
| prayer (Islam) | solat, sembahyang | shalat, sholat ('sh' is pronounced as 's') |
| prayer room (Islam) | surau | mushollah ('sh' is pronounced as 's') |
| pregnant | mengandung, hamil (formal) | mengandung, hamil (less formal), bunting (informal) |
| press | surat khabar | pers from Dutch |
| Private Limited Company | Sendirian Berhad abbreviated as Sdn Bhd (suffix) | Perseroan Terbatas abbreviated as PT(prefix) |
| prostitute | pelacur | pelacur, WTS (pronounced 'way-tay-es'; wanita tuna susila "moral-less women", Sanskrit), PSK (formal, pronounced 'pay-es-ka', pekerja seks komersial (commercial sex workers)) |
| push, to (door) | tolak (used less primarily in Indonesian to mean 'subtract', it also means 'to refuse/reject', also common meaning in Malay when used in arithmetics) | dorong (common usage in Malay is to push, to propel) |
| raspberry | rasberi | frambus or frambosen - from Portuguese frambuesa or Dutch framboos |
| refrigerator | peti sejuk | lemari es, kulkas - from Dutch koelkast |
| restaurant | kedai makan, restoran | restoran, rumah makan literally eating house or eatery |
| rob | rompak (also refers to piracy (Indonesian for "to commit piracy")) | rampok |
| room | bilik - also used in Indonesia, but rarely (usually for "compartment") | kamar from Dutch "kamer" (chamber) |
| roundabout (traffic) | bulatan e.g. Bulatan DBP in Kuala Lumpur pusing keliling (in Brunei) | bundaran i.e Bundaran HI in Jakarta |
| sauce | sos | saos, saus |
| school (Islamic) | pondok | pesantren |
| science | sains - also used in Indonesian | ilmu (Malay for knowledge), iptek (an acronym for "Ilmu Pengetahuan dan Teknologi", which literally means "science and technology") |
| Scotland | Scotland | Skotlandia |
| secret | rahsia | rahasia |
| sewer | saluran najis, saluran kumbahan | got, selokan, parit (means ditch in Malay), saluran air/pembuangan |
| shoe | kasut | sepatu ( understood but less frequently used in Malaysia ) |
| shop | kedai - (also used in Indonesia but less common) | toko |
| soya beans | kacang soya | kacang kedelai |
| speak/talk | bercakap (means 'chat' in Indonesian) | berbicara - (means 'discuss' in Malay), ngomong (slang) |
| Spain | Sepanyol | Spanyol |
| spoon | sudu | sendok |
| sport | sukan | olahraga (also used less frequently in Malay) |
| station | stesen | stasiun (formerly spelled "setasiun") |
| stink | busuk | bau (means smell in Malay), bau busuk |
| stop (verb) | berhenti | stop, berhenti |
| strawberry | strawberi | stroberi or arbei - from Dutch aardbei |
| stupid | bodoh | bodoh, dungu, tolol, goblok (slang), geblek (slang), bego (slang), blo'on (slang, Sundanese) |
| Sunday | Ahad - rarely used in Indonesia | Minggu - from Portuguese Domingo (Lord's Day) (Malay for Weekends) |
| Sweden | Sweden | Swedia |
| Switzerland | Switzerland | Swiss |
| tap water | air paip | air keran, air ledeng ("ledeng" also means "plumbing") from dutch leiding |
| teacher | cikgu (from Encik guru), guru | guru - (loanword from Sanskrit) |
| teacher (religious, Islam) | ustaz | ustad |
| telephone | telefon | telepon, telpon, telfon |
| terrorist | pengganas | teroris |
| testicles | buah zakar, testis | buah zakar, kanjut (slang, vulgar) |
| traffic jam | kesesakan lalulintas, jam (slang) | macet |
| turn | pusing (means 'dizzy' in Indonesian), belok | belok |
| tapioca | ubi kayu | singkong, ubi kayu, ketela pohon, tapioka |
| taxi | teksi | taksi |
| television | televisyen, TV | televisi - from Dutch televisie, (also TV, pronounced 'tee-vee' or 'te-fe') |
| toilet | bilik air, tandas | kamar kecil, toilet, kamar mandi (bathroom), WC (pronounced 'we-se') for watercloset. |
| Thailand | Negara Thai, Siam, Thailand | Thailand, Siam, Muangthai used in old scripts |
| ticket | tiket (also used in Indonesia) | karcis (from Dutch kaartje) |
| tire | tayar | ban (from Dutch "[auto]band") |
| train | keretapi, tren | kereta (api/listrik) "steam/electrical" |
| transsexual | pondan | bencong, banci, waria (polite), transseksual |
| tree | pokok, pohon | pohon |
| ugly | hodoh, jelek | jelek |
| uncle | pakcik | oom or om (derived from Dutch, pronounced and sometimes spelt as "oom"), paman |
| university | universiti | universitas |
| until | sehingga | sampai (also used in Malay) |
| urinate | kencing (informal), buang air kecil (formal) | buang air kecil, kencing (impolite) |
| USA | Amerika Syarikat | Amerika Serikat (AS) |
| very | sangat, amat | sangat (prefix), amat (prefix), sekali (suffix), banget (suffix) (slang) |
| vice president | naib presiden | wakil presiden ('wapres') |
| virgin | dara | perawan (formal), gadis, (anak) dara |
| website | laman web | situs web |
| weekend | hujung minggu | akhir pekan, akhir minggu |
| window | tingkap (also used in Indonesian but less common), jendela | jendela - from Portuguese janela |
| you | anda (very formal), awak, kamu, kau | Anda (formal - capitalised), kamu, kau, lu/loe (slang) |
| zoo | zoo | kebun binatang derived from Dutch dierentuin (animal garden). Beside "taman haiwan", kebun binatang was also frequently used in Malaysia before the mid-sixties |
False friends
Besides vocabulary differences, there are also a number of false friends in both languages. As these words are in quite common use in either or both of the languages, misunderstandings can arise.
| Word | Malay meaning | Indonesian meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ahli | a member (of a group) (when the word is used by itself), expert in a field | expert in a field |
| akta | act (= law) | act (= written legal document) |
| baja | fertilizer | steel Malaysian: besi waja |
| banci | census | effeminate, transvestite homosexual |
| berbual | to chat | to tell a lie |
| bercinta | love | make love, have sexual intercourse |
| biji | pill, tablet | seed, testicles ("balls", offensive) |
| bisa | poison, toxic | can/able, venom |
| bogel | naked | very short person, dwarf, midget |
| bontot/buntut | buttock | tail ('ekor' as commonly used in Malay) |
| budak | kid | slave |
| butoh/butuh | male genitals, an offensive reference | need |
| comel | cute, pretty | (to call) someone who can not keep a secret (example: mulutnya comel= her mouth can't keep a secret) |
| electronic mail (recently changed to "emel") | enamel | |
| gampang | bastard from 'anak gampang' lit. easy child | easy (non negative meaning) |
| jabatan | department | position |
| jahat | bad, naughty | evil, criminal |
| jawatan | position | department |
| jemput | invite | pick up |
| jeruk | pickles/preserved fruits or vegetables | oranges |
| jimat | pennywise | amulet (the Malaysian equivalent is azimat) |
| kacak | handsome | ber-kacak pinggang (stands with hands on your hips) The Malaysian equivalent is bercekak-pinggang, a phrase to mean that a person is being bossy |
| kakitangan | employee | member of mafia/criminal organisation |
| kapan | or kafan: Muslim burial shroud (kain kafan/kapan) | when (kapan mau pulang?= when are you returning?) |
| karya | work of art (karyawan=artists) | work (karyawan= workers) |
| kerajaan | government (historical association, most Malay states were governed by monarchs, from Raja = King, now refers to any kind of government) | monarchy/royalties |
| kereta | car | train |
| khidmat | service | fully concentrate |
| pajak | to mortgage | tax |
| pelan | plan (associated with architectural work, site map etc only) | slow |
| pejabat | office | officer/officials (those who hold office, Malay (pegawai) |
| pemerintah | ruler | government |
| pengajian | education | mass recitation of Quran |
| percuma | free of charge | useless, not needed |
| pijat | bugs (software bugs i.e Year 2000 bug and also commonly referring to the bed bugs) | massage Javanese pijet |
| polis | police | (insurance) policy |
| polisi | policy | police |
| pusing | to go around a place, circular in motion, to spin/rotate | dizzy, confused |
| pupuk | to nurture | fertilizer (also means 'to nurture' in the metaphorical sense of the word) |
| tambang | fare | mine, rope |
| tandas | toilet | to explain, to finish |
| sulit | confidential, difficult | difficult |
Sample
- Indonesian text sample
- [1] Ensiklopedia, atau kadangkala dieja sebagai ensiklopedi, adalah sejumlah buku yang berisi penjelasan mengenai setiap cabang ilmu pengetahuan yang tersusun menurut abjad atau menurut kategori secara singkat dan padat.
- Kata 'ensiklopedia' diambil dari bahasa Yunani; enkyklios paideia (ἐγκύκλιος παιδεία) yang berarti sebuah lingkaran atau pengajaran yang lengkap. Maksudnya ensiklopedia itu sebuah pendidikan paripurna yang mencakup semua lingkaran ilmu pengetahuan. Seringkali ensiklopedia dicampurbaurkan dengan kamus dan ensiklopedia-ensiklopedia awal memang berkembang dari kamus.
- Malay text sample
- [2] Ensiklopedia, (encyclopaedia) atau kadangkala dieja sebagai ensaiklopedia, merupakan koleksi maklumat atau himpunan fakta mengenai setiap cabang ilmu pengetahuan yang tersusun menurut abjad atau menurut kategori secara singkat dan padat.
- Kata ensiklopedia diambil dari bahasa Yunani εγκύκλιος παιδεία, egkyklios paideia (a circle of instruction) yang bererti sebuah lingkaran atau pengajaran yang lengkap. Ini bermaksud ensiklopedia itu merupakan sebuah pendidikan sempurna yang merangkumi semua aspek ilmu pengetahuan. Seringkali ensiklopedia disalah ertikan sebagai kamus. Mungkin ini kerana ensiklopedia-ensiklopedia awal memang berkembang dari kamus.
- Translation
- Encyclopaedia, or occasionally spelt as ensiklopedi, was several books that contained the explanation about each branch of science that was compiled according to the alphabet or according to the category briefly and densely.
- The phrase 'Encyclopaedia' is taken from Greek; enkyklios paideia (ἐγκύκλιος παιδεία) that means a circle of instruction or a complete teaching.
- This means that the encyclopaedia is a complete education that included all the science circles. Often the encyclopaedia was mixed with the dictionary and early encyclopaedias actually started from dictionaries.
Trivia
During the May 1998 Revolution, when calls for political reform or reformasi in Indonesia led to the resignation of President Suharto, Malaysian satirists Instant Cafe lampooned a government broadcast in which 'Malaysians are reminded that reformasi is an Indonesian word, which has no equivalent in Bahasa Melayu.'
