The Malay Language or Bahasa Malaysia ("BM") is spoken by all Malaysians, though dialects may differ regionally.

However as English is widely spoken everywhere, don't worry about not knowing some phrases like you would in other countries where English is not the second language.

Adjectives always follow the noun. For example : kereta (car) and besar(big) together "kereta besar" means a big car, so cantik (nice or beautiful), kereta cantik means nice car, and so on.

In sentence construction, the structure is subject-verb-subject: Dia(he/she) suka (loves/likes) membaca(reading) "TripAdvisors forum". Dia suka membaca 'TripAdvisors Forum" = He/She loves reading TripAdvisors Forum.

Usually when greeting a Malay, the traditional greeting is Apa khabar?  means "What news", and also similar to "How are you?", to which the reciprocated reply is Khabar baik, terima kasih -  I am fine, thank you.

So before we start off with some words and phrases, let's look at the general pronounciation guidelines:

a as in car. apa-what: makan- eat

ai as in aisle. kedai-shop; sungai-river

au as in how. pulau-island; jauh- far

This is mentioned as many of my visitors will be going to Malaysia's beautiful islands and may want to find out if it is far to get there.

c as in chat.capal-sandal; cinta- love

e as in early. membeli - to buy; besar- big

g as in go, and not gem. pergi- go; guru- teacher

gg as in single. ringgit- Malaysian currency denomination; tetangga- household

h as in halt. mahal-expensive; murah-cheap

i as in feet. minum-to drink; lagi- again

j as in judge. jalan- street; juta-million

ng as in singing.sangat-very: bunga-flower

ny as in onion. minyak- petrol/oil; banyak- alot

o as in hop. orang- people; tolong- help

u as in pool. ukiran- carving; minum- to drink (see above for  i) .

There is one appendage that is widely used here and expats and even visitors have come to getting used to. It is "lah". Its purpose is purely emphatic.

As Singapore may have its Singlish, we have our Manglish also, where lah is liberally used in English; e.g. the Chinatown traders may utter, "cannot-lah" when you are trying to bargain.

At this point, it must be mentioned when Malaysians are talking to each other, it may not come as a surprise that you may hear Malay, english and even Chinese and at times Indian phrases intertwined in the sentences. To some, it is broken English.

E.g. Semalam, I pergi see show di Saloma, I tell you I jatuh cinta dengan main performer, dia bukan main cute lah.

This in proper English: Yesterday evening, I was at a show at Saloma and I fell in love with the main performer who is so cute.

I will start with some useful phrases which will impress the locals and then a few phrases for the food buff so that in ordering chicken, you do not get beef.

So, let start off on a good note: Welcome to Malaysia- Selamat Datang Ke Malaysia.

Good Morning- Selamat Pagi

Good afternoon -Selamat tengah hari

Good evening - Selamat petang

Good night -Selamat malam

Good bye- Selamat tinggal

Jumpa lagi - see you again

Yes- Ya (as in German yes)

No - Tidak

Thank you- Terima kasih (Thank you very much - Terima kasih banyak banyak or in writing ribuan terimakasih)

Please sit down - Sila duduk

Please come in - Sila masuk

Please - Sila

Excuse me- sila beri jalan (or sila beri laluan)

I come from - Saya datang dari..

My name is - Nama saya ialah ..

What is your name - Siapa nama anda (though in a advertisement with little kids getting to know each other-- the kids asked - apa nama, which is also acceptable)

Can you speak Bahasa Malaysia - Boleh cakap Melayu

I like it here - Saya suka berada di sini

Where are you going- pergi ke mana 

I am going to ..Saya pergi ke....

Turn right -belok kanan : turn left - belok kiri ; go straight - jalan terus

Junction - simpang

Please stop here- Sila berhenti di sini....

How much - Berapa harga

That's too expensive - Mahal sangat (mahal is also the Philippines Tagalog for expensive)

Can you reduce the price - Boleh kurang?

Wait a minute - Tunggu sekejap (usually when the shop assistance has to refer to his/her boss or a senior person)

I would like to change money -Saya hendak tukar duit/wang

Could I make an enquiry - Tumpang tanya (useful if you feel lost)

Where is the toilet - Di mana tandas...?

In the back - di belakang ; over there- di sana ; over here- di sini

What time is it - jam berapa/ pukul berapa sekarang?

One thirty or half past one- pukul satu setengah

what time does the bus leave -pukul berapa bas bertolak (bus- bas ; plane- kapal terbang ; boat - sampan ; ship- perahu; train - kereta api)

Since you will be bargaining and exchanging money, words for numbers may be helpful:

1 -Satu

2- Dua

3- Tiga

4- Empat

5- Lima

6- Enam

7- Tujuh

8- Lapan

9 - Sembilan

10 -Sepuluh

11 - Sebelas

12- Dua belas

13- Tiga belas

20 - Dua puluh

21- Dua puluh satu

100- Seratus

101- Seratus satu

105- Seratus lima

1000- Seribu

3000- Tiga ribu

3030 - Tiga ribu tiga puluh

3330 - Tiga ribu tiga ratus tiga puluh

1,000,000- Sejuta

Here are some useful words, which could help in moving around

Airport -lapangan terbang

post office - pejabat pos

shop - kedai

money- duit, wang

hour- jam ; minute -minit ; day - hari

week - minggu

Mr- Encik, Tuan

Mrs- Puan

Miss -Cik

The higher echleon of the society are given the Dato', Datuk, Dato' Seri, Tun, Tan Sri title and they are addressed with this title. The Datuk's spouse is addressed as Datin, whereas the Tan Sri's wife is addressed as Puan Sri.

When you address a significantly older Malay man, you may call him "Pakcik" and a lady "Makcik". Someone obviously younger can be addressed as "Adik". For a man of similar age or slightly older than you, the term would be "Abang" or "Bang" (pronounced "bung"); whereas a slighly older woman would be "Kakak" or more commonly "Kak".

I- saya

you (to someone the same age- awak, anda or kita) But kita applies in Borneon Malaysia only.

you (formal) encik

he, she- dia

we- kami (excluding the speaker), kita(including the speaker). E.g. Barang kita - if the goods (barang) belongs to both the speaker and the person he/she is talking to-kita is one

they- mereka

what- apa; who-siapa; where(place) - di mana: where(direction)- ke mana; when- bila; why-mengapa; how- bagaimana; mengapa - why; which - yang mana

to eat- makan ; to drink- minum; to sleep - tidur; to bathe- mandi;

And now, to words for food:-

bread- roti

daging - meat

cow - lembu

beef- daging lembu

chicken -ayam (ah-yarm)

fish - ikan (ee-karn)

vegetables- sayur

fried noodles- mee goreng

fried rice- nasi goreng

simmered noddles- mee rebus

salt- garam ; sugar- gula; spicy - pedas

delicious- sedap

a cup of coffee - kopi satu (black coffee- kopi o ; coffee with milk - kopi susu). If you do not want it sweet- kurang manis, for no sugar- tanpa gula.

a cup of tea - teh satu ( a favourite tea Malaysian like is called teh tarik, and more ginger tea- teh halia)

ice lemon tea - teh o limau (if want ice- teh o ais limau)

water - air (ah-yayr)

air- udara

Add- tambah (e.g. if you want to add rice - tambah nasi)

big- besar ; small- kecil

Pasar - market

On a final note, since Malaysia was under the British administration, most products have English label and even stall in coffee shops will have their food in English.

If you are lost and need to find your way, do not hesitate to ask for directions, now that you have these Malay phrases and words.