Malay: pt 10 Speaking to a store clerk

For speaking to people using Encik or cik (pronounced: en-cheek, and cheek. You should cut off the word cheek and cut the word short) 
Meaning "Mr"" or "Ms", for addressing strangers.

If they are asking what you are looking for, you can say Saya tengok tengok je (pronounced: teng-oak teng-ock, jeeh), tengok meaning "look" and Je being a shortened version of Sahajeh meaning "only".

Let's say you want to ask where the toothpaste is, you could say Mana ubat gigi? (pronounced: Ma-na, u-boat, gee-gee) ubat meaning "medicine", and gigi meaning "teeth".

When you ask for things you can say Ada ubat gigi tak? (pronounced: A-da, u-boat, gi-gi, taak?), which translates to "Do you have toothpaste?". In this case, tak which commonly means "no", is used in the form of a question, the tak at the end helps, so that the person you are talking to understands that you are asking a question. 

Ada (pronounced ah-deh) which means "Have" is used in the sentence above.

Tolong tunjuk kat mana boleh tak 
(pronouced: to-loong, tuun-juk, kaat, ma-na, bo-leeh, taak).
Which means "Can you show me where at?".
Tolong means "Help", Tunjuk means "show", Kat is a shortened form of Dekat which means "At", Mana means "Where", and Boleh means "Can". 
Normally in Malay adding a tak is used when you want to ask a question, is what is it translating to. 

If they have what you are looking for they might say 
Boleh sila ikut saya (pronounced: see-leh) which translates to "Can you follow me", sila meaning follow.

If they guide you to the right item Barang yang Encik/Cik cari ada sebelah sini dan sini (pronounced: Baa-raang, ya-ng, seh-be-lah), which translates to "It is here or here mr/mrs". 

Now if they don't have the item you are looking for, they would say Maaf, tak ada, stock (pronounced: ma-aaf) which translates to "Sorry no stock", if you notice we used the English word here, because it is easier to say the English word compared to the Malay word. 

If they are awaiting the arrival of a new shipment of stock, you could say Bila nak sampai stock (pronounced: Bee-leea, saam-paai, stock).

Bila stok baru sampai (pronounced: Bee-la, stock, bah-ru, saam-pai) which translates to "When will the new stock arrive".

They might respond with Maaf saya tak pasti (pronounced: paas-tea) which translates to "I am not sure",, pasti meaning "sure".

If they have stock they might say Stok bahru sampai mingu depan (stock, baah-rue, saam-pai), which translates: "New stock arrives next week."

Barang yang ada warna lain tak? (pronounced: Baa-rang, yaa-ng, waar-nah), which translates to "Does this come in a different colour". Yang meaning used as "one", not the numbering but like "this one" or "that one".

A little fun fact, most Malaysians speak Manglish or Malay + English. And it's a combination of the two, some words are faster to say in English than it is in Malay.

Let's take the word "Order" for example. In Malay, it is Pesanan (pronounced: Peh-sa-nan), but most people don't want to say a 3 syllable word. So instead you could say Saya nak order, most will understand what you mean.

Malay: pt 9 Colours

 Colours, ah yes the world would be bland without colour.

Warna (pronounced: War-neh) meaning "Colour"

Warna-warni (pronounced: War-neh, war-nee) means "Colourful"

Perlangi (pronounced: Per-lang-gee) means "Rainbow"

Biru (pronounced: Bee-ru) means "Blue", so rasi biru, would translate to: "Blue rice".

Merah (pronounced: Meh-rah) means "Red", so saya suka saya merah bola, would translate to "I like my red ball", bola and suka (pronounced: bo-lah, and suu-ka).

Kuning (pronounced: kuu-ning) means "Yellow". 

Hijau (pronounced: Hee-jaau) means "Green"

Putih (pronounced: Pu-teh) means "White"

Hitam (pronounced: Hee-taam) means "Black"

Kelabu (pronounced: Ke-lah-boo) means "Grey"

Perang (pronounced: Pe-ra-ng) means "Brown"

Merah jambu (pronounced: Meh-rah, jaam-bu) means "Pink"

Oren (pronounced: O-ren) means "Orange"

Ungu (pronounced: Ung-gu) means "Purple"

Biru nila (pronounced: Bee-ru, nee-la) means "Indigo"

Gelap (pronounced: ge-lap) means "Dark"

Terang (pronounced: The-raang) meaning "Light".

Most of the time Gelap and Terang are used to describe the environment.
So, Bilik Terang (pronounced: Bee-lick) means "Bright room", usually from lamps and ceiling lights.
But it can also be used for lighter and darker colours like Boleh bagi warna Biru Gelap, which means "Can you give a darker blue".

If you want it darker you can say: ade lagi gelap?, meaning "Is there there a darker colour?" 

Malay: pt 9 Places to Buy Groceries

 So, places to buy groceries are used often in Malay, so I am going to teach you how to say the names of grocery stores.

Pasar Raya (pronounced: Pas-ar, rah ya), translates to "Supermarket", also you don't really need to say pasar raya to a person, as most people understand basic English in Malaysia, so just saying "supermarket" is normal.
This is the normal place where you buy groceries, Jaya grocer, Giant, and Tesco are common here to buy groceries.

Kedai Runcit (pronounced: Ke die, Ruun chit), translates to "Retail store", which is what people would call a "mom-and-pop store", which normally sells most things. Mainly most are small businesses,.

Pasar Tani (pronounced: "Taa-knee), which translates to "Farmer's market", normally sells: fish,  meats, and organic vegetables.

Pasar Malam (pronounced: Maa-laam), meaning "Night market", is normally held from 7pm - 4am, and normally sells kueh (pronounced: ku-eeh) which are Malaysian sweet treats.

Pusat (pronounced: pus-saat), which means "centre", so Pusat makan (pronounced: ma-kaan) means "eating centre". And is used for things like Pusat science, which translates to "Science centre".

pusat membeli-belah (pronounced: mem-be-lee, be-laah), meaning "Shopping mall" but most of the time you can just say "shopping mall" and most will understand.

Malay: pt 8 How to tell others that your sick

 If you're sick, it is better to tell others that you are unwell, so here's how:

Saya rasa tak berberapa sihat (pronounced: sa-ya, raa sa, ber ber apa, si haat) means "I don't feel well".
Strangely berberapa means several not many.

Awak demam ke? (pronounced: aa wak, deh mam, ke) which translates to "You have fever?" when you use ke in a sentence you are making it a question.

Also if you are unsure that you are sick you could say: Saya Tak pasti (pronounced: Sa ya tak pas-tea) or you could also say Saya tak tau (pronounced: Sa ya tak ta-u) meaning  "I don't know".

If you want to say certain systems you could say: Saya perut sakit dan saya kepala pening dari pagi  (pronounced as Sa ya, pe rut, sa kit, daan, sa-ya, ke-pa-lah, pe ning, da ri, pa gi), which translates to
"my stomach hurts and my head has been dizzy since morning".

Dah jumpa doktor (pronounced: dah jump-pa dok tor) meaning "Have you seen the doctor", to respond to say "yes" you would say: Sudah (pronounced: su dah) or dah (pronounced: da-ah) and to say "no" you would say belum (pronounced "beh-lum).

Then your friend might say pergi lah (pronounced:  per gee, la ah) which means "go lah".

Lah is a standard Malay term and usually is in a sentence to make it sound less formal, instead of sounding overbearing, it is meant to lighten the tone of speaking,
instead of saying "Go do the dishes". "Go do the dishes lah" can make it sound less threatening.

So after your friend keeps bugging you to go to the doctor you can respond with saya pergi sekarang (pronounced sa ya, per gee, see kaa raa ng, lah)
which translates to: "I go now lah" sekarang means "now", and the lah at the end is for the lightening of tone.

So if you have something to do first, you can say saya pergi lepas ni, tapi saya nak makan sekarang (pronouced: sa ya,  per gee, nan tee ne, ta pee, sa ya, nak maa kan, se ka raa ng) which means "I will go, but I want to eat first", nanti meaning "later".

So once you reach the hospital reception desk, the receptionist might say boleh saya bantu (pronounced: sa ya, bo leh, baan two), which translates to "may I assist you".

To respond to that question you would say: Boleh jumpa doktor tak, saya rasa tak sihat (pronouced: bo-leh, jum pah, dok-tor, taak, sa ya, raa se, taak, see-haat), which translates to "can I see a doctor, I am not feeling well. boleh means "can", jumpa means "see", doktok is doctor, sihat is "well".

So the receptionist might say: sila duduk dulu, nanti saya panggil nama (pronounced: 
si-la, du duk, du-lu, naan tee, sa ya, paang gil, na-ma) which translates to "Go sit first I will call your name later"

So when you see the doctor, he might say: sakit apa (pronounced sa-kit, ah pa), meaning "what happened", or "what pain".
Some symptoms are:
pening kepala (pronounced: pe ning, ke-pa-la) "headache".
sakit purut (pronounced: sa-kit, pu ruut) "stomach ache
muntah-muntah (pronouced: mun-tah,mun-tah) "vomiting"
mual (pronounced: mu-aal) "nauseous".

The doctor might also ask: Sejak bila rasa macam ni (pronounced: se jak, bee le, raa sa, ma cham, nee) which translates to "How long have you been experiencing this."

For saying when symptoms themselves, you could say: Sejak malam tadi, malam, semalan lagi (pronounced: see-jak, ma lam, ta dee, ma lam, se-ma-lan, laa-gi), which translates to: "since last night"

So if he is giving medicine the doctor would say: saya akan bagi ubat (pronounced: sa ya, a kaan, ba gee, u bhat) which means "I will give medicine".

If you want that medicine you could say: saya nak or nak (pronounced: sa ya, nak,) which translates to "yes", nak is "yes"
for saying "no" you would say tak nak, or tak perlu (pronounced: taak naak, or taak per lou). 

To say thank you a lot, you would say Terima kasih banyak-banyak (pronounced: Te-re-ma, kah-Seth, ban-yat ban yat, doctor).

Malay: pt 7 How to Address Strangers

Addressing people is very important in language so here's how you address people in Malay:

Uncle would be: Pak Chik (pronounced: Pa aak, chi ek)
so in a sentence, it would be: "pak chik mana saya Kuching".
if you were to translate it it would be: "Uncle, where is my cat" (Kuching means cat, pronounced: ku ching), fun fact there is a place in Malaysia called Kuching and it is in Sarawak.

Auntie would be: Mak Chik (pronounced: Ma aak chi ek)
if used in a sentence would be: "Mak Chik boleh saya tolong"

The elder brother would be: Abang (pronounced: Aa baa ng, also baa ng)
So if you wanted to order food at a restaurant you could say "Bang boleh order?" meaning older brother can I order?).

The elder sister would be: Kakak (pronounced: Kaa kak, or kak)
 "Kak boleh order?" meaning older sister can I order), even though 

For the younger siblings both boy and girl, you would say: Adik (pronounced: Aa dik)

Grandfather would be: Datuk (pronounced: Daa tuk)

Grandmother would be: Nenek (pronounced: Nee nek)

Mister would be: Enckik (pronounced: Een cik)

Missus would be: Puan (pronounced: Puu an)

Miss/mis it would be Cik (pronounced: Cik)

The safest option when talking with older people (adults) is to call them Enchik and Cik as it is the safest and the most polite. But if you are a kid you don't really need to say Enchik and Cik as it is mainly reserved for older people, so using hai and oi is easy and effective, sure it is cruder and definitely ruder, but it does work. 

Pak Chik and Mak Chik are mainly used for someone above 30, but some might be offended if they are unmarried so bang or kak works too.

Datuk and Nekek if strictly for grandparents and generally senior folk, but don't call them that if they don't like it because some people don't want to be that old.

Datuk and Dato are titles given by heads of state to Malaysians for serving the country, the female version is Datin (pronounced: Daa tin).

Excuse me in Malay would be "Excuse me", yes you can just say Excuse me and and most Malays will understand, but tumpang tanya (pronounced: tum paang taan ya) is usually used to ask a question.
You don't have to say tumpang tanya, when you bump into someone or when you sneeze a little too loud because it sounds strange, just say excuse me, it is meant as a way of asking permission or to ask a question for example: "tumpang tanya boleh makan"  translated to would be: "ask if you can eat food".

Malay: pt 6 Name age and where your from

For saying "I am" you say Nama Saya (produced: na-me, sai-ye) so in a sentence you woul say: "nama saya ___" Then you fill in that blank with your name.

For introducing friends you can say: Nama kawan saya, Adam (pronounced: kaa waan), translated it would be: "My friend's name is, Adam".

For age, you say: Umur (pronounced: uu mur), so if used in a sentence it would be: saya umur tiga lima puluh tahun. (produced: ta huun), or translated to "I am 35 years old"

To say "from" you would say: Saya datang dari Kuala Lumpur (pronounced; Da ta-ang,
da-ri), and means "from", so in a sentence you would say: Saya orang itali tapi saya datang dari UK, this would translate to "I am from Italy but I come from the UK (tapi is pronounced: taa pee and means "but" and orang pronounced: oh-raang is "people").

Aku (pronounced: aa ku) is another way of saying saya but, it may come off as rude or impolite so I personally prefer saya. 

Malay: pt 4 What, Why, Where, When, How and Who

 As you would know these are very important words in English, and also in Malay too, so here's how you pronounce them.

"Apa" (pronounced: Aa peh) meaning "what", would commonly used in a sentence like "apa ini" meaning "what this" (ini meaning "this).

"Mana" (pronounced: maa-na) is Where, if used in a sentence it would be "Mana Saya (pronounced: sci ah)  maa-ian" (maa-in nan meaning toy).

"Bila" (pronounced: bee la) meaning "when", if used in a sentence would be "bila perkahwinan) or "when is the wedding" (this was explained the the last blog post)

"Mengapa" (pronounced: men ga pa) means "why" so in a sentence it would be used as: "Mengapa maa-in" or "why play" (maa-in meaning play).

"Baigamana" (pronounced: ba guy maa an) means means "why", if used in a sentence you can say: "Baigamana makan sekarang"  (makan pronounced: maa kaan, and sekarang (pronounced: se-a ka raang meaning "now").

Also you can them in sentences for example: "Apa tu" apa tu meaning "whats that" (pronuced as: aa peh, to).

"Mana awak  pergi" meaning "where did you go (pronounced: Aa pah, ma-na, per gee).

"Pukul apa" means "what time" (pronounced: pu kool, aa peh).

Malay: pt 3 Weddings

 The term wedding ceremony in Malay is "majlis perkahwinan" (pronounced: "Maa jeh lis, per-kaa ah-wee-nan".

And it usually means Majlis (wedding) and Perkahwinan (ceremony).

For the word marry, you would say, "Orang Kahwin" (pronounced: oh-raang, keah Winn).

"Taniah" (pronouced: Taan nee-ah) would mean congratulations.

"Jumput makan" (pronouced: Jum put, maa kaan) would mean "come eat" jumput meaning invitation, and makan meaning eat.

Also in malaysia, we have this tradiction called "bunga telur" (pronouced: bung eah, tee lur), meaning flower egg, and yes its as strange as it sounds, it is an egg wraped in a sort of mesh bag and with fake flowers normally and given to the wedding goers.

Malay: pt 2 A E I O U

 Vowels are very simple in Malay when pronounced:

The letter "A" would be pronounced like "Ayam" (meaning chicken), which would be pronounced as "Ai yam"

The Letter "E" in "emas"  would be pronounced as "eeh mas".

The letter "I" would be pronounced as "eee" for example the word: "Ikan" would be "eeekan".

The letters "O" and "U" are pronounced as "Oh" like Orang (pronounced "oh-raang") and "uuuh" (pronounced "uuh taang") 

Malay: pt 1 Good mornings

 Malay is a wonderful and easy-to-understand language, so ill be explaining the language and how to use the words in this series of blog posts.
(all the words that have aa ee oo, or double words, elongate those words)

Selamat  (pronounced "Sla ma -at") means "good", so "saya selamat" means "I am good", and "selamat pagi"  would be considered as "good morning" (pagi means morning).

"Selamat malam"  (pronounced "Sla ma -at, maa-lam") would be "good night", and it is usually used as a way of saying goodbye, as "goodnight" is commonly done when leaving a house that's hosting you as their guest,

"Selamat Tengah hari"  (Pronounced: "Slaa ma-at, Tee-nah gah haa ri") means "good afternoon" and it's used as a form of greeting when meeting people.
when pronouncing words with the letter "T" you don't have to put emphasis on that letter for example, the letter: "Three" would be produced as tri (not a tri-like triangle, but quickly without emphasis).

"Selamat Petang" (pronounced: "Slaa maat, pea taa-ng"), means "good evening" and can be used as a greeting.

"Selamat Datang" (pronounced: "Slaa maat, daa-taang"),