Languages · Bahasa Melayu
Video Chat with Malay Speakers
To practice Malay with native speakers, talk to people from Malaysia, Singapore or Brunei, where Malay is an official language. On Omlet you can meet them on free one-on-one video chat with no account, and practice the relaxed, everyday Malay people actually use rather than the formal language of textbooks and road signs.
Omlet doesn't match people by language, so choose Malaysia or Singapore with the country filter, or ask anyone you meet: "Boleh cakap Melayu?" (Can you speak Malay?). Both countries are multilingual, and many people there also speak English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien or Tamil, so asking first is completely normal. See the language exchange video chat page for how practice works on Omlet.
Where people speak Malay
Malay (Bahasa Melayu) is an official language in 3 countries and territories. To meet people from one of them, pick it with the country filter.
Useful Malay phrases for video chat
Short, natural phrases you can use in your first minute on camera. The pronunciation is a simple English-style guide; stressed syllables are in capitals.
| English | Malay | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| How are you? (also used as hello) | Apa khabar? | AH-pah kah-BAR? |
| I'm well. | Khabar baik. | kah-BAR bah-EEK |
| Good morning / Good evening | Selamat pagi / Selamat malam | seh-LAH-maht PAH-gee / seh-LAH-maht MAH-lahm |
| What's your name? | Siapa nama awak? | see-AH-pah NAH-mah AH-wak? |
| My name is … | Nama saya … | NAH-mah SAH-yah … |
| Where are you from? | Awak dari mana? | AH-wak dah-REE MAH-nah? |
| I'm learning Malay. | Saya sedang belajar bahasa Melayu. | SAH-yah seh-DAHNG beh-LAH-jar bah-HAH-sah meh-LAH-yoo |
| Nice to meet you. | Gembira berkenalan dengan awak. | gem-BEE-rah ber-keh-NAH-lahn deh-NGAHN AH-wak |
| Can you speak a bit slower? | Boleh cakap perlahan sikit? | BOH-leh CHAH-kap per-LAH-hahn SEE-kit? |
| What's … in Malay? | Apa … dalam bahasa Melayu? | AH-pah … DAH-lahm bah-HAH-sah meh-LAH-yoo? |
| What work do you do? | Awak kerja apa? | AH-wak KER-jah AH-pah? |
| I don't understand. | Saya tak faham. | SAH-yah tahk FAH-hahm |
| Thank you. / You're welcome. | Terima kasih. / Sama-sama. | teh-REE-mah KAH-see / SAH-mah SAH-mah |
| See you again. | Jumpa lagi. | JOOM-pah LAH-gee |
Tips for practicing Malay on video chat
- Use saya for "I" with strangers; aku is casual and best kept for friends. For "you", awak is common and friendly in Malaysia, while anda sounds formal and is more typical of writing and ads.
- Address people by role, not just by name. Abang (often shortened to bang) and kakak (kak) mean older brother and older sister and are polite with people a little older than you; Encik and Puan are the formal Mr. and Mrs. or Ms.
- Listen for small particles like lah, kan and pun. "Okay lah" softens an answer, and "kan?" at the end of a sentence works like "right?".
- Food is the safest, happiest topic. Ask about nasi lemak, roti canai, laksa or a favorite hawker stall, and you'll get opinions, recommendations and plenty of new words.
- Ask your partner to type words you can't catch. Malay uses the Latin alphabet with very regular spelling, so a word typed in the chat is easy to look up and review later.
Malay and Indonesian: close, but not identical
Malay and Indonesian are both standardized forms of the same language and are largely mutually understandable, but everyday vocabulary and accents differ. If you've studied Indonesian, you'll follow a lot, and a few words will surprise you:
| English | Malay (Malaysia) | Indonesian |
|---|---|---|
| How are you? | Apa khabar? | Apa kabar? |
| understand | faham | paham |
| car | kereta | mobil |
| free (no cost) | percuma | gratis |
| you (casual) | awak | kamu |
Neither version is more correct; they're simply different standards. Asking your partner which words they use is a friendly question in itself.
Pronouncing Malay: what to listen for
- C sounds like ch. "Cakap" (speak) is "CHAH-kap" and "cantik" (pretty) is "CHAHN-tik".
- Two kinds of e. The same letter can be a short uh, as in "emak" (mother) and "belajar" (learn), or an eh, as in "boleh" (can). Spelling doesn't show which, so learn it with each word.
- A swallowed final k. At the end of a word, k is usually a quick catch in the throat: "tak" (not) sounds like "ta'".
- Ng and ngg. Ng is the sound in "singer", as in "dengan" (with); ngg is the sound in "finger", as in "tinggal" (stay).
- A relaxed final a. Around Kuala Lumpur and across much of the peninsula, a final a often softens toward "uh", so "saya" can sound like "sa-yuh".
- Light stress. Malay stress is gentle, usually near the end of the word. Speak evenly and you'll sound natural.
Five questions, ten people: a repetition routine
Because each chat on Omlet can be short and you can press Next anytime, Malay suits a repetition routine: the same few questions with many different people.
- Write five questions on a sticky note: "Apa khabar?", "Siapa nama awak?", "Awak dari mana?", "Awak kerja apa?" and "Apa makanan kegemaran awak?" (What's your favorite food?).
- Ask all five in every chat, then let your partner talk as long as they like.
- After each chat, add one new word you heard to the note.
- By the tenth chat, try asking all five without looking.
Malaysia and Singapore are on UTC+8, so their evenings fall in the morning on the US East Coast and around midday in much of Europe. Plan your sessions with our time zone guide.
Practice Malay with the country filter
Omlet's interface is in English only, and it doesn't match people by language or translate anything. There are two easy ways to find Malay speakers:
- Use the country filter. Press Country, pick a country where Malay is spoken (for example Malaysia, Singapore or Brunei), then press Start.
- Ask whoever you meet. On Worldwide matching, a quick "Do you speak Malay?" costs nothing to try.
The country filter's first day is free (you add a card to start, and can cancel in Settings before the charge). After that it's $3 one time for that device and browser, with no subscription. It can make matching slower when fewer people from that country are online; if a match takes a while, try another country or switch back to Worldwide.
Say you're practicing Malay in your first sentence and ask your partner to slow down or correct you. It's a normal request.