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++Collins Malay Gem Dictionary++
++Bahasa Indonesia -- Book++
++Indonesian Phrase Book and Dictionary++
SOUTH EAST ASIA
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THAILAND IS MORE THAN A COUNTRY, IT IS A SPIRITUAL ESSENCE, AND A QUALITY OF BEING WHICH CAN BE RECOGNIZED, BUT NEVER REALLY CAPTURED. This is the land of 13 smiles, a style, and my experiences in the so-called "Malay world". (Without European colonialism, a poster on Asia Finest Forums pointed out, probably Maritime Southeast Asia (Indonesia-Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei-Philippines) would composed of 30 something kingdoms and countries similar to small Carribean countries. All of them speaking variants of Bahasa.) Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Malaysia have long been considered two of the easiest languages in the world to learn, especially in the initial phases. This site is intended to provide basic Bahasa skills that you can use in daily conversation, during your travels in Indonesia and Malaysia. Don"t be shy about speaking Bahasa -- just jump in and do it, the results will surprise you. The so-called Malay peoples are very friendly and you will never be lacking in finding someone to talk to, so long as you are open enough in nature. Anyway, here is a list of basic expressions and vocab you can use, gleened from my experiences (including TV viewing at a room at the Malaya Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, where I stayed in late April 2005. Specifically they were the Bahasa subtitles of the crappy B-grade Amercian movies that I watched there. Not much of a glorious source for my Bahasa material, I know, but I kind of feel like they represent the real Bahasa that the real people of Indonesia and Malaysia love. There is no culture like popular culture!)
So here is my glossary, gleaned from the depths of Malay TV, walking the streets, and browsing Bahasa textbooks in air-conditioned Malaysian and Indonesia bookshops:
Selamat pagi .......... Good morning.
Selamat siang .......... Good day.
Selamat sore .......... Good afternoon.
Selamat malam .......... Good evening, good night.
Selamat jalan .......... Good bye.
Selamat datang .......... Welcome.
Selamat datang ke Kuala Lumpur .......... Welcome to Kuala Lumpur.
Apa kabar? .......... How are you (lit. What's new?)
Apa baru? .......... What's new? (Malaysia).
Terima kasih .......... Thank you.
Sampai bertemu lagi .......... See you later.
Maaf .......... Sorry, pardon me.
Saya tidak mengerti .......... I don't understand.
Apa saudara dapat bicara Bahasa Inggeris? .......... Can you speak English?
Asal saya dari * .......... I'm from *.
Dari mana asal saudara? .......... Where are you from?
Di mana saudara tinggal? .......... Where do you live?
Baik, terima kasih .......... I'm fine, thank you.
Apa-apa .......... Okay, all right.
Kamu dak apa-apa? .......... Are you okay? (Malaysia)
1 .......... Satu.
2 .......... Dua.
3 .......... Tiga.
4 .......... Empat.
5 .......... Lima.
6 .......... Enam.
7 .......... Tujuh.
8 .......... Delapan.
9 .......... Sembilan.
10 .......... Sepuluh.
11 .......... Sebelas.
12 .......... Dua belas.
20 .......... Dua puluh.
21 .......... Dua puluh satu.
30 .......... Tiga puluh.
100 .......... Seratus.
1000 .......... Seribu.
1/2 .......... Setengah.
Monday .......... Hari Senen.
Tuesday .......... Hari Selasa.
Wednesday .......... Hari abu.
Thursday .......... Hari Kamis.
Friday .......... Hari Jum'at.
Saturday .......... Hari Sabtu.
Sunday .......... Hari Minggu.
When? .......... Kapan?
Jam berapa? .......... What time?
Pada jam satu .......... At 1 o'clock.
Hari ini .......... Today.
Besok .......... Tomorrow.
Kemarin .......... Yesterday.
Berapa lama? .......... How long?
Sekarang .......... Now.
Nanti .......... Shortly, soon.
Jam .......... Hour.
Buka 24 Jam .......... Open 24 hours (eg 7-11).
Menit .......... Minute.
Minggu .......... Week.
Bulan .......... Month.
Tahun .......... Year.
Bagus .......... Good (can also use in Indonesia.)
Tak .......... No (Indonesia use "tidak").
Di mana-mana .......... It could be anywhere.
Dia pergi ke mana? .......... Where did he go?
Ini untuk awak .......... This came for you.
Pergi! .......... Go!
Pergilah! .......... Okay, go!
Duduklah! .......... Okay, sit down!
Minumlah! .......... Okay, drink!
Baiklah! .......... It's okay!
Boleh .......... Be allowed (Indonesia also okay.)
Tak boleh .......... No, you are not allowed (eg, to kiss me).
Pergi buka pintu .......... Go open the door.
Tidak ada apa-apa .......... No problem, everything okay.
Saya juga! .......... Me too!
Saya di sini! .......... I'm here!
Tuan juga! .......... You too!
For more detailed, broken-down lessons in Basic Bahasa (both Indonesian and Malaysian -- sorry it is a bit mixed up here!), click on one of the below links:
Last update September 2012.
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