Differences between Malay and Indonesian
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The differences between Malay (Bahasa Melayu) and Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) are slightly greater than those between British English and American English. They are mutually intelligible, but with differences in spelling, pronunciation and vocabulary.
Orthography
Before the 20th century, Malay was usually written in a modified form of Arabic 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 Bahasa Indonesia 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 Bahasa Indonesia, 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 and Indonesia speaking a dialect called Bahasa Baku, 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
Bahasa Indonesia differs from Bahasa Melayu (also known as Bahasa Malaysia) in having words of Javanese and Dutch origin. For example, the word for 'post office' in Bahasa Melayu is "pejabat pos", whereas in Bahasa Indonesia 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 | Bahasa Melayu | Bahasa Indonesia |
|---|---|---|
| account (bank,bills) | akaun | rekening (from Dutch) |
| afternoon | petang | sore (can also refer to the evening); petang (less frequent) |
| airport | lapangan terbang (lit. field/expanse + to fly) | bandara (from bandar udara, lit. airport) ; lapangan terbang(less frequent) |
| archive | arkib | arsip |
| August | Ogos | Agustus - from Dutch augustus |
| auntie | makcik | tante (from Dutch) or bibi |
| balcony | beranda, from Bengali, Portuguese or English verandah | balkon, from Portuguese balcão or Dutch balkon |
| basin | besen | wastafel - from Dutch, or baskom - from Dutch waskom |
| because | kerana | karena, sebab |
| bishop | biskop | uskup |
| Britain | Britain | Britania or Inggris |
| bus | bas | bus or bis - Dutch pronunciation of "bus" |
| bus station | stesen bas | stasiun 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 |
| car | kereta (in Indonesian means train) | mobil |
| card | kad | kartu - from Dutch kaart |
| case | kes | kasus |
| census | banci (means "transsexual" in Indonesian!) | sensus |
| chilli | cili | cabe, cabai (also commonly used in the northern states of Malaysia) |
| China | Negara Cina | Tionghoa (race) or Tiongkok (country) - ('Cina' also commonly used for both senses) *note: 'Cina' is sometimes considered as pejorative* |
| cinema | sinema (also used in Indonesia), panggung wayang gambar (contraction, pawagam) | gedung bioskop (from Dutch bioscoop) |
| coat | kot | jas - from Dutch jas |
| Commonwealth of Nations | Komanwel | Negara-negara Persemakmuran |
| counter | kaunter | loket - from Dutch |
| curtain | langsir | gordin or gorden (from Dutch gordijn), tirai |
| discount | diskaun or potongan | korting ''(also "diskon") - from Dutch |
| driver | drebar, pemandu | sopir (from: chauffeur) |
| driving licence | lesen memandu | ribewis - from Dutch rijbewijs, but surat izin mengemudi (SIM) now more widely used |
| dandruff | kelumumur (used in Indonesian also. but rarely) | ketombe |
| December | Disember | Desember (pronounced: Désember) |
| eight | lapan | delapan (also found in archaic Malaysian texts) |
| electricity | tenaga elektrik (literally "electric energy") | listrik |
| extinct | pupus | langka, punah |
| factory | kilang - in Indonesia, rarely used except in a few words such as kilang minyak ('oil refinery') | pabrik - from Dutch fabriek |
| federal | persekutuan | federal |
| fermented rice | tapai | tape, tapai (Sumatera variation) |
| Finland | Finland | Finlandia |
| France | Perancis | Prancis |
| government | kerajaan (derives from raja or "king") | pemerintah |
| head office | ibu pejabat (in Indonesia means "female officer") | kantor pusat |
| hospital | hospital | rumah sakit (literally means "sick house") from Dutch structure "ziekenhuis" |
| ice | ais | es |
| ice cream | ais krim | es krim |
| installment (payment) | ansuran | angsuran, cicilan |
| Ireland | Ireland | Irlandia |
| Italy | Itali | Italia |
| licence | lesen | lisensi - from Dutch licentie |
| Japan | Jepun | Jepang - from Portuguese Japão |
| Jordan | Jordan | Yordania |
| June | Jun | Juni - from Dutch juni |
| July | Julai | Juli - from Dutch juli |
| lane (roads/highway) | lorong | jalur |
| Lebanon | Lubnan | Lebanon |
| male | lelaki (also used in Indonesian but less frequent) | pria (also "cowok"-colloquial, or "laki-laki") |
| March | Mac | Maret - from Dutch maart |
| mattress | tilam | kasur |
| minibus | bas mini | mikrolet |
| minute | minit | menit |
| Monday | Isnin | Senin |
| Moscow | Moskow | Moskwa |
| music | muzik | musik |
| newspaper | surat khabar | koran, suratkabar (less frequent) |
| New Zealand | New Zealand | Selandia Baru |
| Norway | Norway | Norwegia |
| number | nombor | nomor - from Dutch nummer |
| orange (fruit) | oren | jeruk |
| Palestine | Palestin | Palestina |
| party (political) | parti | partai - from Dutch partij |
| passport | paspot | paspor |
| pharmacy | farmasi | apotek - from Dutch apotheek |
| post code | poskod | kode pos |
| Private Limited Company | Sendirian Berhad abbreviated as Sdn Bhd (suffix) | Perseroan Terbatas abbreviated as PT(prefix) |
| push, to (door) | tolak (used primarily in Indonesian to mean 'subtract', also common meaning in Malay when used in arithmetics) | dorong (common usage in Malay is to push, to propel) |
| raspberry | rasberi | frambus - from Portuguese frambuesa or Dutch framboos |
| refrigerator | peti sejuk | kulkas - from Dutch koelkast |
| restaurant | kedai makan or restoran - also used in Indonesia | rumah makan literally eating house |
| roundabout (traffic) | bulatan i.e Bulatan DBP in Kuala Lumpur | bundaran i.e Bundaran HI in Jakarta |
| science | sains - also used in Indonesia but less common | ilmu (Malay for knowledge) |
| Scotland | Scotland | Skotlandia |
| sewer | longkang | got, selokan |
| shop | kedai - (also used in Indonesia but less common) | toko |
| soya beans | kacang soya | kedelai |
| speak | bercakap (means 'chat' in Indonesia) | berbicara - (means 'discuss' in Malay) |
| Spain | Sepanyol | Spanyol |
| sport | sukan | olahraga |
| station | stesen | stasiun (also spelled "setasiun") |
| strawberry | strawberi | stroberi also arbei - from Dutch aardbei |
| Sunday | Ahad - also used in Indonesia | Hari Minggu - from Portuguese Domingo(Lord's Day) (Malay for Weekends) |
| Sweden | Sweden | Swedia |
| Switzerland | Switzerland | Swiss |
| talk / say | cakap (also used in Indonesian) | bicara, ngomong (slang) |
| teacher | cikgu, guru | guru - (loanword) |
| turn | pusing (means 'headache' in Indonesian) | belok (also used in Malay) |
| tapioca | ubi | singkong, ubi kayu, ketela pohon |
| taxi | teksi | taksi |
| television | televisyen | televisi - from Dutch televisie (also TV, pronounced 'ti-fi' or 'te-fe') |
| toilet | bilik air or tandas | kamar kecil; kamar mandi (bathroom); WC (pronounced 'we-se') for watercloset. |
| Thailand | Negeri Thai | Thailand |
| ticket | tiket - also used in Indonesia | karcis - from Dutch kaartje |
| train | keretapi | kereta api |
| transsexual | pondan | bencong, banci, waria (polite) |
| uncle | pakcik | "paman" or "oom" - (pronounced and sometimes spelt as "oom") |
| USA | Amerika Syarikat | Amerika Serikat |
| university | universiti | universitas |
| very | sangat | sangat, amat, banget (slang) |
| window | tingkap (also used in Indonesian but less common) | jendela - from Portuguese janela (also used in Malay but less common) |
| zoo | zoo | kebun binatang derived from Dutch dierentuin (animal garden) |
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 |
| akta | act (= law) | act (= written legal document) |
| baja | fertilizer | steel |
| banci | census | effeminate, transvestite homosexual |
| berbual | to discuss | to tell a lie |
| bisa | poison, toxic | can, venom |
| 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) |
| gampang | bastard from 'anak gampang' lit. easy child | easy |
| jabatan | department | position |
| jawatan | position | department |
| jeruk | pickles/preserved fruits or vegetables | oranges |
| kacak | handsome | ber-kacak pinggang (stands with hands on your hips) |
| kapan | Muslim burial shroud (kain 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 | humility |
| pajak | to mortgage | tax |
| pelan | plan | 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 |
| polis | police | (insurance) policy |
| polisi | policy | police |
| pusing | to go around a place, circular in motion, to spin/rotate | to have a headache (i.e from spinning oneself in one place ?) |
| pupuk | to nurture | fertilizer (also means 'to nurture' in the metaphorical sense of the word) |
| repot | report | busy, occupied |
| tambang | fare | mine, rope |
| tandas | toilet | to explain, to finish |
| sulit | confidential, difficult | difficult |
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.'
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