Malaysia Words & Phrases

Mabul girl

Aside from these local dialects, English and the national language of Bahasa Malaysia are both widely spoken. Philippino, Mandarin and some Chinese dialects such as Hakka are commonly used too.

Sabah locals greet people with “selamat datang” which means welcome as well as “terima kasih” which means thank you and is said with a smile.

A handshake is usually acceptable when introducing oneself, however, some people dislike physical contact because of religious reasons.

A Few Basic Malay Words

If you can remember the following words and phrases, your stay in mabul, Sabah will be even more interesting:

  • English - Malay - Philippino
  • Welcome - Selamat datang
  • Okay - ya - sege
  • Thank you (formal, with respect) - terima kasih banyak - maraming selamat
  • Thanks - terima kasih - selamat po
  • You are welcome - sama-sama
  • Lets eat! - makan kita- kain tayo
  • When can I eat? - saya sedang mencari tempat makan
  • Are you coming? - kau datang ke? darating ka ba?
  • Do you want to come with me? - kau mahu ikut saya- gusto mo bang sumama sa akin
  • Do you want to come with us? - awak mahu ikut sama kami- gusto mo bang sumama sa amin
  • Diving - menyelam- sumisid
  • Air - angin - hangin
  • Water - air -tubig
  • It's hot - terlalu penas - mainit
  • It's cold - sejuk - malamig
  • Ocean, Sea - laut - karagatan
  • Boat - perahu - bangka
  • Fish - ikan - isda
  • Shark - ikan jerung - pating
  • Knife - pisau - kutsilyo
  • Island - pulau - isla
  • Shopping -membili -bilah - mamimili
  • Money - wang ringgit - pera
  • I want that / I would like that - saya mahu itu - gusto ko yan
  • How much? - berapa - magkano
  • How much is this? - berapa harga?
  • How many? -barapa banyak - magkano
  • Can you help me? - boleh anda membantu saya?
  • Excuse me/I'm sorry – minta maaf
  • Where? - di mana?
  • What time? - pukul Berapa?
  • Who? - siapa?
  • Which? - yang mana?
  • Why? - mengapa?
  • Good morning - selamat pagi - magandang umaga
  • Good afternoon - selamat tengah hari - magandang hapon
  • Good evening - selamat petang - magandang gabi
  • Good night - selamat malam
  • How are you? (formal) - apa khabar - kumusta ka na
  • How is it going? - apa macam - kumusta na ang pamamalakad pangyayari
  • Good - bagus
  • I’m fine - khabar baik
  • My name is John - nama saya si john - ang pangalan ko ay si john