KitsumiFree basic Malay words
A seven-page printable PDF for your first weeks of Malay, as it's spoken in Malaysia: how the letters sound, how words work, 229 everyday words and sentences to read aloud.
PDF · 7 pages · 258 KB · no sign-up · free to print and share
Next, meet these words in real videos: Kitsumi is free for Chrome and Firefox.
What's inside
- How Malay soundsMalay is read the way it's written. One page covers c, ng and ny, sy, kh and gh, the light k at the end of tidak, the soft final a of everyday speech, and the two sounds of e, with an example word for each.
- How words workNo gender, no word for the and no tenses: sudah, sedang, akan and belum do the work. Say a word twice for more than one, meet the prefixes me-, ber- and di-, and learn when to say awak, anda, encik or kakak.
- 229 words, then show wordsGreetings, question words, family, days, numbers, nasi lemak, teh tarik and roti canai, places and verbs, plus a small box of words that differ in Malaysia and Indonesia. Then Alamak!, Jom! and Tak apa, the famous lah, and ten sentences to read before you check.
How to use it
- Read the sounds page aloud once, then keep it next to you.
- Read the grammar page twice. You don't need to learn it, just to spot sudah or a me- prefix when you see one.
- Learn five words a day. Cover the grey English on the last page and read each sentence aloud, then slide the paper down to check.
- Watch something in Malay with Kitsumi and catch the words you know. Tak, dah and lah turn up all the time.
Questions
Is it free?
Yes. It's a free PDF with no sign-up. Print it, keep it and share it.
Is Malay hard to read?
No. It uses the Latin letters you know and is read the way it's written. Learn c, ng, ny and the two e's and you can read any word aloud.
Is Malay the same as Indonesian?
They're close, and speakers understand each other. A few everyday words differ, like kereta and mobil for car. This sheet uses the Malaysian words and has a small box with the common differences.