Malay Numbers And Counting: 3 Best Basic Guides For You

Ling Learn Languages
4 min readApr 5, 2021

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Counting and understanding how to pronounce each number may seem a piece of cake to you. But do you know how the numbers in Malay sound like? How do we count in the Malay language?

If you’re planning to work in Malaysia or even live in that Southeast Asian country, you must know the basics of Malay numbers and counting. Apart from greetings, you may not realize it but our daily lives do revolve around numbers! Try observing from today — you’ll see how questions like what is today’s date, when will the meeting be held, how many of that do you want and how much is the price is frequently being asked every single day. In the Malaysian culture, the scenario is exactly the same. In today’s blog, we’ll see and learn how numbers sound in Malay as well as the basic steps to count in Malay.

Malay Numbers & Counting: The Basics You Need To Know

The first lesson will introduce you to the numbers in Malay. One tip you can do when learning Malay numbers for the first time is by buying a children’s book. It’s the most effective way for you to understand and grasp the basics of pretty much everything in the language. Now, let’s see the Malay words for numbers:

If you understand how English numbers work, or you’re a native English speaker (which is even better), then this lesson to learn Malay numbers will be easy for you! As a native Malay speaker myself (and having English as my second language), the Malay numbers and counting system are quite similar to English.

Counting Chart: Numbers 1 To 100 In Malay

Malay Numbers — How To Count More Than 100

Here’s the list that will guide you on how to say numbers more than 100 in Bahasa Malaysia.

1,518 = Seribu lima ratus lapan belas

Just like English, the numbers in Malay are pronounced and counted from left to right. Let me break down the place values of each of the digits and translate them for you:

Place value of 1 = 1000 — ribu (thousands)

Place value of 5 = 500 — ratus (hundreds)

Place value of 1 = 10 — puluh (tens)

Place value of 8 = 8 — sa (ones)

Now let’s take a look at the next lesson on how to say numbers (100 and above) in Bahasa Melayu.

Learn Malay Today

Interested to know more about Bahasa Melayu? Feel free to get yourself the Ling App so you can learn all the basic words, phrases, sounds, pronunciation, and vocabulary in different languages just for free. If you want to learn the Malaysian language, in particular, this app can be your best bet. All the free interactive, game-like features in Ling App are made just so you can speak the acquired languages fast!

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Ling Learn Languages

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