Travel Easy: 135 Essential Malay Travel Phrases

Ling Learn Languages
5 min readJul 1, 2021

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Original blog post: https://ling-app.com/ms/malay-travel-phrases/

Many travelers want to travel to Malaysia to see its breathtaking sites and experience its beautiful culture. Have you heard about beautiful places like Petronas Twin Towers, Gunung Mulu National Park, and Perhentian Islands? Malaysia is a beautiful country with many things to offer to travelers, so learning Malay travel phrases will come in handy.

Also known as Bahasa Melayu, the Malaysian language is the mother tongue of the Malaysian people. This blog will learn about Malay travel phrases that could help you have a meaningful and convenient travel experience in Malaysia.

Malay Phrases For Travelers

Most Malaysian locals can speak in English because Malaysian English is used in about 80% of urban businesses. This is an advantage for travelers who speak English, but if you want to have a meaningful and memorable trip to Malaysia, you might learn the Malay language. Here are some Malay phrases for travel that you must know before going to Malaysia.

Basic Greetings

Greetings are an essential part of every conversation. It is a polite and respectful thing to do when talking to others. There are different words and phrases that you can use to greet someone in the Malay language. Break the ice and start conversations with Malay travel phrases related to basic greetings:

Hello/ Hai — Hello/Hi

This greeting is the most common and easiest greetings you can learn. If you speak English, you will find it easy to learn because it is too similar.

Selamat Pagi — Good Morning

This is used to greet someone in the morning. It’s nice to start the day pleasant with this greeting.

Selamat Tengahari -Good Afternoon

If you want to greet somebody at noon, usually 12:00 pm- 3:00 pm, you can use this phrase.

Selamat Malam — Good Night

For evening greeting, you can say Selamat Petang. This will really be useful when you experience the nightlife in Malaysia.

Useful Phrases

If you would like to connect with Malaysians, you should learn how to talk to them. You can begin with some basic and useful phrases. These Malay travel phrases will be helpful as a traveler in asking directions, shopping, and dining.

Terima Kasih -Thank You

Learning how to say Thank you in the Malaysian language (Bahasa Melayu) is very important in their culture. If you want to read more about saying Thank You in Malay, there is a separate blog for you.

Other Useful Words And Phrases In Malay

Introducing Yourself

Going around the country, there will be times when you have to introduce yourself. Of course, you can do it in English but using their local language, Malay (Bahasa Melayu), might give them an excellent first impression of you. So here some essentials that you can use when introducing yourself.

Nama saya -My name is

This is the basic way to introduce yourself and get to know someone in the Malay language. Suppose you want to read more about how locals introduce themselves. Then, you can read the blog post entitled 11 Best Tips On How To Introduce Yourself In Malay.

Other Malay Words and Phrases to Introduce Yourself

Shopping

What’s a trip without going to the market and buying some souvenirs that will remind you about your whole trip? So, here is a list of Malay phrases for travelers related to shopping. You can also learn in this part of the blog the numbers and colors you can use to identify your purchase.

Berapaharga? — How much is this?

If you are on a budget, make sure to ask the price first before buying. Just a few tips. Beware of overpricing which is a common occurrence if you are a foreigner and try to haggle for a cheaper price.

Other Malay Words and Phrases Used When Shopping

Dining Out

Your whole adventure will not be complete without trying some Malaysian food. There are lots of Malaysian food that is worth trying, from the street down to restaurants. Here are some Malay phrases for travel related to dining out and food.

Boleh awak cadangkan hidangan? — Can you recommend a dish?

Malaysian cuisine reflects the multi-ethnic population of Malaysia. It consists of cooking traditions and practice that is part of their well-preserved culture.

Other Malay phrases related to dining out / food:

Traveling And Giving Directions

These are the essential Malay travel phrases you need to know when you want to explore the beauty of Malaysia. These phrases will help you the right destination and address that you are looking for. These phrases will also help when you are lost.

Belok kanan / Belok kiri — Turn right / Turn left

If you don’t know the place, do not hesitate to ask for directions. Ensure to learn the basic words like this to navigate your map and find the address you are looking for.

Other Words and Phrases Related To Traveling and Giving Directions

Traveling To Malaysia? Learn Malay Today!

Malay is one of the easiest languages that you can learn. So if you are looking for an app that will help you have an engaging language learning experience, Ling App is the perfect app for you. After learning the Malay travel phrases, you are now ready to learn more about the Malay language through Ling App.

Millions of users can’t lie. There’s a reason why users keep on using Ling App as their language learning partner. Just search it on the web or download it in the App Store/ Play Store. So don’t wait any longer. Learn Malay now!

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