Comparison of Standard Malay and Indonesian
The Indonesian and Standard Malay forms of the Malay language are generally mutually intelligible, but differ in spelling, pronunciation, and vocabulary. The differences can range from those mutually unintelligible with one another to those having a closer familial resemblance. The regionalized and localized varieties of Malay can become a catalyst for intercultural conflict, especially in higher education.[1]
Perception
To non-native speakers both varieties may seem identical, but to native speakers, the differences are noticeable through diction and accent. These differences often lead to incomprehension when used in formal conversation or written communication. They also affect broadcasting business in relation to foreign language subtitling, for example DVD movies or cable TV subscriptions. In order to reach a wider audience, sometimes both Indonesian and Malay subtitles are displayed in a movie with other language subtitles. Another example is Malaysian TV providing Malay subtitling on Indonesian sinetrons (TV drama) aired in Malaysia.[2]
The Malay language in Indonesia and Malaysia also differs in recognition and general perception by the people and government of the two countries. Ignorance of these subtleties may result in misconceptions.
The term "Malay" (Bahasa Melayu) in Indonesia and Malaysia invites different perceptions. To Malaysians, the Malay language is generally the national language of Malaysia, Bahasa Malaysia being the name for the Malaysian standardized form of Malay. Between 1986 and 2007, the term Bahasa Melayu was used instead of Bahasa Malaysia, until the latter was reinstated, in order to instil a sense of belonging among Malaysians of all races, rather than just Malays.[3] Therefore, there is no clear distinction between the use of the term Malay (Bahasa Melayu) and the national language of Malaysia (Bahasa Malaysia). In Brunei, where Malay is also an official language, the language is known as Bahasa Melayu and in English as "Malay".[4]
In Indonesia, however, there is a clear distinction between "Malay" (Bahasa Melayu) and the "Indonesian" (Bahasa Indonesia). Indonesian is the national language which serves as the unifying language of Indonesia. The term "Malay" is reserved for the language indigenous to the Malay people. Thus, "Malay" is considered a regional language in Indonesia, enjoying the same status as Javanese, Bataknese, Sundanese, Buginese, Balinese and others. Moreover, to some Indonesians, the term "Malay" is more often associated with Malaysia and the Malaysian national language.
In Malaysia, the terms "Indonesian Malay" and "Malaysian Malay" are sometimes used for Indonesian and Malay as spoken in Malaysia. In Indonesia, "Indonesian Malay" refers to the Malay spoken by the Malay people in Indonesia, that is, to Malay as a regional language in Sumatra, though it is rarely used. Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Melayu are used interchangeably in reference to Malay in Malaysia.
Orthography
Before the 20th century, Malay was written in a modified form of the Arabic alphabet known as Jawi. During the 20th century, Malay written with Roman letters, known as Rumi, 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 Malaya, the romanisation of Malay, devised by Richard Wilkinson[5] was influenced by English, whereas in the Dutch East Indies, the system devised by C A Van Ophuijsen was influenced by Dutch.[6]
As a result, in Indonesia, the vowel in the English word 'moon' was formerly represented oe, as in Dutch, although the official spelling of this sound was changed to u in 1947.
Similarly, until 1972, the initial consonant of the English 'chin' was represented in Malaysia as ch, whereas in Indonesia, it continued to follow Dutch and used tj. Hence the word for 'grandchild' used to be written as chuchu in Malaysia and tjoetjoe in 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.
Indonesia abandoned the spelling dj (for the consonant at the beginning of the word 'Jakarta') to conform to the j already in use in Malaysia, while the old Indonesian j for the semivowel at the beginning of the English 'young', was replaced with y as in Malaysia. Likewise, the velar fricative which occurs in many Arabic loanwords, which used to be written 'ch' in Indonesian, became kh in both languages.
However, oe was retained in some proper names, such as the name of the first President, Sukarno (written as Soekarno), and his successor Suharto, (written as Soeharto). The ch and dj letter combinations are still encountered in names such as Achmad and Djojo (pronounced as Akhmad and Joyo respectively), although the post-1972 spelling is now favoured.
Although the representations of speech sounds are now largely identical in the Indonesian and Malay standards, a number of minor spelling differences remain, usually for historical reasons. For instance, the word for 'money' is written as wang in Malaysia, but uang in Indonesia, the word for 'try' is written as cuba in Malaysia, but coba in Indonesia, the word for 'because' is written as kerana in Malaysia, but karena in Indonesia, while the word for 'cake' is written as kuih in Malaysia, but kue in Indonesia.
One notable difference in punctuation between the two languages is the use of different decimal marks; Indonesian, influenced by Dutch, uses the decimal comma,[7] whereas Malay, influenced by English, uses the decimal point.[8]
Pronunciation
Pronunciation also tends to be very different, with East Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia pronouncing words in a form called Bahasa Baku, where the words are pronounced as spelt and enunciation tends to be clipped, staccato and faster than on the Malay Peninsula, which is spoken at a more languorous pace. Many vowels are pronounced (and were formerly spelt) differently in Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, and Sumatra: tujuh is pronounced (and was spelt) tujoh, pilih as pileh, etc., and many final a's tend to be pronounced as schwas; [e] and [o] are also allophones of /i/ and /u/ in closed final syllables in peninsular Malaysian, Singaporean, and Sumatran varieties of Malay.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary differences
Indonesian differs from Standard Malay in the quantity of loanwords from Javanese, Dutch, and other languages. For example, the word for 'post office' in Malaysia is "pejabat pos" (in Indonesia this means 'post officer'), whereas in Indonesia it is "kantor pos", from the Dutch word for office, kantoor. There are also some Portuguese influences: in Indonesia, Christmas is known as "Natal", whereas Malaysia uses "Krismas", derived from English (or in some cases also "Natal", due to Indonesian influence). Pronunciation of some loanwords in Standard Malay follows English, while some in Indonesian follows Dutch, for example Malay "televisyen" (from English: television) and Indonesian "televisi" (from Dutch: televisie), the "-syen" and "-si" also prevail in some other words. There are also instances where the Malay version derives from English pronunciation while the Indonesian version takes its cue from Latin. The Latin preference of the (older) Indonesian intellectuals in these instances may be ascribed to the influence of their classical-oriented education when Gymnasium schools were established during the Dutch colonial period : compare Malay kualiti, kuantiti, majoriti, minoriti and universiti with Indonesian kualitas, kuantitas, mayoritas, minoritas and universitas.
Some words which are spelt the same in both languages may even carry entirely different meanings in the other language, potentially leading to humorous or embarrassing situations: while baja means "steel" in Indonesian, in Malay it means "fertiliser". Also, whereas the Indonesian word butuh means "require" or "need", in Malaysia it is a vulgar slang term equivalent to "cunt/cock". Conversely, where the word "banci" seems innocuous enough in Malaysia ("census"), in Indonesia it is a derogatory term for "transvestite".
The relatively large share of Islamic (Arabic or Persian) loan words shared by Malay and Indonesian often poses no difficulty in comprehension and usage, although some forms may have developed a (slightly) different meaning or have become obsolete either in Malay or in Indonesian, e.g. khidmat, wakil (see below).
Vocabulary comparison
| English | Malay | Indonesian |
|---|---|---|
| abolition | pemansuhan | penghapusan, abolisi |
| abortion | pengguguran | aborsi, pengguguran (kandungan) |
| abroad | luar negara | luar negeri |
| accessibility | kebolehcapaian, ketercapaian | keterjangkauan, ketercapaian, aksesibilitas |
| account (bank, bills) | akaun | rekening (from Dutch – only used in the bank), akun (used in all term of account excluding bank account) |
| accountability | kebertanggungjawapan, akauntabliti | akuntabilitas, kebertanggungjawaban |
| accountant | akauntan | akuntan |
| accounting | perakaunan | akuntansi |
| accurate | tepat | tepat, akurat influenced by Dutch accuraat |
| administration | pentadbiran | administrasi |
| after | selepas, setelah | selepas, sesudah, setelah (also used in Malay to indicate consecutive actions) |
| afternoon | tengah hari (before 2 pm), petang (2 pm and after) | siang (12 pm to 02 pm), sore (02 pm to 04 pm), petang (04 pm to 06 pm) |
| agent | ejen, agen | agen |
| air force | tentera udara | angkatan udara |
| airport | lapangan terbang ('airfield' in Indonesian) | bandar udara (bandara) |
| Algeria | Algeria | Aljazair from Arabic al-Jazā'ir |
| alliance | perikatan, persekutuan, pakatan | aliansi (influenced by Dutch alliantie), persekutuan |
| alloy | pancalogam, aloi | aloi, logam campuran |
| apartment | pangsapuri, rumah pangsa, rumah kondo (only for 'condominium') | apartemen (influenced by Dutch appartement), rumah susun (rusun)(apartment for poor family), kondominium |
| application (software) | perisian penggunaan, aplikasi | aplikasi |
| architecture | seni bina | arsitektur (influenced by Dutch architectuur) |
| archive | arkib | arsip from Dutch archief |
| area | kawasan | area, kawasan |
| armed forces | tentera | tentara, angkatan bersenjata |
| army | tentera darat | tentara angkatan darat |
| assembly | majlis, perhimpunan (from the root verb 'himpun' meaning 'to gather/assemble') | majelis, himpunan, perhimpunan |
| assets | aset | harta, aset, aktiva (from Dutch activa) |
| association | persatuan | asosiasi (from Dutch associatie), persatuan, perkumpulan |
| assumption | andaian, anggapan | asumsi, anggapan |
| astronaut | angkasawan | astronot |
| Athens | Athens | Athena (influenced by Dutch Athene or from native Greek Athina) |
| athletics (sport) | olahraga ('sport' in Indonesian) | atletik |
| auction | lelong from Portuguese leilão | lelang also from Portuguese leilão |
| August | Ogos | Agustus from Dutch augustus |
| auntie | makcik (also used in Riau Malay dialect in Indonesia), emak saudara, ibu saudara | bibi, tante from Dutch |
| autobiography | autobiografi | autobiografi, otobiografi is a substandard spelling |
| automatic | automatik (formerly otomatik) | otomatis (derived from Dutch pronunciation of automatisch) |
| autonomy | autonomi | otonomi |
| awkward | janggal; kekok (of gesture) | aneh, janggal; canggung, kikuk (of gesture) |
| backpack | beg sandang (literally "sling bag") | ransel (from Dutch) |
| bag | beg | tas from Dutch |
| baseband | jalur asas | baseband, pita dasar |
| basin (wash basin/sink) | besen | wastafel (from Dutch, lit. washing table) |
| basketball | bola keranjang | bola basket |
| because | kerana, sebab | karena, sebab |
| bed | katil | matras influenced by Dutch matras, tempat tidur, ranjang, kasur |
| Belgium | Belgium | Belgia influenced by Dutch België |
| Belgrade | Belgrade | Beograd |
| belt (of a seat) | tali keledar | sabuk |
| bicycle | basikal | sepeda (influenced by French velocipede) |
| bill (legislation) | rang undang-undang | rancangan undang-undang, legislasi |
| billboard | pelekat (something to stick in Indonesian.), tempelan (tempelan means something that sticked in Indonesian.) | baliho, papan iklan, papan reklame from Dutch reclame (advertisement) |
| billion | seribu juta, bilion | miliar (from Dutch miljard) |
| binary | perduaan | biner (from Dutch binaire) |
| bishop | biskop, bisyop | uskup |
| board (company) | lembaga In Indonesian, it means "body" (organization) | dewan |
| bonnet, hood (of a car) | bonet, bumbung, hud | kap from Dutch |
| boot, trunk (of a car) | but | bagasi |
| Britain | Britain | Britania (influenced by Dutch Brittannië) |
| Brussels | Brussels | Brussel (influenced by Dutch) |
| Bucharest | Bucharest | Bukarest |
| bucket; pail | baldi | ember from Dutch emmer |
| bus | bas | bus, bis substandard, influenced by Dutch pronunciation |
| bus station | stesen bas | terminal bus |
| bus stop | perhentian bas | pemberhentian bus, halte bus from Dutch bushalte |
| business | perniagaan, bisnes | perniagaan (less commonly used), bisnis |
| Cairo | Kaherah from Arabic Al-Qahirah | Kairo |
| Cambodia | Kemboja | Kamboja |
| Cameroon | Cameroon | Kamerun |
| campaign | kempen | kampanye (from Dutch campagne (a French loanword)) |
| can (to be able) | boleh, dapat | dapat, bisa |
| cancer | kanser, barah | kanker from Dutch |
| capacitor | pemuat, kapasitor | kondensator, kapasitor |
| capital city | ibu negara | ibu kota |
| car | kereta (means carriage in Indonesian, commonly used as a shorthand for kereta api, which means train. Malay followed English derivation of car which was a contraction of horseless carriage) | mobil (from Dutch/mid-English automobile) |
| card | kad | kartu from Dutch kaart |
| career | kerjaya, karier | karier |
| Caribbean | Caribbean | Karibia |
| carrot | lobak merah | wortel from Dutch |
| case | kes | kasus, hal |
| cash | wang tunai | uang tunai, kas |
| cashier | juruwang | juru uang, kasir from Dutch kassier |
| cavalry | pasukan berkuda | pasukan berkuda, kavaleri |
| cement | simen | semen |
| censor | tapisan (means "filter" in Indonesian) | sensor |
| census | banci | sensus, cacah |
| centipede | lipan | kelabang, lipan |
| central | pusat | pusat, sentral, tengah |
| chaos (theory) | teori kekacauan | teori kekacauan |
| chilli | cili, lada ('pepper' in Indonesian), cabai (used in the northern states of Malaysia) | cabai, lombok |
| China | China | Tionghoa (standard term for Chinese people), Tiongkok (archaic, official), Cina (standard, still in common use but discouraged due to possible racist connotations), China (substandard) |
| Christmas | Krismas, Natal | Natal from Portuguese |
| cinema | panggung wayang bergambar (more popularly abbreviated as pawagam), panggung wayang | bioskop from Dutch bioscoop, sinema |
| circuit | litar | sirkuit |
| city | bandar, bandaraya big city, kota | kota |
| civil | awam (In Indonesian, it means "not expert"), sivil | sipil |
| claim | tuntutan (means "sue" in Indonesian) | klaim |
| clarification | penjernihan (to make something, e.g. water, clear in Indonesian) | klarifikasi, penjelasan |
| clause (legal) | fasal (equivalent term in Indonesian is pasal) | ayat, klausul |
| club (association) | kelab | klub, perkumpulan infrequent |
| coach (carriage) | koc | gerbong |
| coat | kot | jas from Dutch jas |
| cockroach | lipas | lipas, kecoa from the Chinese Min Nan ka chuah |
| college | kolej, maktab | kampus, kolese, kolegium |
| Cologne | Cologne | Köln, Koeln |
| Colombia | Colombia | Kolombia |
| comment | ulasan, komen | ulasan (can be including explanation, interpretation and comment), komentar from Dutch commentaar |
| commission | suruhanjaya | komisi |
| commissioner | pesuruhjaya | komisaris from Dutch commissaris, komisioner |
| committee | jawatankuasa | komite |
| commonwealth | komanwel | persemakmuran |
| Comoros | Comoros | Komoro |
| company | syarikat | perusahaan, firma, maskapai (from Dutch maatschappij – almost exclusively used to refer to airline companies, i.e. maskapai penerbangan) |
| compiler | penyusun | penyusun, kompilator |
| complaint | aduan | aduan, keluhan, komplain |
| conclusion | kesimpulan; konklusi (rare) | kesimpulan, konklusi |
| condensation | pemeluwapan, pengembunan, pencecairan | kondensasi, pengembunan |
| conference | persidangan | konferensi(from Dutch conferentie), sidang |
| confirmation | pengesahan | konfirmasi, pengesahan of a document, kepastian of a decision |
| conflict | pertikaian | konflik, pertentangan, pertikaian |
| Congo | Congo | Kongo |
| conservation (movement) | pemuliharaan; konservasi (rare) | konservasi, pelestarian (of animals and plants) |
| constitution of a country | perlembagaan | undang-undang dasar (influenced by Dutch grondwet ("basic law")), konstitusi (from Dutch constitutie) |
| construction | pembinaan | pembangunan (of building), pembinaan (of moral), konstruksi |
| consumption | perbelanjaan | konsumsi, pemakaian, penggunaan |
| contamination | pencemaran | pencemaran, kontaminasi |
| continuous | selanjar | berkesinambungan, berlanjut, kontinu |
| conversion | penukaran (mean "exchange" in Indonesia) | konversi, perubahan |
| corporation | perbadanan | korporasi, badan usaha, perushaan |
| corruption | rasuah; korupsi (rare) | korupsi, rasuah (non-standard) |
| Costa Rica | Costa Rica | Kosta Rika |
| counter | kaunter | loket from Dutch, konter/kaunter non-standard |
| country | negara | negara, negeri in Malaysia, negeri usually refers to a state within a federation |
| court | mahkamah | pengadilan, mahkamah |
| cracker | keropok | kerupuk |
| criminal | jenayah | penjahat, kriminal, ahli pidana (ahli pidana is criminal law expert) |
| Croatia | Croatia | Kroasia |
| crucial | genting | krusial, penting, genting |
| Cuba | Cuba | Kuba |
| cupboard | almari (from Portuguese armário) | lemari also from armário |
| current (adjective, of time) | semasa | saat ini, kini, terkini, aktual from Dutch actueel |
| current affairs | hal ehwal semasa | aktualitas, peristiwa terkini |
| curtain | langsir (In Indonesian, langsir is train wagon arrangement.), tirai | tirai, gorden from Dutch gordijn |
| customs (authority) | kastam | pabean refers to the administrative institution, bea dan cukai (bea-cukai) lit. tariff-and-tax, duty |
| cute | comel | imut, menggemaskan, lucu |
| Cyprus | Cyprus | Siprus |
| Czech Republic | Republik Czech | (Republik) Ceko, (Republik) Ceska substandard |
| dandruff | kelemumur | ketombe |
| December | December | Desember influenced by Dutch december |
| decimal | perpuluhan (In Indonesian, perpuluhan means tithe.) | desimal, persepuluhan (rare) |
| decree | dekri | surat keputusan, dekrit from Dutch decreet |
| degree (of temperature) | darjah | derajat |
| delicious, tasty | lazat, sedap, enak | lezat, enak, sedap |
| democratic | demokratik | demokratis (from Dutch demokratisch note: "democratic republic" (in country names) translates as republik demokratik, such as in Republik Demokratik Kongo (Democratic Republic of the Congo)) |
| department | jabatan ('occupation' in Indonesian) | departemen, jurusan (for department in university) |
| departure | pelepasan | keberangkatan, kepergian |
| depression (psychological) | kemurungan (In Indonesian, kemurungan means "sadness".) | depresi |
| deputy | timbalan | wakil, deputi, timbalan (rare) |
| design | reka bentuk | desain, kerangka bentuk, rancangan |
| detail | terperinci | detail, detil (substandard), perinci, rinci (substandard) |
| dialect | loghat | dialek, logat |
| detection | pengesanan | pelacakan, deteksi |
| different – difference | beza, berbeza – perbezaan | beda, berbeda – perbedaan |
| diocese | kawasan uskup, keuskupan | keuskupan |
| director | pengarah | direktur from Dutch (and French) directeur, sutradara (of a film) from Sanskrit (through Javanese), pengarah (for a event) |
| discount | diskaun, rebat, potongan harga | diskon, rabat, potongan harga, korting from Dutch, less frequent |
| discussion | perbincangan, diskusi | pembicaraan, perbincangan, diskusi |
| disinfectant | penyahjangkit | disinfektan, obat pemusnah, sucihama |
| domestic | dalam negara | dalam negeri, domestik |
| driver | pemandu | sopir from French chauffeur through Dutch, pengemudi formal |
| driver's license (U.S.) driving licence (UK) | lesen memandu | surat izin mengemudi (SIM) |
| drugs (illegal) | dadah (colloquial use in Indonesia means "goodbye".) | narkoba (an acronym for NARKotika dan OBat-obatan terlArang (narcotics and illegal drugs)), NAPZA (less frequent – an acronym for NArkotika, Psikotropika dan Zat-zat Adiktif (narcotics, psychotropics, and addictive chemical substances)) |
| Dutch East Indies | Hindia Timur Belanda | Hindia-Belanda |
| duty (economics) | duti, cukai | bea, cukai |
| e-mel | surel (standard, shortened of surat elektronik (electronic mail)), email (rarely used in everyday spelling, often used on online spelling (e.g. website-based registration or social account)) | |
| Easter | Easter, Paskah strictly used for Jewish Passover | Paskah from Portuguese Pascoa |
| Ecuador | Ecuador | Ekuador |
| editor | penyunting | editor, penyunting, redaktur from French rédacteur through Dutch – refers to editors of mass media, esp. newspapers, magazines, etc. |
| editorial (board) | kakitangan editorial | redaksi from Dutch redactie, editorial |
| effectiveness | keberkesanan | keampuhan, keefektifan, efektivitas from Dutch effectiviteit |
| efficiency | kecekapan | efisiensi, kedayagunaan, kemangkusan |
| Eid ul-Fitr | Hari Raya Aidilfitri | Hari Raya Idulfitri – Idul Fitri substandard spelling, but common, Lebaran colloquial – from Javanese |
| eight | lapan used as colloquial abbreviation in Indonesian | delapan used in Malaysia before the spelling reform |
| elasticity (economy) | keanjalan | bingkas, elastisitas |
| electricity | tenaga elektrik lit. electric energy | listrik, kelistrikan, setrum from Dutch stroom |
| embargo (political) | sekatan (In Indonesian, it means "obstacle" or "room which separated with partition") | boikot, embargo |
| emergency | kecemasan (used for anxiety or "too anxious" (condition) in Indonesian.) | darurat (from Arabic – also used in Malaysia to express a state of emergency), kegawatan |
| emperor | maharaja | kaisar from Dutch keizer, maharaja from Sanskrit |
| empire | empayar | kekaisaran, imperium |
| enamel | enamel | email from Dutch emaille |
| energy | tenaga | energi, tenaga (for "power") |
| engine | enjin | mesin also translates as machine in English, enjin |
| England | negeri Inggeris | Inggris |
| eraser | getah pemadam | penghapus |
| erosion | hakisan | pengikisan, erosi |
| escalator | tangga gerak | tangga berjalan, eskalator |
| estimation | jangkaan, anggaran | perkiraan, dugaan, estimasi |
| Europe | Eropah | Eropa, Europa (substandard) |
| evacuation | pemindahan (In Indonesian, it means "translocation" or "relocation".) | pengungsian, evakuasi |
| evaluation | penilaian | penilaian, evaluasi |
| excess | lebihan | kelebihan, berlebihan, ekses |
| excretion | perkumuhan | ekskresi, pembuangan kotoran |
| execution (death sentence) | hukuman mati | eksekusi, (peng)hukuman mati |
| exhaust (pipe) | ekzos | knalpot (from Dutch, in which it also means "muffler") |
| exploration | penjelajahan, eksplorasi | eksplorasi, penjelajahan |
| export | eksport | ekspor |
| expose | pendedahan | paparan, ekspos, pendedahan |
| extinct | pupus | padam (of flame or light), punah (of species), pupus (loss of hope) |
| faculty | fakulti | fakultas, fakulteit (obsolete, from Dutch) |
| facility | kemudahan, fasiliti | kemudahan, fasilitas |
| faction (politics) | puak | faksi, fraksi from Dutch fractie |
| factory | kilang ('refinery' in Indonesian) | pabrik from Dutch fabriek |
| federal | persekutuan | federal |
| federation | persekutuan (related to "alliance" in Indonesian) | federasi from Dutch federatie, serikat |
| fermentation | fermentasi, peragian | fermentasi, peragian, penapaian |
| financial | kewangan | keuangan, finansial from Dutch financieel |
| Finland | Finland | Finlandia |
| firefighter squad | bomba | pemadam kebakaran (lit. fire extinguisher), branwir (from Dutch brandweer (fire defense)) |
| flash drive | pemacu kilat | flash drive, penggerak kilat |
| floor, level (storey) | tingkat may be used in Indonesian to express the number of storeys/levels a building has, e.g. a 5-storey building = gedung bertingkat 5, or to emphasize British floor numbering, e.g. tingkat satu means first floor (UK), second floor (US) in both languages, aras (used to emphasize American floor numbering, e.g. aras dua = tingkat satu | lantai also refers to floor as ground surface in both languages, emphasizes American floor numbering, tingkat emphasizes British floor numbering, e.g. lantai dua = tingkat satu |
| football | bola sepak | sepakbola |
| form (document) | borang | formulir from Dutch formulier, borang |
| free (of charge) | percuma in Indonesian means "worthless" | gratis from Dutch, cuma-cuma, cecuma (substandard) |
| fungus | kulat, fungus | fungi (commonly has got misconception as: jamur) |
| furniture | perabot rumah, perkakas rumah (In Indonesian, perkakas means equipment. | mebel from Dutch meubelen, furnitur, perabot rumah tangga |
| fusion | pelakuran | fusi, penggabungan, peleburan |
| gangster | samseng | geng, preman from Dutch vrijman (lit. free-man), gangster from English |
| garage | garaj | garasi influenced by Dutch pronunciation |
| garrison | garrison | garnisun from Dutch garnizoen |
| gear | gear | roda gigi influenced by Dutch tandwiel, literally "tooth wheel" |
| gearbox | kotak gear | persneling from Dutch versnelling, girboks, transmisi |
| general (military) | jeneral | jenderal from Dutch generaal |
| ginger | halia | jahe |
| Global Positioning System | Sistem Kedudukan Sejagat | Sistem Pemosisian Global |
| goal keeper | penjaga gol/penjaga gawang | kiper, penjaga gawang |
| golf club (stick) | kayu golf | stik golf, pemukul golf, tongkat golf |
| government | kerajaan derived from raja (king) – used in Malaysia and Brunei – in Indonesian means "kingdom" | pemerintah derived from perintah (order/instruction) – also used in Singapore, which, like Singapore, is a republic |
| governor | gabenor, Yang di-Pertua Negeri (in Malaysian states) | gubernur from Dutch gouverneur |
| gradation | pemeringkatan | gradasi, pemberian tingkat (pemeringkatan) |
| graduate | siswazah, sarjana | lulusan, sarjana |
| grandfather | datuk | kakek |
| Greece | Greece of recent use, Yunani | Yunani from Arabic Yūnān يُونَان |
| gross financial | kasar | bruto from Dutch, kasar |
| group | sekumpulan, kumpulan | kelompok, grup from Dutch pronunciation of groep, (per)kumpulan, (per)himpunan |
| guarantee | jaminan | jaminan, garansi from Dutch pronunciation of garantie |
| half past one | pukul satu setengah | pukul setengah dua |
| hammer | tukul | palu, martil from Portugue martelo |
| head office | ibu pejabat "ibu" also means "mother" or "ma'am" in both languages. | kantor pusat "kantor" – from Dutch kantoor (office) |
| headscarf, hijab | tudung | kerudung, jilbab though these words have different meaning |
| healthy | sihat | sehat |
| herb | herba | jamu often understood as traditional potion made from rhizomes, also means "guest" ("tamu") and "treat the guest" ("menjamu")., herbal |
| hexadecimal | perenambelasan | heksadesimal |
| hospital | hospital | rumah sakit influenced by Dutch ziekenhuis ("house of the sick") – This term is still used in Brunei, but in Malaysia, "hospital" has replaced the term completely since the 1960s. |
| Hungary | Hungary | Hungaria, Hongaria substandard, influenced by Dutch Hongarije |
| hybrid (biology) | kacukan | blasteran, hibrida |
| I | saya, aku | saya, aku, gue/gua (slang, informal; from Chinese dialects "ua") |
| ice | ais | es |
| ice cream | ais krim | es krim |
| Iceland | Iceland | Islandia |
| image | citra, imej (of reputation), gambar (pictorial image) | citra (of reputation), gambar (pictorial image) |
| immigration | imigresen | imigrasi from Dutch immigratie |
| import | import | impor |
| impotence | mati pucuk, impotensi, lemah syahwat | impotensi from Dutch impotentie, lemah syahwat colloquial |
| impotent | kemandulan | impotensi, kemandulan |
| incineration | penunuan | pembakaran, insinerasi |
| Indian Ocean | Lautan Hindi | Samudra Hindia |
| inductor | peraruh, induktor (rare) | induktor |
| information | maklumat | informasi, from Dutch informatie, maklumat ("announcement", "knowledge"), penerangan |
| injection | suntikan | suntikan, injeksi |
| ink | dakwat from Arabic | tinta from Dutch tinte, dawat (archaic) |
| installment (payment) | ansuran | angsuran, cicilan |
| instant | segera (means "soon" in Indonesia) | seketika, instan |
| insurance | insurans | asuransi from Dutch assurantie |
| intelligence (spying) | risikan (means 'secret investigation' in Indonesia) | intelijen |
| international | antarabangsa | internasional, antarnegara, (sometimes used: mancanegara from Javanese meaning: foreign land) |
| internet café | kafe internet, kafe cyber | warnet an acronym for "WARung interNET" (internet shop/café) |
| intervention | campur tangan, intervensi | campur tangan, intervensi |
| introspection | kaji diri, introspeksi (rare) | introspeksi, mawas diri |
| invasion | penyerangan, penjajahan (means colonialism in Indonesian), invasi | invasi, penaklukan |
| investment | pelaburan | investasi, penanaman modal |
| Iraq | Iraq | Irak |
| Ireland | Ireland | Irlandia |
| irrigation | pengairan | irigasi, pengairan |
| Italy | Itali | Italia from Italian |
| Japan | Jepun from Chinese dialect | Jepang, Jepun (archaic) |
| Jordan (country) | Jordan | Yordania from Dutch Jordanië |
| journalist | wartawan | wartawan, jurnalis |
| July | Julai | Juli from Dutch juli |
| June | Jun | Juni from Dutch juni |
| ketchup | kicap (Indonesian equivalent, kecap, means soy sauce.) | saus tomat from French sauce tomate |
| lane | lorong (mean alley in Indonesian) | lajur |
| lawyer | peguam | advokat from Dutch advocaat, pengacara (means 'master of ceremony' in Malay.), peguam (rare) |
| Lebanon | Lubnan from Arabic | Lebanon, Libanon influenced by Dutch |
| legislative | perundangan (In Indonesian, it means legislation.), legislatif | legislatif |
| liabilitity | liabiliti | kewajiban |
| licence | lesen | izin, lisensi from Dutch licentie |
| lift, elevator | lif | lift |
| liquidity (economy) | kecairan | likuiditas |
| Lisbon | Lisbon | Lisboa from Portuguese, Lisabon influenced by Dutch Lissabon |
| list | senarai | daftar, senarai |
| local | tempatan | lokal, setempat |
| Luxembourg | Luxembourg | Luksemburg influenced by Dutch/German Luxemburg |
| Macau | Macau | Makau |
| Macedonia, Republic of | Republik Macedonia | Republik Makedonia |
| magistrate | majistret | hakim from Arabic حَكِم – used in Malaysian to refer to judges, magistrat less common |
| Maldives | Maldives | Maladewa |
| male | lelaki, laki-laki, jantan (for animals, depending on the context, it can mean masculine or used as a derogatory term on men) | laki-laki, pria, lelaki, jantan (on animals, used on men to describe masculinity) |
| malfunction | kerosakan, malfungsi, pincang tugas | kerusakan, malafungsi |
| malpractice | penyelewengan (mean "misappropriation" in Indonesian) | malapraktik |
| management | pengurusan | manajemen, pengurusan |
| manager | pengurus | manajer, pengurus |
| manufacturing | pengilangan | manufaktur |
| March (month) | Mac | Maret influenced by Dutch maart |
| mass | jisim | massa, kelembaman (inertia) |
| mathematics | matematik, ilmu hisab | matematika, ilmu hitung, ilmu hisab only used in Islamic text book |
| matter | jirim | materi |
| mattress | tilam | kasur, matras, tilam |
| mean (verb) | bererti | berarti |
| mediation | pengantaraan (In Indonesian, it means "broking") | penengah, mediasi |
| medicine | ubat | obat |
| memory card | kad ingatan/kad memori | kartu memori |
| mental arithmetic | congak | aritmetika cepat, congak |
| Mexico | Mexico | Meksiko |
| mile | batu (mean "stone" in Indonesian) | mil |
| military | tentera, ketenteraan, militari | militer (from French militaire through Dutch militair), kemiliteran, ketentaraan |
| minibus | bas mini | bis mini, minibus |
| minute | minit | menit |
| mobile phone, cellphone | telefon bimbit | telepon selular (ponsel), telepon genggam, handphone (HP) (colloquial) |
| Monaco | Monaco | Monako |
| Monday | Isnin | Senin |
| money | wang, duit | uang, duit (colloquial) |
| Morocco | Maghribi from Arabic | Maroko |
| mortgage | gadai janji | hipotek from Dutch hypotheek, gadai |
| Moscow | Moscow | Moskwa, Moskow |
| motorcycle | motosikal | sepeda motor lit. "motorized bicycle" – influenced by Dutch motorfiets, motor (informal) |
| Mozambique | Mozambique | Mozambik |
| Mrs. | Puan | Ibu, Nyonya (Ny.) |
| music | muzik | musik |
| naked | bogel, telanjang | telanjang, bugil (colloquial) |
| natural | semulajadi | alami, natural |
| navigation | pandu arah, navigasi | navigasi |
| navy | tentera laut | angkatan laut |
| negotiation | perundingan | perundingan, negosiasi |
| network | rangkaian (means series in Indonesian) | jaringan |
| New Zealand | New Zealand | Selandia Baru |
| newspaper | surat khabar coined from two Arabic words: ṣūrat – صورة / صورت (form, appearance) and khabar خبر (news) | surat kabar (more formal – lit. news letter), koran (from French courant through Dutch, become Krant in modern Dutch, but Koerant in Afrikaans) |
| Nicosia | Nicosia | Nikosia |
| nil | nil | nol from Dutch nul |
| noisy | bising, kecoh in Indonesian means "disturb" or "distract", memekak | berisik, ribut, ramai, bising |
| noon | tengah hari | siang |
| Norway | Norway | Norwegia |
| number | nombor | angka, nomor – nomer substandard spelling from Dutch/German nummer |
| nurse | jururawat | perawat, suster from Dutch zuster |
| ocean | lautan | samudra, lautan |
| Oceania | Oceania | Oseania |
| octal | perlapanan | oktal |
| office | pejabat | kantor (from Dutch kantoor) |
| officer | pegawai, kaki tangan (a negative connotation usually means accomplice in criminal activity in Indonesian) | pejabat |
| official (adj.) | rasmi (from Arabo-Persian rasmi رَسمِي) | resmi (also from rasmi) |
| Olympic | Olimpik | Olimpiade |
| opposition | pembangkang | opposisi, pembangkang (in mean of "defiance") |
| option | pilihan, opsyen (rare) | pilihan, opsi |
| orange (colour) | jingga, oren | jingga, oranye (from Dutch oranje) |
| orange (fruit) | oren, limau | jeruk, limau |
| order | order, perintah | orde (from Dutch), perintah |
| organization | pertubuhan, organisasi | organisasi |
| oscillation | ayunan | osilasi, ayunan |
| oven | ketuhar | oven |
| Pacific Ocean | Lautan Pasifik, Lautan Teduh | Samudra Pasifik, Lautan Pasifik |
| Palestine | Palestin | Palestina |
| papaya | (buah) betik | (buah) pepaya |
| Papua New Guinea | Papua New Guinea | Papua Guinea Baru, Papua Nugini |
| parallel | selari | parallel |
| parliament | parlimen | parlemen (from Franco-Dutch parlement) |
| party (political) | parti | partai (from Dutch partij) |
| passport | pasport | paspor |
| patient | pesakit | pasien |
| patrol | ronda | patroli (for police and military) (from Dutch patrolie), ronda (for civilian) |
| pavement, sidewalk | jalan pinggir, jalur jalan untuk pejalan kaki, laluan jalan kaki, kaki lima (In Indonesia, it is used in pedagang kaki lima (street vendor).) | pinggir jalan, trotoar (from Franco-Dutch trottoir) |
| penis | zakar from Arabic ذَكَر "male"- this word is extremely vulgar in Indonesian, "buah zakar" means testicles, batang lelaki, konek (slang) | alat kelamin laki-laki, kemaluan lelaki, burung (vulgar), titit (children's slang like "pee-pee"), kontol (slang, extremely vulgar) |
| percent | peratus | persen, perseratus |
| perfume | haruman, minyak wangi | parfum from Dutch, minyak wangi, pengharum |
| periodic | berkala | periodik, berkala |
| Persia | Parsi | Persia |
| pharmacy | farmasi | apotek (from Dutch apotheek), farmasi (usually for medicine manufacturers) |
| photograph | gambar (In Indonesia, it means "figure".), foto | fotografi (photograph), foto (literally means photo) |
| physics | fizik (Indonesian equivalent term, fisik, is used for term physical, e.g. aktivitas fisik (physical activity).) | fisika |
| pickpocket noun | penyeluk saku | copet (contraction of colong dompet- wallet thief), pencopet |
| pipe | paip | pipa |
| pirate (maritime) | lanun | bajak laut, perompak (perompak in Malay, means "robber"), lanun |
| platform (train) | platform | peron from Dutch perron |
| Poland | Poland | Polandia |
| police | polis (mean "insurance policy" (polis asuransi) in Indonesian) | polisi from Dutch politie |
| pollution | pencemaran | pencemaran, polusi |
| portion | sebahagian | porsi, sebagian (a portion of...) |
| post code | poskod | kode pos |
| potential | keupayaan | potensial, daya berkemampuan |
| Prague | Prague | Praha (also used in Malay) |
| prayer (Islam) | solat, s embahyang | salat, shalat, sholat (from Arabic, 'sh' is usually pronounced as 's'), sembahyang |
| prayer room (Islam) | surau | surau, musala, mushollah (from Arabic, 'sh' is usually pronounced as 's') |
| precipitation (meteorology) | kerpasan | curah hujan, presipitasi |
| prediction | ramalan | prediksi, ramalan, prakiraan (not perkiraan estimation) |
| pregnant | mengandung, hamil (formal, from Arabic حَامِل), berbadan dua lit. "two bodied", bunting for animals | mengandung, hamil, berbadan dua, bunting (informal) |
| premature | pramatang | prematur, dini |
| preposition | kata sendi naman | preposisi, kata depan |
| press | media massa, surat khabar (see above) | pers (from Dutch), media massa |
| Private Limited Company | Sendirian Berhad abbreviated as Sdn Bhd (suffix), "sendirian" alone means "alone" | Perseroan Terbatas abbreviated as PT(prefix) |
| privatization | penswastaan | privatisasi, swastanisasi, penswastaan |
| producer | produsen | pengeluar, produsen, penghasil |
| product | keluaran | produk (from English and Dutch product), hasil, keluaran more specific term for outcome |
| programming (computer) | pemrograman | pemrograman, p engaturcaraan |
| property | harta | properti |
| propulsion | perejangan | propulsi, pendorong, penggerak |
| prostitute | pelacur, perempuan sundal (vulgar) | pelacur, Wanita Tuna Susila (WTS) (Sanskrit, pronounced 'way-tay-es', i.e. "moral-less women"), Pekerja Seks Komersial (PSK) (formal, pronounced 'pay-es-ka' (commercial sex workers)), perek (slang) |
| prostitution | pelacuran | prostitusi, pelacuran |
| province | wilayah (used in Indonesian to mean 'area'), daerah (used in Indonesian to mean 'area') | provinsi (from Dutch provincie) |
| publication | penerbitan | penerbitan, publikasi, terbitan |
| pulse | denyut | denyut, pulsa |
| push, to (door) | tolak (It used as in tolak peluru (shot put) in Indonesian for this contex, used less primarily in Indonesian to mean 'subtract', it also means 'to refuse/reject', also common meaning in Malay when used in arithmetics) | dorong (means "to push" in Malay, but often used to mean "to support") |
| queue (line) | barisan (mean line "formation" in Indonesian) | antre |
| rabbit | arnab (from Arabic) | kelinci |
| Random-Access Memory (RAM) | Ingatan Capaian Rawak | Memori Akses Acak |
| rape | rogol | perkosa |
| raspberry | rasberi | frambus, frambosen (from Dutch framboos) |
| ratio | nisbah | rasio, nisbah, perbandingan |
| Read-Only Memory (ROM) | Ingatan Baca Sahaja | Memori Hanya Baca |
| real estate | hartanah | realestat, properti tanah |
| receipt | resit, penerimaan | kuitansi, kwitansi (substandard, from Dutch kwitantie), resi, bon from Dutch, struk |
| recession (economy) | kemelesetan (In Indonesian, it means "mishit") | resesi, kelesuan (ekonomi) |
| reclamation | tebus guna | reklamasi |
| recruitment | pergerakan (In Indonesian, it means "movement".), pengambilan (In Indonesian, it means "taking".) | rekrutmen, perekrutan |
| refraction | pembiasan | pembiasan, refraksi |
| refrigerator | peti sejuk lit. cool box (rarely used in Indonesian) | lemari es, lemari pendingin, kulkas (from Dutch koelkast) |
| religion | agama, ugama (widely used before the 80s) | agama, religi |
| renovation | pengubahsuaian | renovasi, pembaruan, pembaharuan |
| reproduction | pembiakan | reproduksi, pembiakan (also mean breeding) |
| research | kajian(mean research or investigation result in Indonesian) | penelitian, riset |
| responsibility | tanggungjawab | tanggung jawab, pertanggungjawaban, responsibilitas |
| resistor | perintang | resistor, hambatan, perintang |
| restaurant | kedai makan lit. "eating shop", restoran | rumah makan lit. "eating house", warung makan lit. "eating café", restoran |
| retailing | peruncitan | ritel, eceran |
| ring (mathematics) | gelanggang | ring, gelanggang |
| rob | rompak (Indonesian for "to commit piracy") | rampok, rampas |
| Rome | Rom | Roma |
| room | bilik (usually used to mean "compartment" in Indonesian) | kamar (from Dutch kamer), ruang (Javanese, for storage areas etc.) |
| roundabout (traffic) | bulatan e.g. Bulatan DBP in Kuala Lumpur pusing keliling (in Brunei) | bundaran e.g. Bundaran HI in Jakarta |
| routing | penghalaan | routing |
| royal | diraja | kerajaan (in Malaysia and Brunei means "kingdom" or "government") |
| rubber | getah may also mean gum or sap or resin in both languages, also figure of speech for "cause of bad deed" | karet |
| rumour | khabar angin, desas-desus | rumor, desas-desus, kabar angin, kabar burung |
| salty | masin | asin |
| Sanskrit | Sanskrit | Sanskerta |
| sauce | sos | saus |
| school (Islamic) | sekolah pondok | madrasah, pesantren, pondok pesantren |
| science | sains | ilmu (from Arabic 'ilm) (alam), sains (especially for "natural science") |
| Scotland | Scotland | Skotlandia |
| secret | rahsia | rahasia |
| secretary | setiausaha Indonesian lit. "loyal to work" | sekretaris (from Dutch secretaris) |
| section | seksyen, bahagian | seksi (from Dutch sectie), bagian |
| sensor | penderia, pengesan, sensor | sensor, pendeteksi |
| server (computing) | pelayan | peladen |
| session | sesyen, sesi | sesi (from Dutch sessie) |
| sewer | saluran najis "najis" means dirty in both languages, saluran kumbahan | selokan, parit (means 'ditch' in Malay), got, saluran air/pembuangan |
| sexagesimal | perenampuluhan | seksagesimal |
| shampoo | syampu (from Anglo-Indian / Hindustani chāmpo, the imperative form of (Hindi) चाँप्ना chāmpnā 'to smear, knead the muscles, massage') | sampo |
| share | berkongsi (In Indonesian, it means "creating trading company" or "ploting something bad".) | berbagi |
| shirt | baju (also in Indonesian but more generally refers to clothes) | kaos, kemeja (from Portuguese camisa) |
| shoe | kasut generalized term for any footwear in Indonesian, but usually related to sandals or ancient shoes., sepatu | sepatu (understood but less frequently used in Malaysia, from Portuguese sapatu) |
| shop | kedai (Means eateries stall in Indonesia) | toko |
| shopping mall | pusat beli-belah | mal, pusat perbelanjaan |
| site | laman, tapak (mean foundation (building) or footprint in Indonesia) | situs, laman |
| Slovakia | Slovakia | Slowakia |
| snow | salji (from Arabic thalj) | salju (also from thalj) |
| sodomy | liwat (from Arabic) | sodomi, liwat (only used in Islamic text book) |
| solar | solar, suria (from Sanskrit 'surya') | surya |
| solution | penyelesaian; solusi (rare) | solusi, pemecahan, penyelesaian |
| sour | masam | asam, masam (obsolete, usually used in connotative expression: bermuka masam: sour faced (unsatisfied/unhappy expression)) |
| soya beans | kacang soya | (kacang) kedelai |
| Spain | Sepanyol | Spanyol |
| speak/talk | berbicara, bercakap (means 'to chat' in Indonesian), bersembang, berborak | berbicara, ngomong (Javanese ngoko, colloquial) |
| specialist | perubatan, pakar | spesialis (in case of specialist doctor), pakar in general, it means expert |
| spoon | sudu | sendok |
| sport | sukan | olahraga (means "athletics" Malay, from Sanskrit, lit. "to train the body") |
| spouse | pasangan suami-isteri, kelamin colloquial, in Indonesian means "sex" or "gender" | pasangan (suami-istri), suami-istri (husband-wife) |
| stability | kestabilan | stabilitas, kestabilan |
| stadium | stadium | stadion, stadiun from Dutch |
| staff | kakitangan (phrase "kaki tangan" mean subordinate with negative image in Indonesian) | staff, personil from Dutch personeel, pegawai |
| stamp | setem | perangko |
| standard | piawai, standard | standar |
| state (within a federation) | negeri | negara bagian |
| station | stesen | stasiun (formerly spelled "setasiun") |
| steering wheel | roda stereng | roda setir from Dutch stuur |
| stop (verb) | berhenti | berhenti, henti, stop |
| strawberry | strawberi | stroberi, arbei from Dutch aardbei |
| stupid | bodoh, bengap, tolol, bangang, bongok (slang) | bodoh, dungu, tolol, goblok (slang), very demeaning in Malay, geblek (slang), bego (slang) |
| sublimation (phase transition) | pemejalwapan | sublimasi, penyubliman |
| Sunday | Ahad | Minggu from Portuguese Domingo which means Lord's Day, Ahad (only used in Islamic calendar) |
| sunglasses | cermin mata gelap (In Indonesia, cermin means "mirror".) | kacamata riben (from American brand of sunglasses 'Ray-Ban') |
| supermarket | pasar raya | supermarket, pasar swalayan |
| supervision | penyeliaan | pengawasan, penyeliaan, supervisi |
| survey | tinjauan (mean process or result of observation in Indonesian), kaji selidik | survei |
| suspend (hang) | menggantung (it means 'hang' in Indonesian) | menangguhkan (also 'adjourn' in Malay) |
| Sweden | Sweden | Swedia |
| Switzerland | Switzerland | Swiss |
| Syria | Syria | Suriah (from Arabic) |
| table (set of facts or figures) | jadual (Indonesian equivalent, jadwal, means "schedule".) | tabel |
| tank | kereta kebal | tank |
| tap water | air paip (piped water) | air keran (from Dutch Kraan), air ledeng ("ledeng" also means "plumbing", from Dutch "leiding") |
| tapioca | ubi kayu as in Indonesian, understood as the tuber cassava itself | (tepung) tapioka, tepung singkong |
| taxi | teksi | taksi |
| teacher | cikgu, guru | guru |
| teacher (religious, Islam) | ustaz, ustad (ultimately from Persian اُستَاذ), ustadzah female | ustad, ustadzah |
| team | pasukan used in Indonesian to refer to troops | tim |
| telephone | telefon (formerly talipon) | telepon |
| television | televisyen, TV | televisi (from Dutch televisie) , TV |
| terrorist | pengganas (means rioter" in Indonesian) | terroris |
| terrorism | pengganasan | terorisme |
| testicles | buah zakar, testis, buah keranjut | testis, biji kemaluan, buah zakar (slang, vulgar), kanjut (slang, vulgar) |
| Thailand | Negara Thai, Siam, Thailand | Thailand, Siam, Muangthai used in old scripts |
| The Hague | The Hague | Den Haag (from Dutch) |
| ticket | tiket | tiket, karcis (from Dutch kaartje) |
| time | masa, waktu | waktu from Arabic al-Wak'tu, masa (can be used for 'at a specific long period of time' in Indonesian) |
| tire (US)/tyre (UK) | tayar | ban (from Dutch [auto]band) |
| tofu | tauhu | tahu |
| toilet | bilik air, tandas | toilet, kamar kecil, WC (pronounced 'we-se') for watercloset |
| tornado | puting beliung | beliung, angin puyuh, tornado puting |
| toothpaste | ubat gigi | pasta gigi, odol |
| towel | tuala (from Portuguese toalha) | handuk (from Dutch handdoek) |
| traffic jam | kesesakan lalulintas, jam (slang) | kemacetan |
| traffic light | lampu isyarat (In Indonesian, isyarat means sign.) | lampu lalu-lintas |
| train | kereta api, tren | kereta (api) |
| transport, transportation | pengangkutan | transportasi, pengangkutan, perhubungan (in case of Ministry of Transportation) |
| transsexual | pondan, bapok (slang), transseksual | transseksual, waria (polite) a shortened form of wanita-pria , bencong, banci |
| tree | pokok in Indonesian means "principal" or "core" or "staple", in Sundanese poko means authentic, e.g. authentic cuisine, pohon | pohon |
| try | cuba | coba |
| turkey (bird) | ayam belanda | (ayam) kalkun (from Dutch kalkoen) |
| turn | pusing (means 'to spin' in Indonesian, commonly used to mean dizzy as a short form of kepala pusing), belok | belok, putar |
| ugly | hodoh, teruk, buruk | jelek, buruk |
| Ukraine | Ukraine | Ukraina |
| uncle | pakcik | paman, oom, om (derived from Dutch, pronounced and sometimes spelt as oom) |
| union | kesatuan (in Indonesian means "unitary") | persatuan, uni, serikat |
| United Arab Emirates | Emiriah Arab Bersatu | Uni Emirat Arab |
| United Kingdom | United Kingdom | Inggris Raya |
| United Nations | Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu | Perserikatan Bangsa-Bangsa |
| United States of America (USA) United States (US) | Amerika Syarikat | Amerika Serikat (AS) |
| university | universiti | universitas, universiteit (obsolete, from Dutch) |
| until | sehingga (mean thus in Indonesian), sampai | hingga, sampai |
| vagina | faraj (from Arabic, in Indonesian means "vulva"), pepek/pepet (slang) | alat kelamin wanita, liang peranakan, vagina, farji, memek (slang, vulgar), pepek (slang, vulgar) |
| variable (mathematics) | pemboleh ubah | variabel, peubah |
| Vatican City | Vatican City | (Kota) Vatikan |
| Venice | Venice | Venesia (influenced by Dutch Venetië ) |
| verb | kata kerja | kata kerja (influenced by Dutch werkwoord, literally "work word"), verba |
| verification | pengesahan (mean "validation" in Indonesian) | verifikasi |
| very | sangat, amat, sekali | sangat, amat, sekali, banget (from Javanese ngoko) |
| vice (deputy) | naib | wakil, naib (less common) |
| victim | mangsa in Indonesian means "prey" | korban |
| Vienna | Vienna | Wina (influenced by Dutch Wenen) |
| violet (colour) | lembayung | violet, ungu, lembayung (rarely used) |
| virgin | (anak) dara, (anak) gadis, perawan | perawan (formal), gadis, (anak) dara |
| viscosity | kelikatan | viskositas, kekentalan |
| visit | lawatan, pelancongan | wisata, kunjungan, pelancongan, lawatan (to foreign country, sick person or dead person) |
| volleyball | bola tampar | bola voli |
| volume (math) | isi padu | volume, ruang, isi |
| voucher | baucer | voucher |
| want | mahu | mau, ingin |
| warden | warden, penjaga penjara | sipir (penjara) (from Dutch cipier) |
| Warsaw | Warsaw | Warsawa |
| website | laman web | situs web, laman web |
| weekend | hujung minggu | akhir pekan, akhir minggu |
| well (water hole) | perigi | sumur, perigi (rarely used) |
| wheelchair | kerusi roda | kursi roda |
| when | bila, apabila, ketika, bilamana (rarely used) | kapan, bilamana, (question word) bila, ketika |
| window | tingkap, jendela | jendela (from Portuguese janela), tingkap (less common) |
| windscreen, windshield | cermin kereta | kaca depan (mobil) |
| wire | dawai, wayar | kawat (e.g. copper wire), kabel (e.g. electrical wire, cable) |
| you | anda (very formal), awak, kamu, engkau, kau | anda (everyday formal), kamu (familiar only), engkau ('kau) (prose), elu/loe (very vulgar Betawi slang, influenced by Chinese dialect leu) |
| zero | sifar | nol from Dutch nul |
| zipper (fastener) | zip | resleting from Dutch ritssluiting |
| zone | zon | daerah, zona |
| zoo | zoo, taman haiwan (kebun binatang was also frequently used in Malaysia before the mid-1960s) | kebun binatang (derived from Dutch dierentuin, literally "animal garden"), taman margasatwa (more formal form for zoological park) |
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) (from Arabo-Persian "ahli" اهلی 'belonging to a group, people, indigenous or sim.'), expert in a field (from Arabo-Persian "'aqli" عقلی 'belonging to the intellect or mind, intellectual') | expert in a field |
| akta (from Latino-Dutch acta) | act (= law) | act (= written legal document) |
| awak | you (casual) | me / I (only used in some regions in Sumatra Island), crew (of transportation) |
| baja | fertilizer | steel Malay: besi waja |
| banci | census(Indonesian: sensus) | effeminate, transvestite homosexual (negative connotation) |
| bandar | city | port |
| bapa | father (male parent) | specific to 'Father' (God) in religious context (Christianity) our Father which art in Heaven = Bapa kami yang di surga Father in Indonesian is bapak (with an additional 'k' letter') |
| belanja | to treat, giving something for free | to shop (note: also carries this meaning in Malay, though in a context more akin to "spend".) |
| berbagi | to give | to share (something) |
| berbual | to chat | to tell a lie |
| bercinta | in (the essence of) love | make love, have sexual intercourse |
| beredar | From the root word "edar" which can means; to oscillate (planets only), to leave, or to distribute | oscillate, distributed |
| biji | seed | seed, testicles ("balls", offensive) |
| bila | when | if, when (older version, almost obsolete) |
| bina | to build | to develop |
| bisa | venom | can/able (same as "boleh" in Malay), venom |
| bontot/buntut | buttock | tail ('ekor' as commonly used in Malay, sometimes in Indonesia) |
| budak | kid | slave |
| butoh/butuh | male genitals, an offensive reference | need |
| cadangan | suggestion, opinion, proposal (example: peti cadangan = suggestion box) | reserve, spare (example: ban cadangan = spare tire) |
| comel | cute, pretty | (to call) someone who can not keep a secret (example: mulutnya comel= her mouth can't keep a secret) |
| daripada | A preposition that carries 5 meanings; 1. from (to explain the origin of something) 2.than (to do comparison) 3.from (to protect from, to avoid from ) 4. from (to state the sender of something) 5. from (to state the differences) | than (comparison)(example: Kamus ini lebih baik daripada yang itu= This dictionary is better than that one) |
| doktor | doctor (medical); doctorate (educational title) | doctorate (educational title) In Indonesian, the equivalent for medical doctor is dokter |
| duduk | to sit, a place to live on (only used informally) | to sit |
| electronic mail (recently changed to "emel") | enamel | |
| gampang | bastard from 'anak gampang' lit. easy child | easy (non-negative meaning) |
| getah | rubber, plant sap | plant sap |
| hemat | moral excellence | frugal, pennywise, save money or something e.g. electricity, gas or water usage |
| jabatan | department | position |
| jawatan | position | department |
| jemput | invite, pick up | pick up |
| jeruk | pickles/preserved fruits or vegetables | orange (fruit) |
| jimat | frugal, pennywise, save money or something e.g. electricity | amulet (the Malay equivalent is azimat) |
| kacak | handsome | ber-kacak pinggang (stands with hands on your hips) The Malay equivalent is bercekak-pinggang, a phrase to mean that a person is being bossy |
| kadar | rate | content, level |
| kakak | elder sister | elder sibling (either elder brother or sister) |
| kakitangan | employee | subordinate (with negative meaning) |
| kapan | or kafan: Muslim burial shroud (kain kafan/kapan) | when (kapan mau pulang?= when do you want to go home?) |
| 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) | kingdom |
| keranjang | 'bola keranjang' = basketball (no other use than for basketball) | basket |
| kereta | car | vehicle, carriage, cart (kereta api = train, kereta kuda = horse carriage/cart, kereta gantung = cable car) |
| kesal | regret (Indonesian equivalent is sesal) | annoyed |
| khidmat | service (Indonesian equivalent is layanan) | fully concentrate |
| koneksi | 'konek' = dick (slang/vulgar) (sambungan = connection in Malay) | connection |
| konfeksi | A soft solid made by incorporating a medicinal substance or substances with sugar, sirup, or honey | clothing industry, any fancy or luxurious women's clothes (Dutch: confectie. A non-standard spelling sometimes used is: "konveksi") |
| lucu | funny | funny, cute (slang) |
| mangsa | victim | prey for animal |
| mengacau | to disturb, to stir Indonesian: mengaduk | to disturb |
| operasi | mathematic operational symbol, tactical operation | mathematic operational symbol, police operation, operation/surgery (as in Dutch) |
| pajak | to mortgage, pawn | tax |
| paket | packet | packet, package (normally used for promotion purposes, as in Dutch) |
| pantas | speedily | appropriate, 'no wonder' |
| pantat | buttock (Sabahan Malay meaning), vagina/pussy (slang/vulgar) | buttock |
| pelan | plan (associated with architectural work, site map etc. only) | slow (perlahan in Malay) |
| penyelenggaraan | maintenance | to organize, organizing |
| pejabat | office | high-rank officer/officials (those who hold office, Malay (pegawai)) |
| pembangkang | opposition | rebel (noun), insurgent |
| pemerintah | ruler | government |
| pengajian | studies | mass recitation of Qur'an, (Islamic) teaching |
| penganjur | organizer | promotor |
| percuma | free of charge percuma can also mean free of charge in Indonesian, but its usage has become obsolete, replaced by cuma-cuma/gratis (taken from Dutch: gratis=free) | useless, not needed |
| piawai | standard; correct bahasa piawai = standard language | expert; skillful (on something) |
| pijat | bugs (software bugs i.e. Year 2000 bug and also commonly referring to the bed bugs) | massage Javanese pijet |
| pohon | tree, to plea or to beg (from basic word: "mohon") | tree |
| pokok | tree | essential, basic, main kebutuhan pokok = essential necessities |
| polis | police | (insurance) policy (as in Dutch) |
| polisi | policy | police (as in Dutch) |
| punggung | buttock | back |
| pupuk | to nurture | fertilizer (also means 'to nurture' in the metaphorical sense of the word) |
| pusing | to go around a place, circular in motion, to spin/rotate Indonesian: putar | dizzy, confused, headache |
| putera | prince Indonesian: Pangeran | son |
| rambut | hair (for head only) | hair |
| rayuan | appeal (neutral) | flattery, seduction (emotional or sexual connotation) |
| tambang | fare | mine, rope (as tali tambang) |
| tandas | toilet | to explain, to finish |
| sederhana | medium, normal | simple, easy |
| senang | easy | happy, relax |
| seronok | good, enjoyable | impolite, pornography-related gambar seronok = porn picture |
| sulit | confidential, difficult | difficult |
| wakil | representative | vice (for example, 'vice chancellor' and 'vice president'), representative |
The influence of English
One of the most important aspect in differences between Indonesian and Malay is the degree of influence from English. Apart from being heavily influenced by the Dutch language, Indonesian language also adopted a significant number of English loan words in its vocabulary, although English didn't play significant role on the Indonesian language and in fact most of these vocabulary are of Dutch origin (note that Dutch and English shared similar Germanic origin). There have been many changes in Indonesian language as a result of its historical development. Words have been freely borrowed from English and only partly assimilated, in many cases, to the Indonesian patterns of structure.[9] By the late 1970s, English words pouring into the language, leading one commentator, writing in 1977, to refer to the "trend towards Indo-Saxonisation".[10] A great many borrowings from English sometimes fulfill no communicative need, expressing concepts adequately covered by existing words. Among the examples are: akurat instead of tepat (accurate), aliansi in the place of sekutu (alliance), eksis rather than ada (exist), kandidat as well as calon (candidate), konklusi instead of kesimpulan (conclusion) kontaminasi in the place of pencemaran (contamination), opini rather than pendapat (opinion) and opsi in the place of pilihan (option). Contrary to their Indonesian countrepart, Malaysian Malay has shown a remarkable resilience, despite being the former colony of British empire.[11]
Some in Indonesia view this trend of excessive borrowings as "language dynamism", while some Malay linguists called it mass "language pollution",[12] and lack of creativity in creating new terms.
These days a widespread use of English in the Indonesian and Malay twittersphere can be observed. Basolectal and mesolectal English usage couched within Malay, and other local language are common. Twitter has, as an example, become extremely widely used by all sections of society and the next twenty years should see a lot of language-rub from which we could expect to see more Anglicisims move into acrolectical or printed Indonesian and Malay.
Example
The original text in Indonesian:
- [13] Apabila peraturan pakta stabilitas Eropa dihormati sampai ke detailnya, rasio utang publik dibanding produk domestik bruto pada hari krisis akan berada di posisi 10 persentase poin kurang dalam zona euro, katanya.
The same text rendered in Malay:
- Apabila peraturan pakatan kestabilan Eropah dihormati secara terperinci, nisbah hutang awam berbanding keluaran dalam negara kasar pada zaman krisis akan berada di kedudukan 10 mata peratusan kurang dalam zon euro, kata beliau.
English translation:
- If the European stability pact rules had been respected in detail, the ratio of public debt to gross domestic product on the days of crisis would have been at the position 10 percentage points less in the eurozone, he said.
Convergence of vocabulary
The rift of evolution between the two languages is based more on political nuance and the history of their formation than on cultural reasons. As a result, views regarding each other's languages differ among Malaysians and Indonesians. In Malaysia, the national language is Malay; in Indonesia, it is Indonesian. Malaysians tend to assert that Malay and Indonesian are merely different varieties of the same language, while Indonesians tend to treat them as separate – albeit related – languages. The result of this attitude is that the Indonesians feel little need to synchronize their language with Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, whereas the Malaysians are keener to coordinate the evolution of the language with the Indonesians.[14] However, both parties have realized that communication benefits from mutually comprehensible and intelligible languages, which motivated efforts to synchronize the languages' development. The effort to synchronize both languages' evolution to increase their mutual intelligibility has been embarked by imposing standard rules of language. This process is headed by Pusat Bahasa[15] on the Indonesian side and Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka as its Malaysian counterpart.
Sample
The following texts are excerpts from the official translations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Malay and Indonesian, along with the original declaration in English.
- Malaysian text sample:[16]
- Maka dengan ini,
- Perhimpunan Agung mengisytiharkan
- PERISYTIHARAN SEJAGAT HAK ASASI MANUSIA ini sebagai suatu ukuran bersama terhadap pencapaian oleh seluruh umat manusia dan kesemua negara dengan tujuan supaya setiap individu dan setiap badan masyarakat, dengan senantiasa mengingati Perisytiharan ini, hendaklah berazam melalui pengajaran dan pendidikan bagi memajukan sanjungan terhadap seluruh hak-hak dan kebebasan ini dan secara langkah-langkah berperingkat-peringkat, di bidang negara dan antarabangsa, bagi menjaminkan pengkitirafan dan pematuhan sejagatnya yang berkesan, kedua-duanya di antara negara-negara anggota masing-masing dan rakyat wilayah-wilayah di bawah bidangkuasa mereka.
- Perkara 1.
- Semua manusia dilahirkan bebas dan samarata dari segi kemuliaan dan hak-hak. Mereka mempunyai pemikiran dan perasaan hati dan hendaklah bertindak di antara satu sama lain dengan semangat persaudaraan.
- Perkara 1.
- Indonesian text sample:[17]
- Maka,
- Majelis Umum memproklamasikan
- PERNYATAAN UMUM TENTANG HAK ASASI MANUSIA sebagai satu standar umum keberhasilan untuk semua bangsa dan negara, dengan tujuan agar setiap orang dan setiap badan dalam masyarakat dengan senantiasa mengingat Pernyataan ini, akan berusaha dengan jalan mengajar dan mendidik untuk menggalakkan penghargaan terhadap hak-hak dan kebebasan-kebebasan tersebut, dan dengan jalan tindakan-tindakan progresif yang bersifat nasional maupun internasional, menjamin pengakuan dan penghormatannya secara universal dan efektif, baik oleh bangsa-bangsa dari negara anggota sendiri maupun oleh bangsa-bangsa dari daerah-daerah yang berada di bawah kekuasaan hukum mereka.
- Pasal 1
- Semua orang dilahirkan merdeka dan mempunyai martabat dan hak yang sama. Mereka dikaruniai akal dan hati nurani dan hendaknya bergaul sesama lain dalam semangat persaudaraan.
- Pasal 1
- The original English version of the text:[18]
- Now, therefore,
- the General Assembly proclaims
- this UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.
- Article 1
- All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
- Article 1
References
- ↑ Hafriza Burhanudeen, Nor Zakiah Abdul Hamid, Norsimah Mat Awal & Mohd
Azlan Mis. "The Reality of Bahasa Melayu and Bahasa Indonesia in Academia" (PDF). Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia. The International Journal of Language Society and Culture. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2012. line feed character in
|author=at position 70 (help) - ↑ Fairy Mahzan. "The Wonderful World of Subtitling". MyIndo.com. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
- ↑ Bahasa Melayu becomes Bahasa Malaysia again, Lim Kit Siang, 6 June 2007
- ↑ Perambahan: A unique feature of Brunei Malay, Brunei Times, 4 August 2010
- ↑ Spelling and Society: The Culture and Politics of Orthography Around the World, Mark Sebba, Cambridge University Press, 2007
- ↑ The Indonesian Language: Its History and Role in Modern Society, James N. Sneddon, UNSW Press, 2003
- ↑ Istri Djoko Disebut Beli Rumah Rp 7,1 Miliar, Kompas, 14 June 2013
- ↑ 58 IBO berpotensi jana RM1.9b, Utusan Melayu, 6 June 2013
- ↑ Roderick Ross Macdonald (1976). Indonesian reference grammar. Georgetown, USA: Georgetown University Press. p. 2. ISBN 9780878401635.
- ↑ James Sneddon (2003). The Indonesian Language: Its History and Role in Modern Society. University of New South Wales Press. p. 174. ISBN 978-0868405988.
- ↑ Seong Chee Tham (1991). A Study of the Evolution of the Malay Language: Social Change and Cognitive Development. Singapore: Singapore University Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-9971691363.
- ↑ "Bahasa Melayu dan Bahasa Indonesia" (PDF). Berita Harian. 19 March 2008. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
- ↑ Antara News – Draghi: Krisis Zona Euro Berisiko "Sistemik"
- ↑ Who is Malay?, July 2005
- ↑ due to several reorganization in current cabinet, the Indonesian Language Regulator is Badan Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa, Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Republik Indonesia
- ↑ From
- ↑ From
- ↑ From
External links
- The Malay Spelling Reform, Asmah Haji Omar, (Journal of the Simplified Spelling Society, 1989-2 pp. 9–13 later designated J11)
- The MALAY LANGUAGE in MALAYSIA and INDONESIA: from lingua franca to national language Asmah Haji Omar article in The Asianists' ASIA
- Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia. 2008. Pusat Bahasa, Departemen Pendidikan Nasional
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