Essential Malay travel phrases

Pack the words that matter. These are the 34 Malay phrases that actually come up on a trip, from your first Apa khabar? to calling for help, grouped by situation and written with a simple pronunciation guide, and read aloud at the tap of a button. Chosen the way a Malay speaker would choose them, which is why the list ends with the phrases you only hear once you are there.

Quick answer

The most useful Malay travel phrases cover greetings, politeness, directions, food, and emergencies. Learn a handful first: Apa khabar? (hello), Tumpang tanya (excuse me), Terima kasih (thank you), and Tandas di mana? (where is the toilet?). This free tool groups 34 Malay phrases by situation, each with a plain-English pronunciation and a play button that reads it aloud. They are the phrases Malay speakers really use, not an English list translated into Malay, so the last block is the one a phrasebook never has: what locals say to each other.

Start here

The first 10 Malay phrases to learn

The ones you need on day one. Tap play, say the phrase back until it sounds close, then say it along with the voice: that is shadowing, the drill interpreters train with.

1 Apa khabar? Hello AH-pah KAH-bar The greeting at any hour, literally what news. Answered with Khabar baik
2 Selamat pagi Good morning suh-LAH-mat PAH-gee The morning greeting until about noon; Malaysians greet by the clock
3 Selamat petang Good afternoon suh-LAH-mat puh-TAHNG From about one until dark, which is around seven all year
4 Selamat malam Good night suh-LAH-mat MAH-lam Mostly said when parting after dark, not as an evening hello
5 Jumpa lagi See you again JOOM-pah LAH-gee The everyday goodbye; Selamat tinggal is said by the one leaving and sounds final
6 Terima kasih Thank you tuh-REE-mah KAH-seh Answered with Sama-sama
7 Ya / Tidak Yes / No YAH, TEE-dah The final k of tidak is swallowed; in speech you mostly hear tak
8 Maaf Sorry, or excuse me mah-AHF Apologises and gets attention; works in a crowd and in a shop
9 Tak apa It's fine, never mind tahk AH-pah The reply to Maaf, and the answer to almost any small trouble
10 Saya tak faham I don't understand SAH-yah tahk FAH-hahm

Show

All 34 phrases, grouped by situation.

Greetings

Apa khabar? Hello AH-pah KAH-bar The greeting at any hour, literally what news. Answered with Khabar baik

Selamat pagi Good morning suh-LAH-mat PAH-gee The morning greeting until about noon; Malaysians greet by the clock

Selamat petang Good afternoon suh-LAH-mat puh-TAHNG From about one until dark, which is around seven all year

Selamat malam Good night suh-LAH-mat MAH-lam Mostly said when parting after dark, not as an evening hello

Jumpa lagi See you again JOOM-pah LAH-gee The everyday goodbye; Selamat tinggal is said by the one leaving and sounds final

Basics

Terima kasih Thank you tuh-REE-mah KAH-seh Answered with Sama-sama

Ya / Tidak Yes / No YAH, TEE-dah The final k of tidak is swallowed; in speech you mostly hear tak

Maaf Sorry, or excuse me mah-AHF Apologises and gets attention; works in a crowd and in a shop

Tak apa It's fine, never mind tahk AH-pah The reply to Maaf, and the answer to almost any small trouble

Saya tak faham I don't understand SAH-yah tahk FAH-hahm

Tumpang tanya Excuse me TOOM-pahng TAH-nyah How you open a question to a stranger before asking the way; to squeeze past someone it is "tumpang lalu"

Getting around

Boleh cakap bahasa Inggeris? Do you speak English? BOH-leh CHAH-kahp bah-HAH-sah ing-guh-REES Common in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, patchy in small towns

Tandas di mana? Where is the toilet? TAHN-dahs dee MAH-nah Tandas is on every sign; out loud people also say "bilik air", and "kat mana" for di mana

Saya nak ke sini I want to go here SAH-yah nahk kuh SEE-nee Say it showing the address on your phone; nak is the spoken form of hendak

Berhenti di sini Stop here buhr-HEN-tee dee SEE-nee

Jauh tak? Is it far? JAH-ooh tahk Tak on the end turns any statement into a question

Eating out

Teh tarik satu One teh tarik TEH TAH-rik SAH-too Mamak order style, the drink then the number; teh tarik is pulled milk tea, the drink of every roadside stall

Tak pedas Not spicy tahk puh-DAHS Say it as you order; sambal comes with almost everything

Bungkus To take away BOONG-koos One word at a stall and your food is wrapped to go

Berapa semua? How much altogether? buh-RAH-pah suh-MOO-ah How you settle up at a stall or kopitiam, where no bill is printed

Sedap Tasty suh-DAHP Say it to whoever cooked; it covers anything from a drink to a feast

Shopping

Berapa harga? How much is this? buh-RAH-pah HAR-gah

Boleh kurang? Can you go lower? BOH-leh KOO-rahng Bargain at markets and night markets, never in a mall or a shop

Mahal sangat Too expensive MAH-hahl SAH-ngat

Saya tengok-tengok dulu I'm just looking SAH-yah tuh-ngok-tuh-NGOK DOO-loo

Emergencies

Tolong! Help! TOH-long The same word starts a request: Tolong panggil polis, please call the police

Panggil polis! Call the police! PAHNG-gil POH-lees

Saya perlukan doktor I need a doctor SAH-yah puhr-LOO-kahn DOK-tor

Saya sesat I'm lost SAH-yah suh-SAHT

Locals say

Sama-sama You're welcome SAH-mah-SAH-mah The set reply to Terima kasih; it means the same back to you

Jom! Let's go! JOHM Come along, let's eat, let's leave. Answer with Jom and you are in

Terima kasih, makcik Thank you, auntie tuh-REE-mah KAH-seh MAHK-chik Makcik and pakcik for clearly older strangers; kak and bang for your own age

Boleh lah Alright then BOH-leh lah Lah softens whatever it lands on; visitors notice it within an hour

Dah makan? Eaten yet? dah MAH-kahn A hello more than a question; answer "Dah", already, or "Belum", not yet, and a belum may get you invited to eat

How to get the most from these phrases

Learn by situation, not alphabetically. Your memory files Apa khabar? next to the moment you would use it, so run through the greetings before you fly, the restaurant block on the way to dinner, and the emergency block once so it is there if you ever need it.

The pronunciation guide is written the way an English speaker would read it aloud, with the stressed syllable in capitals. It is a crutch, not the real sound. Press play, listen once, then say the phrase back: the audio fixes the vowels that plain English spelling cannot capture. Once a phrase feels easy, say it together with the voice, a beat behind, the way interpreters drill: our guide to shadowing explains the sequence.

Phrases get you to the country. What gets you fluent is meeting the same words again and again in context, which is exactly what reading does. Once Tumpang tanya and Terima kasih feel automatic, the next step is a real Malay sentence, then a page, then a book. That is the whole idea behind reading in Lingo7.

Put it into practice

Go past the phrasebook. Learn Malay by reading. A phrasebook gets you through the airport. Reading real Malay books, with a tap for translation and native audio on every sentence, is how the words start to stick. Lingo7 turns a book a level above you into something you can actually read. Free to start.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the most important Malay phrases for travel?

Start with greetings and politeness, then the phrases that solve a real problem: asking directions, ordering, paying, and getting help. On this page that is Apa khabar? (hello), Tumpang tanya (excuse me), Terima kasih (thank you), Tandas di mana? (where is the toilet?), and Tolong! (help!). Learn those few and you can be polite and safe almost anywhere.

What do Malay locals say that a phrasebook leaves out?

A phrasebook translates English, so it gives you the Malay for "hello" and stops. The phrases people there actually trade all day are the ones with no English slot: Sama-sama (you're welcome), Jom! (let's go!), Terima kasih, makcik (thank you, auntie). The "Locals say" block on this page collects 5 of them and says when each one is used, which is usually what turns a correct sentence into a normal one.

What do these Malay phrases sound like?

Tap the play button next to a phrase and you hear it read aloud, so you can copy the sound instead of guessing it from the spelling. The written pronunciation is a crutch for English eyes, the audio is the real thing. Play Apa khabar? and Terima kasih a few times, say them back, and they come out right when it counts.

How do you say hello and thank you in Malay?

In Malay, hello is Apa khabar? (pronounced AH-pah KAH-bar) and thank you is Terima kasih (tuh-REE-mah KAH-seh). Add Tumpang tanya (excuse me) and Jumpa lagi (see you again), and you have the words that carry most short exchanges with a shopkeeper, waiter, or stranger.

How do you ask where the toilet is in Malay?

Ask Tandas di mana? (pronounced TAHN-dahs dee MAH-nah), which means "where is the toilet?" in Malay. If you only catch part of the reply, Saya tak faham (I don't understand) and a smile usually gets it repeated or pointed out. It is one of the few phrases worth memorizing word for word before you go.

Do I need to learn Malay before traveling?

No, but a dozen Malay phrases go a long way. Locals warm up fast when you open with Apa khabar? and Terima kasih instead of English. You do not need grammar or fluency for a trip, just the survival set above. For anything past that, the fastest route to real Malay is reading, which is exactly what Lingo7 is built for.