makan angin
Literally to eat wind
Means to go out for fresh air, take a relaxing walk or a short trip/vacation
Example Setiap petang Ahad, kami suka makan angin di tepi pantai.
An idiom is a phrase you cannot translate word for word. Here are 15 of the most common Malay idioms, each with its literal translation, real meaning, and an example sentence, so you know what natives actually mean.
Common Malay idioms are everyday expressions whose meaning cannot be guessed from the individual words. For example, makan angin literally means "to eat wind" but is used to mean to go out for fresh air, take a relaxing walk or a short trip/vacation. This free tool lists 15 real Malay idioms, each with its literal translation, meaning, and an example sentence.
All 15 Malay idioms, with meanings and examples.
Guess the meaning, then tap a card to check.
Idiom list verified as of July 2026.
makan angin
Literally to eat wind
Means to go out for fresh air, take a relaxing walk or a short trip/vacation
Example Setiap petang Ahad, kami suka makan angin di tepi pantai.
buah tangan
Literally fruit of the hand
Means a souvenir or small gift brought back from a trip
Example Jangan lupa bawa buah tangan untuk emak apabila kamu pulang dari Langkawi.
kaki ayam
Literally chicken foot
Means barefoot
Example Anak-anak kampung itu berlari kaki ayam di padang selepas hujan turun.
makan hati
Literally to eat liver
Means to feel deeply hurt, resentful or heartbroken because of someone's words or actions
Example Dia makan hati apabila dikritik di hadapan semua rakan sekerja.
panjang tangan
Literally long hand
Means light fingered, prone to stealing
Example Kedai itu memasang kamera keselamatan kerana ada pekerja yang panjang tangan.
buah mulut
Literally fruit of the mouth
Means the talk of the town, the subject everyone is gossiping about
Example Kisah perceraian pasangan artis itu menjadi buah mulut orang ramai minggu ini.
makan garam
Literally to eat salt
Means to have a great deal of life experience
Example Dengarlah nasihatnya, dia sudah lama makan garam dalam perniagaan ini.
cari makan
Literally to look for food
Means to earn a living
Example Ramai penduduk kampung merantau ke bandar untuk cari makan.
tebal muka
Literally thick face
Means shameless, thick skinned
Example Memang tebal muka lelaki itu, sudah ditegur berkali-kali masih buat perangai sama.
kepala angin
Literally wind head
Means fickle, moody, having an unpredictable temperament
Example Susah nak agak perangainya, memang kepala angin orangnya, kejap baik kejap marah.
naik angin
Literally wind rises
Means to get angry
Example Ayah terus naik angin apabila melihat bilik anak-anak yang berselerak itu.
kepala batu
Literally stone head
Means stubborn, hardheaded
Example Memang kepala batu anak itu, sudah dinasihati berkali-kali masih degil.
mata duitan
Literally money eyes
Means materialistic, obsessed with money
Example Jangan berkahwin dengan lelaki yang mata duitan, nanti kau sendiri yang menderita.
otak udang
Literally shrimp brain
Means stupid, foolish
Example Jangan kata orang otak udang hanya kerana dia buat satu kesilapan kecil.
cuci mata
Literally to wash the eyes
Means to feast one's eyes on something pleasant, such as nice scenery or attractive people; to window shop
Example Kami pergi ke pusat membeli-belah hujung minggu ini sekadar untuk cuci mata.
Idioms stick when you see them in context, not on a list. Lingo7 lets you read real Malay books with sentence-aligned translation and native-narrated audio, so you meet idioms in the wild and tap any line you do not get. Save them and review later. Free to start.
An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is fixed by convention, not built from its words. That is why a word-for-word translation fails: Makan angin comes out as "to eat wind", which makes no sense until you know it means to go out for fresh air, take a relaxing walk or a short trip/vacation.
Learn a few at a time, not a whole list. Pick the ones you keep running into, say them out loud in a real sentence, and you will remember them far longer than by drilling flashcards.
The most reliable way to absorb idioms is to meet them in context, again and again, in things you actually read. Parallel text and audio let you catch an idiom in a real Malay sentence and check what it means without breaking your reading. That is what reading in Lingo7 is built for.
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Some of the most common Malay idioms are makan angin, buah tangan, kaki ayam, makan hati. Each one means something you could not guess from the words alone, which is exactly why learners have to meet them in context. This tool lists 15 of them with their meaning and an example sentence.
In Malay, "makan angin" translates literally as "to eat wind", but it actually means to go out for fresh air, take a relaxing walk or a short trip/vacation. You would use it like this: Setiap petang Ahad, kami suka makan angin di tepi pantai.
Idioms are non-compositional: their meaning is fixed by convention, not built from the individual words. Makan angin translates literally as "to eat wind", yet it means to go out for fresh air, take a relaxing walk or a short trip/vacation. Translate word for word and you get nonsense, so idioms have to be learned as whole units.
The fastest way is to meet them in context and reuse them, not to memorize a list. Learn a handful at a time, notice them while reading and listening, and try them in your own sentences. Reading real Malay with tap-to-translate, the way Lingo7 works, turns every page into idiom practice.