makan angin
Literally to eat wind
Means to go out for fresh air or take a short trip for pleasure
Example Setiap petang Ahad, kami suka makan angin di tepi pantai.
Every Sunday afternoon we like to go out for a stroll by the beach.
An idiom is a phrase you cannot translate word for word. Here are the 26 most common Malay idioms, ranked by how often you will actually meet them, each with its literal translation, real meaning, the closest English idiom where one exists, and an example sentence with an English translation, 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 or take a short trip for pleasure. This free page ranks the 26 most common Malay idioms by how often you meet them, each with its literal translation, meaning, the closest English idiom where one exists, and an example sentence with an English translation.
All 26 idioms, most common first.
Guess the meaning, then tap a card to check.
Idiom list verified as of August 2026.
makan angin
Literally to eat wind
Means to go out for fresh air or take a short trip for pleasure
Example Setiap petang Ahad, kami suka makan angin di tepi pantai.
Every Sunday afternoon we like to go out for a stroll by the beach.
cari makan
Literally to look for food
Means to earn a living
English idiom to put food on the table
Example Ramai penduduk kampung merantau ke bandar untuk cari makan.
Many villagers leave for the city to earn a living.
naik angin
Literally the wind rises
Means to lose one's temper
English idiom to blow one's top
Example Ayah terus naik angin apabila melihat bilik anak-anak yang berselerak itu.
Dad blew his top the moment he saw the children's messy room.
buah hati
Literally fruit of the liver
Means someone dearly loved, a sweetheart or a treasured child
English idiom the apple of one's eye
Example Cucu sulung itu memang buah hati nenek.
That eldest grandchild really is grandma's darling.
buah tangan
Literally fruit of the hand
Means a small gift or souvenir brought back from a trip
Example Jangan lupa bawa buah tangan untuk emak apabila kamu pulang dari Langkawi.
Do not forget to bring a souvenir for mum when you come back from Langkawi.
kepala batu
Literally stone head
Means stubborn, refusing to listen to advice
English idiom pig-headed
Example Memang kepala batu anak itu, sudah dinasihati berkali-kali masih degil.
That child really is pig-headed, he has been given advice again and again and is still stubborn.
campur tangan
Literally to mix hands
Means to interfere in something, especially in other people's affairs
Example Jangan campur tangan dalam urusan rumah tangga orang lain.
Do not interfere in other people's family affairs.
Note Also used neutrally in news and official language, as in campur tangan kerajaan, government intervention.
cuci mata
Literally to wash the eyes
Means to enjoy looking at something pleasant, such as scenery, shop windows or good-looking people
English idiom to feast one's eyes
Example Kami pergi ke pusat membeli-belah hujung minggu ini sekadar untuk cuci mata.
We went to the shopping mall this weekend just to window shop.
Note Playful and informal, and when it means looking at attractive people it sounds cheeky, so keep it among friends.
makan hati
Literally to eat the liver
Means to feel deeply hurt or resentful because of what someone said or did
Example Dia makan hati apabila dikritik di hadapan semua rakan sekerja.
She was deeply hurt when she was criticised in front of all her colleagues.
Note In Malay the liver (hati), not the heart, is the seat of feeling, which is why so many idioms are built on it.
kaki ayam
Literally chicken foot
Means barefoot
Example Anak-anak kampung itu berlari kaki ayam di padang selepas hujan turun.
The village children ran barefoot on the field after the rain.
Note Watch the context, because on a menu kaki ayam simply means chicken feet.
besar kepala
Literally big head
Means arrogant and conceited, especially after a bit of success
English idiom big-headed
Example Baru menang satu pertandingan, dia sudah besar kepala.
He has won just one competition and he is already big-headed.
Note Dictionaries give a second sense, stubborn and unwilling to listen, so let the context decide.
cakap besar
Literally to speak big
Means to boast, to promise far more than you can deliver
English idiom to talk big
Example Jangan cakap besar kalau kerja pun belum siap.
Do not talk big when the work is not even finished.
tebal muka
Literally thick face
Means shameless, untroubled by criticism or embarrassment
English idiom thick-skinned
Example Memang tebal muka lelaki itu, sudah ditegur berkali-kali masih buat perangai yang sama.
That man really is shameless, he has been told off many times and still behaves the same way.
kecil hati
Literally small liver
Means to feel hurt or slighted by what someone did
English idiom to take something to heart
Example Dia kecil hati kerana tidak dijemput ke majlis itu.
She felt slighted because she was not invited to the event.
otak udang
Literally shrimp brain
Means slow-witted, unable to think things through
English idiom bird-brained
Example Jangan kata orang otak udang hanya kerana dia buat satu kesilapan kecil.
Do not call someone bird-brained just because he made one small mistake.
Note A real insult, fine as a joke between close friends but rude to anyone else.
mata duitan
Literally money eyes
Means money-minded, valuing people and things only by what they are worth
Example Jangan berkahwin dengan lelaki yang mata duitan, nanti kau sendiri yang menderita.
Do not marry a man who cares only about money, or you will be the one who suffers.
banting tulang
Literally to slam down one's bones
Means to work extremely hard, usually to support a family
English idiom to work one's fingers to the bone
Example Ayah banting tulang siang malam untuk menyekolahkan kami.
Dad worked his fingers to the bone day and night to put us through school.
Note In careful writing it takes the prefix, membanting tulang.
jaga tepi kain orang
Literally to guard the edge of other people's sarong
Means to pry into other people's private affairs
English idiom to poke one's nose into other people's business
Example Sudahlah, jangan jaga tepi kain orang.
That is enough, do not poke your nose into other people's business.
Note Almost always used as a telling off, with jangan (do not) in front of it.
buah mulut
Literally fruit of the mouth
Means the thing everyone is gossiping about
English idiom the talk of the town
Example Kisah perceraian pasangan artis itu menjadi buah mulut orang ramai minggu ini.
The story of that celebrity couple's divorce is the talk of the town this week.
ada udang di sebalik batu
Literally there is a shrimp behind the rock
Means there is a hidden motive behind someone's kindness or words
English idiom to smell a rat
Example Tiba-tiba dia baik sangat dengan kita, mesti ada udang di sebalik batu.
He is suddenly being so nice to us, there must be a hidden motive.
kepala angin
Literally wind head
Means moody and unpredictable, switching mood without warning
Example Susah nak agak perangainya, memang kepala angin orangnya, kejap baik kejap marah.
His temper is hard to predict, he really is a moody sort, friendly one minute and angry the next.
gulung tikar
Literally to roll up the mat
Means to go out of business
English idiom to go bust
Example Kedai runcit itu terpaksa gulung tikar selepas dua tahun beroperasi.
That grocery shop had to close down after two years in business.
panjang tangan
Literally long hand
Means in the habit of stealing
English idiom light-fingered
Example Kedai itu memasang kamera keselamatan kerana ada pekerja yang panjang tangan.
The shop installed security cameras because one of the workers was light-fingered.
makan garam
Literally to eat salt
Means to have a great deal of life experience
English idiom to have been around the block
Example Dengarlah nasihatnya, dia sudah lama makan garam dalam perniagaan ini.
Listen to his advice, he has plenty of experience in this business.
Note Often expanded to sudah banyak makan garam, and said of someone older than you.
kaki botol
Literally bottle foot
Means a heavy drinker
Example Jiran sebelah rumah itu terkenal sebagai kaki botol.
The neighbour next door is known as a heavy drinker.
Note Kaki plus a noun labels a habitual doer (kaki judi is a gambler), and the label is always disapproving.
hangat-hangat tahi ayam
Literally warm, warm chicken droppings
Means keen at the start and then quickly losing interest
English idiom a flash in the pan
Example Azamnya untuk bersenam setiap hari hangat-hangat tahi ayam sahaja.
His resolve to exercise every day was just a flash in the pan.
Note The image is crude, but the phrase is completely ordinary and taught in schools.
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 or take a short trip for pleasure.
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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The most common Malay idioms, ranked by everyday frequency, start with makan angin, cari makan, naik angin, buah hati, buah tangan. Each one means something you could not guess from the words alone, which is exactly why learners have to meet them in context. This page lists 26 of them with meanings and example sentences.
In Malay, "makan angin" translates literally as "to eat wind", but it actually means to go out for fresh air or take a short trip for pleasure. Example: Setiap petang Ahad, kami suka makan angin di tepi pantai. ("Every Sunday afternoon we like to go out for a stroll by the beach.")
The Malay equivalent is "cari makan", literally "to look for food". Example: Ramai penduduk kampung merantau ke bandar untuk cari makan. ("Many villagers leave for the city to earn a living.")
In Malay, an idiom is called simpulan bahasa, and a proverb is peribahasa. Malay calls a short fixed figurative phrase a simpulan bahasa, usually just two words. Peribahasa is the umbrella term for traditional sayings and also covers the longer forms such as pepatah, bidalan and perumpamaan.
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 or take a short trip for pleasure. 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.