List of loanwords in Malay

The Malay language has many loanwords from Sanskrit, Persian, Tamil, Telugu, Greek, Latin, Portuguese, Dutch, certain Chinese dialects and more recently, Arabic (in particular many religious terms) and English (in particular many scientific and technological terms). Modern Malay loanwords are now primarily from English, Arabic and Javanese. English is the language of trade and Arabic is the language of religion (Islam), although key words such as syurga (heaven) and the word "religion" itself (agama) reflect their Sanskrit-Hindu origins. Many Javanese words, including those of Sanskrit origin, are being assimilated into Malay because of the influence of Indonesian.

While based on Malay itself, Indonesian is traditionally more influenced by Javanese, as the Javanese are the largest ethnic group in Indonesia, with Javanese having the largest number of native speakers.

There are some words in Malay which are spelled exactly the same as its other language counterparts, e.g. in English - hospital, format, lesbian, transit etc. In contrast, some Malay words have been loaned into other languages, e.g. in English - rice paddy ("Padi"), Orangutan, rattan, babirusa, cockatoo, compound, gong, tuak, sago, cootie, amok, durian, agar, rambutan, keris, Pantoum/pantun, "so long", angrecum (anggrik), cassowary, gingham, caddy, camphor (kapur), Gutta-percha (getah perca), launch, parang, sarong, dammar, gambir.

The Malay language has also heavily influenced the forms of colloquial English spoken in Malaysia, also known as Manglish.

Some examples as follows:

Word	English translation	From Language	Word
Abjad	alphabet/alefbet	Arabic	abjad
abolisi	abolition	Latin	abolitia
akta	act (law)	Latin	actus
ad interim	temporarily	Latin	ad interim
Ahad	Sunday	Arabic	al-Ahad
Ahli	community, expert	Arabic	ahlil
Agama	religion	Sanskrit	agama/dharma
Aksara	alphabetic letter, key	Sanskrit	akṣara
Almari	cupboard	Portuguese	armário
almamater	revered name for one's university	Latin	almamater: wise and nurturing mother
amnesti	amnesty, state-granted pardon	Latin	amnestia
Anggur	grape	Persian	انگور/angur
Angkasa	outer space, sky (literary)	Sanskrit	ākāśa "sky"
Anugerah	award, blessing	Sanskrit	anugraha अनुग्रह "favour"
apam	kind of cake or Hoppers	Tamil	apam அப்பம்
Askar	soldier	Arabic	عسکر /ash'kar
Asmara	love, passion	Sanskrit	smara
Badam	almond	Persian	بادام/badam
Bahasa	language	Sanskrit, Tamil	bhāṣā, pAsai பாஷை
Bahaya	danger	Sanskrit	bhaya भय "risk, peril"
Baki	remainder, leftover	Arabic	baqiyah بقية
Bakti	homage, devotion, service etc.	Sanskrit	bhakti
Baldi	bucket	Portuguese	balde
Bandar	port/town	Persian	بندر/bandr
Bangku	stool/chairs	Portuguese	banco
Bangsa	nation, race	Sanskrit	vaṃśa वंश "lineage, race" - cf. "wangsa"
Bas	bus	English	From the Latin, "Omnibus"
Barat	west	Sanskrit/Hindi	Bharat, the Hindi name for India, which lies west of the Malay archipelago
Bayu (lit.)	wind	Sanskrit	vàyu वायु
Bendera	flag	Portuguese	bandeira
Bendi	okra/lady's finger	Hindi	bhendi हिन्दी/Tamil vendi வெண்டி
Beta	I (as used by royalty)	the Moluccan dialect[citation needed]
Biara	monastery	Sanskrit	bihara
Bidadari	fairy, angel	Sanskrit	vidyàdharī विद्याधरी "fay, sprite"
Bina	to build	Sanskrit	bhinna different, fresh, new
Bihun	rice vermicelli	Hokkien	mi-hun
Biola	violin	Portuguese	viola
Biskut	biscuit	English
Bomba	fire brigade	Portuguese	bomba, "pump", or bombeiro, "fireman", lit. "pumper"
Boneka	doll	Portuguese	boneca
Bola	ball	Portuguese	bola
Buat	do	Sanskrit	wuat
Budi	reason, virtue	Sanskrit	boddhi, related to buddhism
Buku	book	Dutch	boek
Bumi	earth	Sanskrit	bhūmi "land"
Cadar	bed linen	Persian	chādar چادر "cloak"
Cawan	cup	Mandarin	cháwǎn (茶碗) '“tea bowl”
cendana	sandalwood	Sanskrit	candana चन्दन
Cukup	enough	Mandarin	chu gou 足够
Dacing	scales	Mandarin	tái chèng 台秤
Dakwah	sermon	Arabic	da'wah
Delima	pomegranate, ruby	Sanskrit	dálima दाडिम "pomegranate"
demokrasi	democracy	Greek	demokratia
Dekan	dean	Portuguese	decano
Denda	fine, punishment	Sanskrit	danda दण्ड
Desa	countryside	Sanskrit	deśa देश "country"
Dewan	hall	Persian	دیوان/divan "administration"
Dewi	Goddess	Sanskrit	devi
Dirgahayu	"long live" (Dirgahayu Tuanku! - Long live the King!)	Sanskrit	dirghayu
Duka	sadness	Sanskrit	duhkha
Dunia	world	Arabic	dunyā
Durjana	evil, wicked, malicious	Sanskrit	durjana
Erti (Indonesian variant "arti")	meaning	Sanskrit	arta
Falsafah	philosophy	Arabic (derived from Greek)	falsafah
Fitnah	slander	Arabic	fitnah "upheaval, scandal"
forum	forum	Latin	forum
Gajah	elephant	Sanskrit	gaja गज
Gandum	wheat	Persian	گندم/Gandm
Garaj	garage	English
Garpu	fork	Portuguese	garfo
Gereja	church	Portuguese	igreja
Gratis (mainly in Indonesian usage)	for free	Portuguese (From Latin)
gulai	kind of curry	Tamil	kuzambu குழம்பு
Guru	teacher	Sanskrit	guru
Had	limit	Arabic	hadd
Halal	permitted	Arabic
Haram	forbidden	Arabic
Harta	asset	Sanskrit/Tamil	artta/அர்த்தம்
Hasta	hasta (unit)	Sanskrit	hásta हस्त
Hina	lowly, inferior	Sanskrit	hīnna
Hisab	counting/arithmetic	Arabic	حساب /hisāb
humaniora	humanities	Latin	humaniora
Huruf	word character/letter	Arabic	Hurf
Ilmu	knowledge/science	Arabic	alm/ilmi
Istana	palace	Sanskrit	ásthána आस्थान assembly/audience hall
Jawab	to answer	Arabic	jawāb
Jelata	the masses	Sanskrit	janatá जनता "community"
Jendela	window	Portuguese	janela
Khamis	Thursday	Arabic	al-khamis
Kaca	glass (material)	Sanskrit	kāca काच "glass, lens"
Kamus	dictionary	Arabic	qāmūs
kantata	song	Latin	cantata
kapal	boat	Tamil	kappal கப்பல்
Kaunter	"counter" or "desk"	English
kedai	foodstall	Tamil	kadai கடை
Keju	cheese	Portuguese	queijo
Kelas	class	English	class
Kemeja	shirt	Portuguese	camisa
Kepala	head	Sanskrit	kapāla कपाल "skull"
Kerana (Karena in Indonesian)	because	Sanskrit	karaṇena करणेन
Kereta	carriage, car	Portuguese	carreta
Kismis	raisin	Persian	کشمش/kishmish
Kolam	Pool of water	Tamil	kulam குளம்
Kompromi	Compromise	The pronunciation (lack of the "s" phoneme) suggests that this was borrowed from French (perhaps via Dutch)	compromis
Komputer	computer	English
Koma-koma	saffron	Sanskrit	kuṅkuma कुङ्कुम
Kongsi	share	Hokkien	kong-si 公司
Korban	sacrifice	Arabic	Qur-ban
Kota	fort	Tamil	Kottai கோட்டை
kredo	creed	Latin	credo
Kucai	chives	Hokkien	gu-chai 韭菜
Kuda	horse	Sanskrit	kudda
Kuih	cake	Hokkien	goe 粿
kualitas	quality	Latin	kualitas, through Dutch: kualiteit
Kurma	date	Persian	خرما/Khurma
Limau	lemon/orange	Portuguese	limão "lemon"
Lobak	carrot	Cantonese	lubba 蘿蔔
Longkang	drain	Hokkien	longkang 流失
Maaf	sorry	Arabic	Maff
Maha	great	Sanskrit	maha
Makmal	laboratory	Arabic
Mangga	mango	Tamil	mangkai மாங்காய்
Mani	Sperm, semen	Sanskrit	maṇi मणि "bead, jewel, gem"
Manusia	human being	Sanskrit	manuṣyá मनुष्य
Masjid	mosque	Arabic	masjd
Mentega	butter	Portuguese	manteiga
Mee/mi	noodles	Hokkien	mi
Meja	table	Portuguese	mesa
Melati	jasmine (jasminum grandiflorum)	Sanskrit	mālatī मालती
Merana	suffering, wasting away	Sanskrit	māraṇa मारण "death"
Merdeka	rich, prosperous and powerful	Sanskrit	Maharddhika
Merdu	melodious, tuneful	Sanskrit	mṛdu मृदु "soft"
Mesej	message	English	message
Minggu	week	Portuguese	domingo (Domingo means Sunday, "Dom" meaning "Lord" in Latin)
Miskin	poor	Arabic	miskeen
misi	mission	Latin	misi
mitos	myth	Greek	mythos
Muflis	bankrupt	Arabic	mufls
Mula	to start, to begin	Sanskrit	mūla मूल origin
Munafik	hypocrite	Arabic	munafq
Mustahil	impossible	Arabic	Arabic مستحيل (mustaHiil).
Muzium	museum	English (Derived from Greek, the "um" suffix is Latin)
Nadi	pulse, lifeline	Sanskrit	nāḍī नाडी "artery"
Najis	excrement	Arabic	njis
Nama	name	Sanskrit	naam
Negara	country	Sanskrit	nagara नगर "city"
Neraka	hell	Sanskrit	naraka
nihil	nil, nothing, zero	Latin	nihil
nota bene	actually, after look carefully, also	Latin	nota bene: examine closely
Nujum	astrologer	Arabic	al-njum
Nila	indigo dye	Sanskrit	nīla नील "blue"
Nilam	sapphire	Sanskrit	nīla नील "blue"
Nobat	royal ensemble music	Sanskrit	compound nau-, nav(a)- "nine" + bah "combination" = "combination of nine (musical instruments)"
Nusantara	archipelago (esp. the Malay Archipelago)	Javanese
oknum	authority figure (police, soldier, prosecutor, judge) that perform unlawful or corrupted deed	Latin	ocnum: name personal
Paderi	priest (Christian)	Portuguese	padre
Pahala	divine reward	Sanskrit	phala
Pahlawan	hero/warrior	Persian	پ‍ﮩ‍لوان /bahlwān
Pancaragam	musical band	Sanskrit	pañca पञ्च "five" + rāga राग "melody/tune/musical note"
Pau	steamed bun	Chinese	bao 包(another plausible source may be Portuguese pão)
Perkasa	mighty	Sanskrit	prakáśa प्रकाश "enlightened"
Perpustakaan	library	Sanskrit	base word "pustaka" is the Sanskrit word for "book"
Pesta	party	Portuguese	festa
Pasar	market, bazaar	Persian	bāzār بازار
Peta	map	Telugu/Tamil	Paṭaṁ (పటం)(படம்)
Perdana menteri	prime minister	Sanskrit	pradhānamantri प्रधानमन्त्रिन्
Pertama	first	Sanskrit	prathama प्रथम
Pertiwi	native soil, motherland	Sanskrit	pṛthivī पृथिवी/pṛthvī पृथ्वी "Prithvi", mother goddess of the earth
Piala	cup (in the sense of a trophy)	Persian	piyāla (پیاله)
Pita	tape	Portuguese	fita
Puasa	fasting	Sanskrit	upavasa
Puja	idolize, worship	Sanskrit	pūjā पूजा
Pura	Hindu temple, city	Sanskrit	pura city/walled enclosure
Punya	possessive verb	Sanskrit	punya पुण्य merit, deserving
Purnama	(of the moon) full	Sanskrit	root pūrṇa पूर्ण - cf. "sempurna"
Putera	prince	Sanskrit	putra "royal son"
Purba	ancient	Sanskrit	purva/poorv meaning past
Rahsia	secret	Sanskrit	rahasya रहस्य "mysterious"
Raja	king	Sanskrit	rādja
Raksasa	monster	Sanskrit	rākṣasa राक्षस demon
Rasa	taste	Sanskrit	rasa रस
Ratna	jewel, gemstone	Sanskrit	ratna रत्न
Renda	lace	Portuguese	renda
Risiko	risk	Dutch	risico
Roda	wheel	Portuguese, from the Latin "Rota"	roda
Ronda	verb, to patrol	Portuguese	verb, rondar or noun, ronda
Rokok	cigarette	Dutch	roken "to smoke"
Roti	bread	Sanskrit	rutti
Rupa	shape, form, appearance	Sanskrit	rūpa रूप
Sabda(of Muslim prophets)	quote, say	Sanskrit	śabda शब्द "word"
Sabun	soap	Arabic	sàbuun
Sahaja	casual, relaxed (e.g. duduk bersahaja "seated casually")	Sanskrit	sahaja सहज "natural"
Sains	science	English
Sama	same	Sanskrit/Tamil	samma/samam சமம்
Samseng	gangster	Hokkien	saⁿ-seng 三牲
Salji	snow	Arabic	thalji
Sekolah	school	Portuguese	escola
Seks	sex	English, from Greek
Selamat	safe, well-being	Arabic	salamat, used for greeting phrases as 'selamat pagi', etc.
Sempurna	perfect, complete	Sanskrit	sampūrṇa संपूर्ण complete(d) - cf. "purnama"
sengsara	Suffering	Sanskrit	samsara
Sepanduk	banner	Dutch	spandoek
Sepatu	shoe	Portuguese	sapato
Serigala	wolf	Sanskrit	śṛgāla शृगाल "jackal"
Seteru	adversary, enemy	Sanskrit	śatru शत्रु
Singa	lion	Tamil	singam சிங்கம்
Sejarah	history	Arabic	syajarah/tawarih
Soldadu (obsolete)	soldier	Portuguese	soldado
stadion	stadium	Greek	stadion (after the running race in the Ancient Olympics)
status	status	Latin	status
Supir (dialectal/Indonesian)	driver	French	chauffeur
Syariah	Islamic law	Arabic	shāri`ah
Syukur	thankful	Arabic	shukr
Syurga	heaven	Sanskrit	swargam[1]
Sistem	system	English
Suci	clean, pure	Sanskrit	śuci शुचि clean
Suka	happiness	Sanskrit	sukha
Sula	to impale	Sanskrit	śūla शूल stake, spear, pike
Syor	recommendation	Mandarin	shuo
Suria	sun	Sanskrit	surya
Takhta	throne	Persian	takht تخت
Tali	string	Sanskrit	talli
Tangki	tank	Portuguese	tanque
Taugeh	beansprouts	Hokkien	tao-geh
Tauhu	beancurd	Hokkien	tao-hu
Tarikh	date	Arabic	at-tārih
Teh O	black tea	Hokkien	tê-o 茶烏
Teja (archaic)	magnificence, splendor, radiance	Sanskrit	tejas तेजस्
Teksi	taxi	English
Teko	teapot	Hokkien	te-ko
Televisyen	television	English, from Greek
Tembaga	copper	possibly Sanskrit or Spanish	tāmra ताम्र (Sanskrit) or tumbaga (Spanish). The Spanish word rather refers to a copper-gold alloy.
Tempoh	period	Portuguese	tempo time, from the Latin "Tempus"
Topi	hat	Sanskrit	tuppi
Tuala	towel	Portuguese	toalha
Tukar	to exchange	Portuguese	trocar
universitas	university	Latin	universitas
Unta	camel	Sanskrit	ushtra
Utama	main	Sanskrit	uttama उत्तम "principal" (adj.)
Utara	north	Sanskrit	uttar(a)
Waktu	time	Arabic	waqt
Wangsa	dynasty	Sanskrit	vaṃśa वंश "lineage, race" - cf. "bangsa"
Wanita	women	Tamil/Telugu	vanithai(Vanita in Telugu, also thought of came from Spanish word Juanita means women)
Warna	colour	Sanskrit	varna
Warta	news	Sanskrit	vārttā वार्त्ता
Zirafah	giraffe	Arabic	zarafh

See also

• List of words of Malay origin at Wiktionary.

Further reading

• Loan Words in Indonesian and Malay languages - Professor J.G. de Casparis
• Loan Words in Indonesian and Malay — University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-90-6718-304-8