Comparison of Indonesian and Standard Malay

The differences between Malay (Bahasa Melayu or Bahasa Malaysia) and Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) are slightly greater than those between British English and American English. They are mutually intelligible, but with differences in spelling, pronunciation and vocabulary.

For non native Indonesians and Malays, the languages seem similar, but for native users, the differences are disturbing when used for a deep verbal conversation or during written communication. These differences also affect broadcasting business in relation to foreign language subtitling, for example DVD Movies or TV cable subscriptions. In order to reach out to a wider audience, sometimes both Indonesian and Malaysian subtitles are displayed in a movie side by side with other language subtitles.

Orthography

Before the 20th century, Malay was written in a modified form of the Arabic alphabet known as Jawi. After the 20th century, Malay written with Roman letters, known as Rumi, has 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 Indonesia, the vowel in the English word 'moon' was formerly represented in Indonesian as oe, as in Dutch, and the official spelling of this sound was changed to u in 1947. However, oe was retained in some proper names long after this. Similarly, until 1972, the initial consonant of the English 'chin' was represented in Bahasa Malaysia as ch, whereas in Indonesian, it continued to follow Dutch and used tj. Hence the word for 'grandchild' used to be written as chuchu in Malay and tjoetjoe in Indonesian, 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. Indonesian abandoned the spelling dj (for the consonant at the beginning of the word 'Jakarta') to conform to the j already in use in Malay, while the old Indonesian j for the semivowel at the beginning of the English 'young', was replaced with y as in Malay. Likewise, the velar fricative which occurs in many Arabic loanwords, which used to be written 'ch' in Indonesian, became kh in both languages.

Nevertheless, the old spelling is still encountered in some Indonesian names, such as the name of the first President, Sukarno (written as Soekarno), although the post-1972 spelling is now favoured. Other examples include Achmad and Djojo (pronounced as Akhmad and Joyo respectively).

Although the representations of speech sounds are now largely identical in the Indonesian and Malay varieties, a number of minor spelling differences remain, usually for historical reasons. For instance, the word for 'money' is written as wang in Malay, but uang in Indonesian, while the word for 'cake' is written as kuih in Malay, but kue in Indonesian.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation also tends to be very different, with East Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia speaking a dialect called Bahasa Baku, where the words are pronounced as spelt and enunciation tends to be clipped, staccato and faster than the Malay spoken in the Malay Peninsula, which is spoken at a more languorous pace. Many vowels are pronounced (and were formerly spelt) differently in Peninsular Malaysia: tujuh is pronounced (and was spelt) tujoh, pilih as pileh, etc., and many final a's tend to be pronounced as schwas.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary differences

Indonesian differs from Malay in having words of Javanese and Dutch origin although Indonesian based on Malay in Riau province (Bahasa Melayu Riau). For example, the word for 'post office' in Malay is "pejabat pos" (in Indonesian this means 'post officer'), whereas in Indonesian it is "kantor pos", from the Dutch word for office, kantoor. There are also some Portuguese influences: in Indonesian, Christmas is known as "Natal", whereas Malay uses "Krismas", derived from English. There are also instances where the Malay version derives from English pronunciation while the Indonesian version takes its cue from Latin: compare Malay kualiti, kuantiti, majoriti, minoriti and universiti with Indonesian kualitas, kuantitas, mayoritas, minoritas and universitas.

English	Malay	Indonesian
account (bank,bills)	akaun	rekening (from Dutch)
accountant	akauntan	akuntan
advertisement	iklan (also used in Indonesian)	reklame (from Dutch)
after	selepas	lepas, setelah (also used in Malay to indicate consecutive actions)
afternoon	tengah hari	sore (can also refer to the evening); petang (less frequent)
agent	ejen, agen (in science term)	agen
airport	lapangan terbang (lit. field/expanse + to fly)	bandara (from bandar udara, lit. airport), lapangan terbang (used for air force base)
apartment	pangsapuri, rumah pangsa, rumah kondo (only for 'condominium')	apartemen, rumah susun
archive	arkib	arsip
archbishop	ketua biskop	uskup agung
archdiocese	kawasan kekuasaan ketua biskop	keuskupan agung
assets	aset	aktiva, harta (from Dutch activa), aset also used
auction	lelong	lelang
August	Ogos	Agustus (from Dutch augustus)
auntie	makcik (also used in bahasa Melayu Riau, Indonesia)	tante (from Dutch), bibi
autobiography	autobiografi (also used in Indonesian)	otobiografi
automatic	automatik	otomatis (derived from the Dutch pronuncation of automatisch)
autonomy	autonomi	otonomi
balcony	serambi, beranda,from Bengali, Portuguese or English verandah; (also used in Indonesia but less common)	serambi, balkon, from Portuguese balcão or Dutch balkon
basin	besen	wastafel (from Dutch), baskom - from Dutch waskom
because	kerana, sebab	karena, sebab
bicycle	basikal	sepeda
billion	bilion	miliar, milyar (from Dutch miljard)
bishop	biskop, bisyop	uskup
bonnet, hood (of car)	bonet, bumbung, hud	kap
boot, trunk (of car)	but	kopor (from Dutch koffer)
breast	buah dada, payudara, tetek (slang)	payudara, buah dada (slang), susu (slang), tete (slang),toket (popular slang now)
Britain	Britain	Inggris, Britania
bus	bas	bus (Dutch pronunciation of bus, bis)
bus station	stesen bas	terminal bus
bus stop	perhentian bas	halte bus (from Dutch bushalte)
campaign	kempen	kampanye - (similar to the pronunciation of the Dutch word campagne)
can (to be able)	boleh (used in Indonesia in the sense of "to allow")	bisa, dapat
cancer	kanser, barah	kanker (from Dutch)
car	kereta (means 'train' in Indonesian)	mobil, oto - from Dutch auto
card	kad	kartu (from Dutch kaart)
carrot	lobak merah	wortel (from Dutch)
case	kes	kasus
cash	wang tunai	uang tunai, kas
cashier	juruwang	kasir, - (from Dutch kassier) pemegang kas
census	banci (means "transsexual" or "effeminate" in Indonesian)	sensus
centipede	lipan (also infrequently used in Indonesian)	kelabang
chilli	cili, lada, cabai (used in the northern states of Malaysia)	cabe
China	China (More widely used now), Negara Cina	China (More widely used now), Republik Rakyat Cina/China, Tionghoa (race) or Tiongkok - rarely used/old spelling (country) *note: 'Cina' is sometimes considered as pejorative*
cinema	panggung wayang bergambar (or more popularly when contracted, pawagam), panggung wayang	bioskop (from Dutch bioscoop), sinema (more popular now)
civic	sivik, bersifat kewarganegaraan	bersifat kewarganegaraan
civil	sivil	sipil
club (association)	kelab	perkumpulan, majelis, klub, klab
coat	kot	jas (from Dutch jas)
cockroach	lipas	kecoak (from the Chinese Hokkien dialect ka chua)
college	kolej, maktab	kampus, kolese, perkuliahan (kuliah = lecture)
Commonwealth of Nations	Negara-Negara Komanwel	Negara-Negara Persemakmuran
company	syarikat	perusahaan, firma, maskapai (from Dutch maatschappij)
constitution of country	perlembagaan	undang-undang dasar, konstitusi (from Dutch constitutie
counter	kaunter	loket (from Dutch loket), konter
court	mahkamah	pengadilan
Croatia	Croatia	Kroasia
current (topical)	semasa (also used in Indonesian)	aktual (from Dutch actueel)
current affairs	peristiwa semasa (also used in Indonesian)	aktualitas (from Dutch actualiteit)
curtain	langsir, tirai	hordeng, gordin or gorden (from Dutch gordijn), tirai
customs (department)	kastam	duane (from Dutch douane), bea cukai
Cyprus	Cyprus	Siprus (similar to the Dutch pronunciation)
Czech Republic	Republik Czech	Ceko, Republik Ceko, Ceska, Republik Ceska
dandruff	kelemumur	ketombe
degree (temperature)	darjah	derajat
democratic	demokratik	demokratis (similar to the Dutch pronunciation of democratisch)
department	jabatan	departemen
difference	perbezaan	perbedaan
diocese	kawasan uskup	keuskupan
director	pengarah	direktur (from Dutch directeur), sutradara (film)
directory	buku panduan, direktori	buku petunjuk
discount	diskaun, potongan (harga), rebat	korting (from Dutch), diskon (less frequently used), rabat, potongan
driver	pemandu	supir (from French, through Dutch: chauffeur), sopir (slang), pengemudi (formal)
driving licence	lesen memandu	ribewis (from Dutch rijbewijs) (slang), surat izin mengemudi (SIM) now more widely used
December	Disember	Desember (pronounced: désember, as in Dutch)
duty (tariff)	duti, cukai - also used in Indonesian	bea
Easter	Easter	Paska(h) (from Portuguese Pascoa)
editor	penyunting also used in Indonesian	redaktur (from Dutch redacteur)
effectiveness	keberkesanan	efektivitas, (from Dutch effectiviteit) kemanjuran
eight	lapan (also the Indonesian slang word)	delapan (used in Malaysia before the spelling reform)
electricity	tenaga elektrik (literally "electric energy")	listrik
emergency	kecemasan	darurat (from Arabic; also used in Malaysia to mean a state of emergency)
emperor	maharaja	kaisar (from Dutch keizer)
empire	empayar	kekaisaran
engine	enjin	mesin (from Dutch machine, also used to refer to what translates into machine in English)
extinct	pupus	langka, punah
export	eksport	ekspor
factory	kilang - Indonesian word for mill or factory for processing or refining natural products, i.e. kilang minyak ('oil refinery')	pabrik (from Dutch fabriek)
faction (political)	puak, gabungan	fraksi (from Dutch fractie)
February	Februari	Februari, Pebruari (slang)
federal	persekutuan	federal
federation	persekutuan	federasi (from Dutch federatie)
fermented rice	tapai	tape, tapai (Sumatera variation)
financial	kewangan	keuangan, finansial
Finland	Finland	Finlandia
floor (as in "the 2nd floor")	tingkat (also used in Indonesian)	lantai (means "floor"- ground surface in Malay)
France	Perancis	Prancis or Perancis
football	bola, bola sepak	bola, sepak bola, bola sepak
free of charge	percuma (in Indonesia means "worthless")	gratis (from Dutch), cuma-cuma
general (military)	jeneral	jenderal
golf club (stick)	kayu golf	pemukul golf
government	kerajaan (derived from raja or "king") - Indonesian word for "kingdom"	pemerintah used in Singapore to refer to government. In Malaysia and Brunei understood but less frequently used
governor	gabenor, yang di-pertua negeri/negara (in Malaysian state)	gubernur from Dutch gouverneur
graduate	siswazah, sarjana	sarjana
head office	ibu pejabat (in Indonesia means "female officer" or "mother of an officer")	kantor pusat (from Dutch)
headscarf	tudung	kerudung, jilbab - usually a more complete set of clothing
healthy	sihat	sehat
herb	herba	jamu (in Malay (and another definition in Indonesian), means "to treat, to entertain guests")
hospital	hospital	rumah sakit (literally means "sick house", from Dutch ziekenhuis. The word is still used in Brunei to refer to hospital but in Malaysia, the term 'hospital' is more prevalent since the mid-sixties)
I	saya, aku	saya, awak(means "you"(polite) in Malay), aku, gue (slang, informal)
Hungary	Hungary	Hongaria (influenced by Dutch Hongarije)
ice	ais	es
ice cream	ais krim	es krim
Iceland	Iceland	Islandia
illegal drugs	dadah	narkoba -an acronym for NARkotika dan Obat-obatan berBAhaya (narcotics and dangerous drugs)
image	citra (also used in Indonesian), imej, gambar	gambar, citra
immigration	imigresen	imigrasi (from Dutch immigratie)
import	import	impor
impotence	mati pucuk, impotensi, lemah syahwat	impotensi, lemah syahwat (from Dutch impotentie)
installment (payment)	ansuran	angsuran, cicilan
insurance	insurans	asuransi (from Dutch assurantie)
international	antarabangsa	internasional, antarbangsa
internet cafe	kafe internet, kafe cyber	warnet (short for "warung internet", "warung" is from Dutch "waroeng")
Ireland	Ireland	Irlandia
Italy	Itali	Italia
licence	lesen	izin, lisensi (from Dutch licentie)
Japan	Jepun	Jepang
Jordan	Jordan	Yordania (from Dutch Jordanië)
journalist	wartawan	wartawan, jurnalis
June	Jun	Juni (from Dutch juni)
July	Julai	Juli (from Dutch juli)
lane (roads/highway)	lorong	lajur -modified version of jalur (track), (lajur is understood but not frequently used in Malaysia while jalur is used in Malaysia to mean stripe or band. e.g. broadband = jalur-lebar)
lawyer	peguam	pengacara (used in Malay to mean 'master of ceremony', adpokat (from Dutch advocaat)
Lebanon	Lubnan	Lebanon
lemon	lemon, limau	jeruk limun ('jeruk' used in Malay to mean 'pickle')
liabilities	liabiliti	passiva, kewajiban (from Dutch passiva)
lift, elevator	lif	lift
lime (fruit)	limau	jeruk limau
Lisbon	Lisbon	Lisabon (as in Dutch Lissabon), Lisboa (as in Portuguese), Lisbon
Lithuania	Lithuania	Lituania
magistrate	majistret	hakim (also used in Malay)
male	lelaki, laki-laki, jantan (animals)	pria, laki-laki, cowok (colloquial), jantan (animals)
malfunction	rosak, mati, tak berfungsi	rusak, mati, tak berfungsi
March	Mac	Maret (from Dutch maart)
mattress	tilam	kasur, matras
mean verb	bererti	berarti
medication	ubat	obat
minibus	bas mini	mikrolet, angkot (angkutan kota), minibus (Dutch pronunciation)
minute	minit	menit
Mrs (married woman)	puan	ibu, nyonya (from Dutch), puan(less frequent now)
Monday	Isnin	Senin
money	wang, duit	uang, dana (used in Malay to mean 'funding'), duit (from Dutch duit)(slang)
mortgage	gadai janji	hipotek (from Dutch hypotheek)
Moscow	Moskow (also used in Indonesian)	Moskwa
motorcycle	motosikal	motor, sepeda motor (literally "motor bicycle", as in Dutch motorfiets)
music	muzik	musik
naked	bogel (means "short" in Indonesian), telanjang	telanjang, bugil (slang)
national	kebangsaan (used in Indonesian to mean "nationality"), nasional	nasional
natural	semulajadi	alami
newspaper	surat khabar	koran, harian, surat kabar (more formal)
New Zealand	New Zealand	Selandia Baru
noisy	bising, kecoh, memekak	berisik, bising (also means "buzzing"), ribut
Norway	Norway	Norwegia (influenced by Dutch Noorwegen)
not	tidak, tak (informal), endak (sabah language)	tidak, tak (rarely used - usually for the same usage as non-), enggak (slang), gak (slang - chat word)
number	nombor	nomor or nomer (from Dutch nummer)
nurse	jururawat	perawat
office	pejabat	kantor (from Dutch kantoor)
official (adj.)	rasmi	resmi
orange (fruit)	oren, limau	jeruk, limau
orange (colour)	jingga, oren	jingga, oranye (from Dutch oranje)
order	order, perintah	orde - from Dutch, perintah
Palestine	Palestin	Palestina
parliament	parlimen	parlemen (from Dutch parlement)
party (political)	parti	partai (from Dutch partij)
passport	pasport	paspor
penis	zakar, kemaluan lelaki, konek(slang)	zakar, kemaluan lelaki, titit (slang)
percent	peratus	persen, per seratus
pharmacy	farmasi	apotek (from Dutch apotheek), farmasi -usually for medicine manufacturers
photograph	gambar, foto	foto, potret (from Dutch, means "portrait" in English)
pickpocketnoun	penyeluk saku	copet, pencopet
pirate (maritime)	lanun	bajak laut, perompak (means "robber" in Malay)
platform (train)	platform	peron (from Dutch perron)
Poland	Poland	Polandia
police	polis	polisi (from Dutch politie)
post code	poskod	kode pos
prayer (Islam)	solat, sembahyang	salat, shalat, sholat ('sh' is pronounced as 's')
prayer room (Islam)	surau	surau, musala, mushollah ('sh' is pronounced as 's')
pregnant	mengandung, hamil (formal), berbadan dua	mengandung, hamil (less formal), bunting (informal)
press	surat khabar	pers (from Dutch) , surat kabar , media massa
Private Limited Company	Sendirian Berhad abbreviated as Sdn Bhd (suffix)	Perseroan Terbatas abbreviated as PT(prefix)
prostitute	pelacur	pelacur, WTS (pronounced 'way-tay-es'; wanita tuna susila "moral-less women", Sanskrit), PSK (formal, pronounced 'pay-es-ka', pekerja seks komersial (commercial sex workers))
province	wilayah(used in Indonesian to mean smaller entity than province) , daerah	propinsi, provinsi (from Dutch provincie)
push, to (door)	tolak (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")
raspberry	rasberi	frambus or frambosen (from Portuguese frambuesa or Dutch framboos)
refrigerator	peti sejuk(rarely used in Indonesian)	lemari es, lemari pendingin, kulkas (from Dutch koelkast)
restaurant	kedai makan, restoran	restoran, rumah makan, kedai makan(rarely used now)
rob	rompak (Indonesian for "to commit piracy")	rampok
room	bilik (usually used to mean "compartment" in Indonesian), kamar(formal)	kamar from Dutch "kamer" (chamber)
roundabout (traffic)	bulatan e.g. Bulatan DBP in Kuala Lumpur pusing keliling (in Brunei)	bundaran i.e Bundaran HI in Jakarta
sauce	sos	saos, saus (from Dutch saus)
school (Islamic)	pondok	pesantren
science	sains	sains, ilmu (Malay for knowledge), iptek (an acronym for "Ilmu Pengetahuan dan Teknologi", which literally means "science and technology")
Scotland	Scotland	Skotlandia
secret	rahsia	rahasia
session	sesyen	kursus, pembahasan
sewer	saluran najis, saluran kumbahan	got, selokan, parit (means 'ditch' in Malay), saluran air/pembuangan
shoe	kasut	sepatu ( understood but less frequently used in Malaysia, from Portuguese sapato )
shop	kedai (less common in Indonesia)	toko
Slovakia	Slovakia	Slowakia
soya beans	kacang soya	kacang kedelai
speak/talk	berbicara, bercakap (means 'to chat' in Indonesian), bersembang, berborak	berbicara, ngomong (slang)
Spain	Sepanyol	Spanyol
spoon	sudu	sendok
sport	sukan	olahraga (means "athletics" in Malay)
station	stesen	stasiun (formerly spelled "setasiun")
state within country	negeri	negarabagian
stop (verb)	berhenti	stop, berhenti
strawberry	strawberi	stroberi or arbei - from Dutch aardbei
stupid	bodoh, bengap, tolol, bongok (slang)	bodoh, dungu, tolol, goblok (slang), geblek (slang), bego (slang)
Sunday	Ahad - rarely used in Indonesia	Minggu - from Portuguese Domingo (Lord's Day) (means "week" in Malay and Indonesia too)
Sweden	Sweden	Swedia
Switzerland	Switzerland	Swiss
tap water	air paip	air keran, air ledeng ("ledeng" also means "plumbing") (from Dutch leiding)
teacher	cikgu, guru	guru
teacher (religious, Islam)	ustaz	ustad
telephone	telefon	telepon, telpon, telfon
terrorist	pengganas	teroris
testicles	buah zakar, testis, buah keranjut	buah zakar, kanjut (slang, vulgar)
traffic jam	kesesakan lalulintas, jam (slang)	macet
turn	pusing (means 'dizzy' in Indonesian), belok	belok
tapioca	ubi kayu	singkong, ubi kayu, ketela pohon, tapioka
taxi	teksi	taksi
television	televisyen, TV	televisi (from Dutch televisie), (also TV, pronounced 'tee-vee' or 'te-fe')
toilet	bilik air, tandas	kamar kecil, toilet, WC (pronounced 'we-se') for watercloset.
Thailand	Negara Thai, Siam, Thailand	Thailand, Siam, Muangthai used in old scripts
ticket	tiket	tiket, karcis (from Dutch kaartje)
tyre	tayar	ban (from Dutch "[auto]band")
train	keretapi, tren	kereta (api/listrik)
transsexual	pondan, bapok, transseksual	bencong, banci, waria (polite), transseksual
tree	pokok, pohon	pohon
ugly	hodoh, buruk	jelek
Ukraine	Ukraine	Ukraina
uncle	pakcik	oom or om (derived from Dutch, pronounced and sometimes spelt as "oom"), paman
university	universiti	universitas
until	sehingga, sampai	sampai
USA	Amerika Syarikat	Amerika Serikat (AS)
vagina	faraj (from Arabic, in Indonesian means vulva), pepek/pepet (slang)	vagina, farji, pepek (less frequently used),
very	sangat, amat, sekali	sangat, amat, sekali, banget(slang)
vice president	naib presiden	wakil presiden ('wapres')
virgin	(anak)dara, (anak) gadis	perawan (formal), gadis, (anak) dara
voucher	baucer	bon, tanda bukti
website	laman web	situs web
weekend	hujung minggu	akhir pekan, akhir minggu
window	tingkap (also used in Indonesian but less common), jendela	jendela - from Portuguese janela
you	anda (very formal), awak, kamu, kau	Anda (formal - capitalised), kamu, kau, lu/loe (slang), delo
zoo	taman haiwan	kebun binatang (derived from Dutch dierentuin (animal garden). Beside "taman haiwan", kebun binatang was also frequently used in Malaysia before the mid-sixties)

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), expert in a field	expert in a field
akta	act (= law)	act (= written legal document)
awak	you (polite way)	shipper
baja	fertilizer	steel Malaysian: besi waja
banci	census	effeminate, transvestite homosexual
belanja	to treat, giving something for free	to shop
berbual	to chat	to tell a lie
bercinta	love	make love, have sexual intercourse
beredar	oscillating (planets only), asked to go home	distributed
biji	pill, tablet	seed, testicles ("balls", offensive)
bisa	venom	can/able (same as "boleh" in Malay), venom
bogel	naked	very short person, dwarf, midget
bontot/buntut	buttock	tail ('ekor' as commonly used in Malay)
budak	kid	slave
butoh/butuh	male genitals, an offensive reference	need
calon	nominee	nominee, victim
comel	cute, pretty	(to call) someone who can not keep a secret (example: mulutnya comel= her mouth can't keep a secret)
duduk	a place to live on, and also: to sit	to sit
email	electronic mail (recently changed to "emel")	enamel
gampang	bastard from 'anak gampang' lit. easy child	easy (non negative meaning)
jabatan	department	position
jawatan	position	department
jemput	invite	pick up
jeruk	pickles/preserved fruits or vegetables	oranges
jimat	pennywise, save money or something e.g. electricity	amulet (the Malaysian equivalent is azimat)
kacak	handsome	ber-kacak pinggang (stands with hands on your hips) The Malaysian equivalent is bercekak-pinggang, a phrase to mean that a person is being bossy
kakitangan	employee	member of mafia/criminal organisation
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	train
khidmat	service	fully concentrate
koneksi	dick (vulgar)	connection
konfeksi	confection, sweets	clothing industry, any fancy or luxurious woman's clothings (Dutch: confectie. A non-standard spelling sometimes used is: "konveksi")
lucu	funny	cute (sometimes can be used as 'funny' too)
operasi	mathematic operational symbol, police operation	operation/surgery (as in Dutch)
pajak	to mortgage	tax
paket	packet	package (normally used for promotion purposes, as in Dutch)
pantas	speedily	'no wonder'
pantat	vagina/pussy (vulgar)	buttock
pelan	plan (associated with architectural work, site map etc only)	slow (perlahan in Malay)
pejabat	office	officer/officials (those who hold office, Malay (pegawai)
pemerintah	ruler	government
pengajian	education	mass recitation of Quran
percuma	free of charge	useless, not needed
pijat	bugs (software bugs i.e Year 2000 bug and also commonly referring to the bed bugs)	massage Javanese pijet
polis	police	(insurance) policy (as in Dutch)
polisi	policy	police (as in Dutch)
puki/pukis	vagina/pussy (vulgar)	cookies
punggung	buttock	back
pusing	to go around a place, circular in motion, to spin/rotate	dizzy, confused
pupuk	to nurture	fertilizer (also means 'to nurture' in the metaphorical sense of the word)
rambut	hair (for head only)	hair
tambang	fare	mine, rope
tandas	toilet	to explain, to finish
senang	easy	relax
sulit	confidential, difficult	difficult
wakil	representative	vice (for example, 'vice chancellor' and 'vice president')

Sample

Indonesian text sample

Ensiklopedia, atau kadangkala dieja sebagai ensiklopedi, adalah sejumlah buku yang berisi penjelasan mengenai setiap cabang ilmu pengetahuan yang tersusun menurut abjad atau menurut kategori secara singkat dan padat.

Kata 'ensiklopedia' diambil dari bahasa Yunani; enkyklios paideia (ἐγκύκλιος παιδεία) yang berarti kumpulan instruksi atau pengajaran yang lengkap. Maksudnya, ensiklopedia adalah sebuah sarana pendidikan lengkap yang mencakup semua bidang ilmu pengetahuan. Seringkali ensiklopedia disalahartikan sebagai kamus. Hal ini disebabkan karena ensiklopedia-ensiklopedia awal memang berkembang dari kamus-kamus.

Malay text sample

Ensiklopedia, (encyclopaedia) atau kadangkala dieja sebagai ensaiklopedia, merupakan koleksi maklumat atau himpunan fakta mengenai setiap cabang ilmu pengetahuan yang tersusun menurut abjad atau menurut kategori secara singkat dan padat.

Kata ensiklopedia diambil dari bahasa Yunani εγκύκλιος παιδεία, egkyklios paideia (a circle of instruction) yang bererti sebuah lingkaran atau pengajaran yang lengkap. Ini bermaksud ensiklopedia itu merupakan sebuah pendidikan sempurna yang merangkumi semua aspek ilmu pengetahuan. Seringkali ensiklopedia disalah ertikan sebagai kamus. Mungkin ini kerana ensiklopedia-ensiklopedia awal memang berkembang dari kamus.

Translation

Encyclopaedia, or occasionally spelt as ensiklopedi, was several books that contained the explanation about each branch of science that was compiled according to the alphabet or according to the category briefly and densely.

The phrase 'Encyclopaedia' is taken from Greek; enkyklios paideia (ἐγκύκλιος παιδεία) that means a circle of instruction or a complete teaching.

This means that the encyclopaedia is a complete education that included all the science circles. Often the encyclopaedia was mixed with the dictionary and early encyclopaedias actually started from dictionaries.

Trivia

During the May 1998 Revolution, when calls for political reform or reformasi in Indonesia led to the resignation of President Suharto, Malaysian satirists Instant Cafe lampooned a government broadcast in which 'Malaysians are reminded that reformasi is an Indonesian word, which has no equivalent in Bahasa Melayu.'

External links

• The Malay Spelling Reform, Asmah Haji Omar, (Journal of the Simplified Spelling Society, 1989-2 pp.9-13 later designated J11)