When I first came out to Malaysia I was quickly introduced to the three main local dialects; Bahasa Malayu (Malay), Mandarin (or Cantonese if you are up in KL) and Manglish.
What is Manglish, I hear you ask? Well it is best described as a mixture of Malay and English, with a generous sprinkling of Chinese, thrown in for good measure. Not sure what I mean?
Here’s an example of a typical conversation…
Ok lah, let’s makan and then you can send me back. Can or not?
Can lah.
Did you remember to off the lights?
Ayo, I die already. Sorry, lah, I a bit blur.
You ah. I swear, I pengsang already. You very bodoh mah.Literal Translation…Let us go and eat and then, if it’s no trouble, could you give me a lift home?
Of course I can.
Did you remember to turn the lights off?
Oh dear, I’m in trouble. I’m sorry, I’m a little forgetful at times.
Honestly, one day you’ll make me faint. You are stupid sometimes.
Now you may think that sounds ridiculous….and you’d be right, but, trust me, after a couple of months of living here, you find yourself speaking as well (or should that be as badly) as the locals, which, for me, was good, for after 3 years here, I have to, embarrassingly, admit to knowing the merest of Bahasa ……and I had to resort to marrying a local, to learn, the most very basic of Mandarin!
Anyway, here are some of the more commonly used Manglish phrases.....
Word Meaning Example
Action show-offy "Look at him, he very action."
Ah Used as exclamation "Why is he like that ah?"
"My brother ah, always disturb me"
Blur Confused, out-of-it. "I a bit blur, mah."
Got substituted for the "I got already"
English verb 'to have' "Got or not?"
Die/finish Generic exclamations "Ayo, I die already,
to indicate trouble I missed the deadline".
Disturb To pester/tease "My brother ah, always
someone disturb me"
ing Any Malay word + ‘ing’ "Are we makan-ing later?"
doing a certain action (are we eating later?)
(to) Jalan Malay word for street, "you want to take a cab,
used to describe going or shall we jalan"
for a walk.
Kia Siew someone who’s materialistic. "Ayo, look at his new car,
Similar to the ‘keeping up he very kia siew, lah"
up with the Jones’ syndrome.
kena to get caught/punished. "I sure kena if I cheat"
lah Used to affirm a statement "Don't be an idiot lah!"
(similar to ‘of course’).
liao Means ‘already’. Derived "No more stock liao."
from Chinese.
lor Used at the end of sentences. "Like that lor!"
Used when explaining something.
makan From the Malay for ‘eat’. "What do you want to makan
tonight?"
On/off to turn something on or off. "Don't forget to off the fan."
one Used as an emphasis at the "Why is he so naughty one?"
end of a sentence.
outstation To travel outside of your I’m going outstation this weekend.
home town
