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Can Malaysians Understand Indonesian? Here’s The Differences

Hello there, how are you today? Are you ready for the lesson today? Yes. okay now we talk about Malaysians; can Malaysians understand Indonesian? Maybe they can understand little but not much.

However, we start the lesson, we should previous first about the last lesson, we already know about Is Bahasa Malaysia the same as Bahasa Indonesia? , the similarities between Malaysia and Indonesia, some similarities Malay and Indonesian know, even Indonesian words in Malay.
Besides, these are the answer Malaysians can or can’t understand Indonesia. Here are the reasons, let’s check it out.

The words are similar but it means different

Well, Bahasa Indonesian is the foundation of the Malay language which is why the language is similar even though the meaning is not the same. The following below are some examples of words from Indonesian that have different meanings than Malay.

Saya senang sekali makan kue cokelat (I am very happy eating the chocolate cake). Senang is means happy but in Malay, Senang means mudah it means easy.

Besides, Anak perempuan itu bernama Sarah (The girl’s name is Sarah). Anak means child in Indonesia but in Malay anak means budak it means slave.

Coba, lihat kamarmu sangat kacau! (Try, look at your room it is very messed up!) Kacau means messed up but in Malay, kacau means stir in Bahasa Indonesian it means aduk. Usually, this word used to how to make something like dishes in Malay.

Different consonant pronunciation

Can Malaysians understand Indonesia? Maybe they are can and some of them are can’t because the different consonant pronunciation is different than Bahasa Indonesian.

The easy example while Indonesian say the word with end r it must be removed; Ibu sedang mencuci baju yang kotor (Mom is washing the dirty cloth). Kotor changes to be koto in Malay.

Next. if there is r in the middle word in Indonesia it must be removed too. Naya sedang menggunting kertas (Naya is cutting the paper). Kertas in Malay they say kə˞tas, no more r in the middle, right?

The last is permainan ini sangat sulit dilakukan, kami menyerah (This game is very difficult to do, we are surrender.) The word of permainan in Malay they say pə˞mainan. No more r anymore.  

The vowel is different too

Absolutely, the vowel is different too but some Malaysians can understand Indonesian little. It is just a little different but the meaning is same.

While in Indonesian every word with a becomes (a) in Malay a becomes (e). Apa kabar kamu Dinda? (How are you, Dinda?) Apa, they say Apə. Once more when they say itik, (duck) Itik – itik berbaris rapi ketika melewati sawah (The ducks line up neatly when passing rice fields).

Itik in Malay they say with itek Malaysians always lower the sound i becomes [e]. Jangan lupa untuk mencuci piring saat aku pergi (do not forget to washes the plates when I am going). Piring in Malay they changs the vowel into pireng but the meaning is same, plate.

The lists of Indonesian’s words that Malaysians may understand

No.[/th] [th]Indonesian[/th] [th]Malaysian[/th] [th]Meaning

1.[/td] [td]Berfoto[/td] [td]Ambil gambar[/td] [td]Take picture

2.[/td] [td]Jeruk[/td] [td]Limau[/td] [td]Oranges

3.[/td] [td]Kakak perempuan[/td] [td]Akak[/td] [td]Sister

4.[/td] [td]Kakek[/td] [td]Datuk[/td] [td]Grandpa

5.[/td] [td]Kamu[/td] [td]Awak[/td] [td]Kamu

6.[/td] [td]Kelinci[/td] [td]Arnab[/td] [td]Rabbit

7.[/td] [td]Kita[/td] [td]Kite[/td] [td]We

8.[/td] [td]Kota[/td] [td]Bandar[/td] [td]City

9.[/td] [td]Marah[/td] [td]Naik Angin[/td] [td]Angry

10.[/td] [td]Saya[/td] [td]Saye[/td] [td]I am

11.[/td] [td]Sepeda[/td] [td]Basikal[/td] [td]Bicycle

12.[/td] [td]Tas[/td] [td]Beg[/td] [td]Bag

13.[/td] [td]Tentara[/td] [td]Askar[/td] [td]Soldier

14.[/td] [td]Tertawa[/td] [td]Gelak[/td] [td]Laugh

15.[/td] [td]Tuan/Pak[/td] [td]Encik[/td] [td]Mr./Sir

Selamat pagi Pak Toni (Good morning Mr, Toni). Pak or Tuan, they understand that it means Encik (Mr./Sir). Then, serial komedi itu sangat lucu sehingga kami tertawa.

Hopefully, the above on can Malaysian understand Indonesian may these can give many benefits for you. So, some words in Indonesian may they understand, it just the vowels and the consonant are different but they also have a similar meaning.

But, if you want to make them understand what are you say, you can say with both languages Indonesia and English. With this, they understand. Take a look to Indonesian words similar to Tagalog. Good luck.

Categories: Structures