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In this article, we will explore comparison between Bahasa Indonesia with its neighbourhood language, which is Bahasa Malaysia.
Malaysia is one of Southeast Asia country. Its territory located in some part of Malay peninsula and nothernmost part of Borneo. It is a monarchic state bordered with Indonesia in its southern part. As a neighbour to Indonesia, Malaysia shared several similarity with Indonesia. For instance is cuisine. You can find Indonesian cuisine like Rendang (spicy beef with coconut milk), or Nasi Lemak (coconut milk rice) spread in the entire Malaysia continent. In term of religion, Malaysia and Indonesia are muslim majority country. You will hear a lot of prayer calling in the entire Malaysia the same as in Indonesia. All of this similarity is because Malaysia and Indonesia comes from the same ancestor.
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Is Bahasa Malaysia The Same as Bahasa Indonesia
In terms of language, there are lot similarity between Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Malaysia. This is because basically, both language inherited from Melayu language. Below are example of similarity between Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Malaysia.
Example of Similarity between Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Malaysia
- Tunai : Cash
- Kedai : Stall
- Asas : Basis
Those three words are example of similarity between bahasa Indonesia and bahasa Malaysia. The word Tunai means cash in Bahasa Indonesia and Malaysia. Itis always refers to payment method. The word Kedai means stall. Mostly it used to refer as food stall like Kedai Kopi, etc. The word Asas is more formal in Bahasa Indonesia. it means basis for a something, like Asas Negara (Basic Constitution of a country).
Though it have several similarity, it is actually not the same. There are many differences between Bahasa Indonesia and Malaysia. Some words are written the same but it has different meaning. Below are example of differences between Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Malaysia.
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Example of Differences of Same Written Word in Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Malaysia
- Percuma : Useless (Bahasa Indonesia), Free (Bahasa Malaysia)
- Senang : Happy (Bahasa Indonesia), Easy (Bahasa Malaysia)
- Budak : Slave (Bahasa Indonesia), Kids (Bahasa Malaysia)
From example above, we can see that several words written the same, but it has different meaning. The word Percuma in bahasa Indonesia means “Useless” while in bahasa Malaysia it means “Free”. The word Senang in Bahasa Indonesia means happy. It also can be mean as “interest” in something for instance Senang Membaca which translated as “like to read a lot”. In Bahasa Malaysia, the word Senang means easy.
When it comes to form a sentence, the differentiation become more visible. The sentence structure in Bahasa Indonesia is different with sentence structure in Bahasa Malaysia. Below are example of differences between Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Malaysia sentences.
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Example of Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Malaysia Sentences
- Saye tak nak makan : I don’t want to eat (Bahasa Malaysia)
- Aku lagi ga mau makan : I don’t want to eat (Bahasa Indonesia)
- I belanja you, lah : I’ll pay the bill (Bahasa Malaysia)
- Saya yang traktir : I’ll pay the bill (Bahasa Indonesia)
The first sentence above is in Bahasa Malaysia and the second is in Bahasa Indonesia. The first and second sentence has the same meaning. But, the sentence in Bahasa Malaysia is a little bit different than bahasa Indonesia.
The first sentence use the word “Tak Nak” and the second use “Ga Mau” to express unwilingness. In the third and fourth example, the differences look more visible. Though they also has the same meaning, but they different in ters of structure and word.
The third example use an english word such as “I” and “you” which is very common to be used in Malaysia. Another differences is in the word “Belanja” and “Traktir”. In bahasa Indonesia, Belanja means go shopping while in bahasa Malaysia you can use that word if you want to treat your friend by pay their bill. Bahasa Indonesia use the word Traktir instead.
Is Bahasa Malaysia the same as Bahasa Indonesia? Bahasa malaysia and bahasa Indonesia is look similar somehow. Though Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Malaysia has much word with the same meaning, but as a whole language it is actually different. Some words also has same written but has totally different meaning. When it comes to sentence, it also different. Bahasa Malaysia often mix its language with english in its sentence.
However, Bahasa Malaysia is actually understandable for Indonesian, and vice versa. So if you are mastering bahasa Indonesia, it will be easier for you to mastering bahasa Malaysia as well. So, keep practicing and goodluck!