Malay And Indonesian Easy Words For Your Next Trip to Bali, Singapore, KL or Johor Bahru

Flag of Singapore.

You will find Malay and Indonesian easy to understand and words from thse languages appear on maps and signs and can be heard in Malayasia, Indonesia including Bali, and Singapore where Malay is one of the four national languages. Drive across the bridge from Singapore into Malaysia and you will find yourself in Johor Bahru - which means? Read on to find out.

Problem
How do I remember the words?

Answers
Colours:
black - hitam (Both words contain the vowel a. Teacher said: I am scared to be hit in the black night. Hitam.)

red - merah (The English contains the letters re, and the Malay or Indonesian contains the letters er.)

white - putih (Ends ih in Malay or Indonesian; includes the last two letters reversed to hi in the English word white.)

new - bahru  (Nowadays the spelling is baru; old is tua.)

Johor Bahru - new Johor (adjective new is second in Malay-Indonesian)

Kota Bahru - new city (or new castle-fort)

Useful Travel Websites
MALAYSIA
tourism.gov.my
INDONESIA
balitourismboard.or.in
indonesia-tourism.com

tripadvisor.com
visiteasttimor.com
SINGAPORE
visitsingapore.com
singaporeair.com

LEARNING LANGUAGES FREE ON THE INTERNET
duolingo.com

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.