malay
malay — noun
1. A language used across Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Brunei, belonging to
A language used across Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Brunei, belonging to the Austronesian family. Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) is a standard variety of Malay.
Lien grew up speaking Malay at home and English at school.
grew up speaking [language] — native-language context
The signs in Kuala Lumpur are written in both Malay and English.
written in [language] — used on public signs
Ryo is taking a Malay course because his company sent him to Jakarta.
Tanvi learned to read Malay poetry from a collection her grandfather owned.
Malay has borrowed many words from Arabic, Sanskrit, and Portuguese over the centuries.
- Bahasa Malaysia
the official name used within Malaysia, particularly in government and education
- Bahasa Indonesia
the standard variety of Malay used in Indonesia, with some differences in vocabulary and pronunciation
文法句型
speak/learn/teach/write in Malay
用法筆記
Malay is used without an article in most contexts: 'She speaks Malay', not 'the Malay'. The definite article is used only when specifying a particular regional variety: 'the Malay spoken in Brunei differs slightly'.
常見錯誤
malay — adjective
1. Of, from, or connected to the Malay ethnic group — found mainly across Malaysia
Of, from, or connected to the Malay ethnic group — found mainly across Malaysia and Indonesia — as well as the language and customs of that community.
The Malay archipelago stretches from Sumatra all the way to the Philippines.
Malay archipelago — geographic region
Zola prepared a traditional Malay dish called nasi lemak for dinner.
traditional Malay dish — describing cuisine
Kian's grandmother still speaks the Malay dialect of her home village.
The museum has a fine collection of Malay textiles and silver jewellery.
Théo wrote his university paper on Malay folk tales about the origin of rice.
文法句型
Malay + noun
用法筆記
Malay as an adjective describes the ethnic group and its culture, not citizenship. A citizen of Malaysia is described as Malaysian, not Malay. For example: 'The Malay community celebrates Hari Raya' but 'The Malaysian government opened a new hospital'.