How to Count to Ten in Malay

Understanding the Malay language

Learn the Malay alphabet and its pronunciation. While it can be tricky to learn a new pronunciation of familiar letters and remember a few additional letters, becoming confident with the Malay alphabet is the first step of being able to count in Malay. The alphabet and its pronunciation have a very important role in Malay, so you will want to learn this as thoroughly as possible before attempting to master Malay words. Here are the letters of the Malay alphabet: a: pronounced [a] as in “father” b: pronounced [b] as in “bay” c: pronounced [ʨ ],“ch” as in “chay” d: pronounced [d] as in “day” e: pronounced [ɛ] as in “elephant” f: pronounced [f] as in “fine” g: pronounced [g] as in “gold” h: pronounced [h] as in “house” i: pronounced [i],“ee” as in “meat” j: pronounced [ʥ] as in “job” k: pronounced [k] as in “kitchen” l: pronounced [l] as in “life” m: pronounced [m] as in “man” n: pronounced [n] as in “nice” o: pronounced [o] as in “olive” p: pronounced [p] as in “pool” q: pronounced [k] as in “kiss” r: pronounced [r] as in “rice” s: pronounced [s] as in “smile” t: pronounced [t] as in “time” u: pronounced [u], “oo” as in “mood” v: pronounced [f], “f” as in “free” w: pronounced [w] as in “wind” x: pronounced [ks] as in “wax” y: pronounced [j] as in “year” z: pronounced [z] as in “Zulu” ng: pronounced [eng] as in “hanging” ny: prounced [nye] as in mañana kh: pronounced [kha] as in “bach” sy: pronounced [sya] as in “shield” nng: pronounced [nng] as in “bingo”

Listen to the Malay accent. If possible, speak with a native Malay speaker, or simply listen to him talk. This will help you to detect the way he intonates his speech and the general rhythm of the Malay language. This can help you learn to speak Malay much quicker than looking at the words alone. If you don’t know a native Malay speaker, try searching for videos of Malay language on YouTube. Hearing the language will help you grasp it better. Searching “Counting in Malay” is a good place to begin. Attempt to find a video that features a person who seems very comfortable with the language and possibly introduces him or herself as a native speaker. Note that emphasis regularly falls on the penultimate syllable in a word in Malay. Understanding the verbal consistencies of the language can help you become a more natural speaker.

Understand the use of numbers in Malay. Understanding the role of numbers in the structure of the Malay language is the first step of being able to count in Malay. Similar to many other languages, Malay uses both cardinal and ordinal numbers (similar to how we speak in English), but cardinal numbers will be the ones that you use for counting to ten. Malay cardinal numbers convey “how many.” These numbers are also known as the “counting numbers” because they describe a quantity. Malay ordinal numbers tell the order of things in a set (for example, first, second, third, etc.). These numbers do not show quantity, but instead show rank, order, or position.

Learning to count to ten. In order to learn to count to ten, you should familiarize yourself with the numbers from one to ten and be able to recognize them by sight, as well as be able to pronounce them correctly. As a next step, you should learn to spell these words correctly. 1 - satu (pronounced “sat-too”) 2 - dua (pronounced “doo-uhh” 3 - tiga (pronounced “tee-guh”) 4 - empat (pronounced “um-paht”) 5 - lima (pronounced “lee-muh”) 6 - enam (pronounced “uhh-nom”) 7 - tujuh (pronounced “too-jew”) 8 - lapan (pronounced “lah-pahn”) 9 - sembilan (pronounced “sem-bee-lan”) 10 – sepuluh (pronounced “seh-poo-loo”)

Practice your counting. Just as learning to speak your native language took practice, so will learning Malay. Consistent practice will help you master counting to ten in Malay. Use Malay for counting everyday objects. Instead of counting in English (or your native language), attempt to use Malay for your everyday counting. Count out loud. Practicing the Malay numbers out loud will help you master them sooner than practicing only in your head. Quiz yourself. Give yourself a short quiz once every few days to check your progress on learning Malay numbers. Once you confidently know numbers one through ten, you can move on to larger numbers.

Counting with Malay Classifiers

Learn the purpose of classifiers. After you have learned to pronounce the numbers, the next step is to use them in phrases and sentences to describe the objects that you are counting, and this means you must learn and understand classifiers. Classifiers are words inserted between numerals and count nouns. Classifiers allow you to identify the type of word you are counting; it is equitable to a unit in English. For example, “dua buah rumah” would mean “two houses” in Malay.

Consider the correct word order. When counting and using classifiers, the correct word order is always number + classifier + noun. Practice counting with classifiers. Malay classifiers can be tricky to learn at first, but are an important part of counting objects correctly. "Orang" is used to count people. "Ekor" is used to count animals "Batang" is used to count rod-like objects. These include cigarettes, pens, and pencils. "Buah" is used to count large or cubical objects. These can include countries, buildings, ships, vehicles, furniture, rooms, and books. "Biji" is used to count spherical objects. These include items such as cups, fruits, and eyes. "Helai" is used to count flat and thin objects, including paper and leaves. "Pucuk" is used to count firearms, letters, and needles. "Bilah" is used to count bladed objects, including knives, axes, and other weapons. "Keping" is used to count flat thick objects. This includes objects like wooden planks. "Ketul" is used to count hard and objects with irregular shape such as pebbles. "Bentuk" is used to count finger-rings and fishing-hooks. "Buku" is used to count loaves of bread. "Kuntum" is used to count flowers individually. "Pintu" is used to count shop-houses or terrace houses. "Rawan" is used to count fishing-nets.

Understand the use of classifiers in phrases. Classifiers can refer to a single or several of the people/objects to which they refer. Plurality can be expressed by words such as “bəbərapa” meaning “some,” or “səmua” meaning “all.” Replication can also be used to express plurality: for example, “buku-buku” means “many books.”

Practice using classifiers and numbers in full phrases. Becoming confident in your counting ability means being able to use classifiers and numbers comfortably in phrases. Once you have learned the numbers one to ten in Malay, it is time to start using them in phrases, and eventually in full sentences. First, learn to say the numbers 1-10 as a child would learn to count (“one, two, three, four…”). Next, start pairing your numbers with vocabulary words. Finally, make sure you memorize and include the correct classifier! Here are some simple phrases that can be used for practice. Lima ekor anjing = “five dogs” Dua buah pulau = “two islands” Lapan biji pisang = “eight bananas” Lima bilah pisau = “five knives” Tujuh kuntum tulip = “seven tulips” Lima buku roti = “five loaves of bread”