Counting to ten in Malay
One to ten, for prices, platforms, rooms and how many beers. Play the ten Malay words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.
All 10 Malay phrases in this lesson
- SatuSA-too
- One
- DuaDOO-ah
- Two
- TigaTEE-gah
- Three
- EmpatEM-pat
- Four
- LimaLEE-ma
- Five
- EnamE-nam
- Six
- TujuhTOO-juh
- Seven
- LapanLA-pan
- Eight
- Sembilansem-BEE-lan
- Nine
- Sepuluhseh-POO-luh
- Ten
Straightforward. When counting objects, satu (one) is used freely. No neuter forms or gender complications like in Romance languages, so counting in Malay is genuinely simple.
The numbers climb linearly and predictably: tiga (three), empat (four), lima (five), enam (six), tujuh (seven), lapan (eight), sembilan (nine), sepuluh (ten).
Still easy. The Malay number system stays manageable all the way up, no surprises like in Asian languages with tonal complications.
Numbers continue logically. Malaysians appreciate when tourists even attempt the numbers, though prices are increasingly displayed digitally.
Indonesian says delapan; Malay says lapan.
Se- prefix means one, so sepuluh is literally "one-ten". Twenty is dua puluh (two-tens), thirty is tiga puluh, and the pattern stays consistent forever.