Thursday 13 September 2007

WORDS A MALAYSIAN MUST USE BEFORE DYING

(Just in case you're wondering, this is for my own chapter in New Malaysian Essays 1. I will be writing something that will be called either 'An Uncensored Malaysian Dictionary' or the title of this here blog post. The chapter will be around 12,000 words long and will of course include definitions, usage examples (which should be fun to write) and, wherever possible, etymology. I will collect many here, then pick my favourites and work from those. When read from start to finish it is meant to tell a kind of story. I am inspired, believe it or not, by Nabokov's Pale Fire).




1. ABC
2. Achi
3. Action
4. Adoi
5. Ah beng
6. Ah kua
7. Ah long
8. Aiseyman
9. Alamak
10. Alibaba
11. Amoi
12. Anak ikan
13. Ang pow
14. An-nay (provided by POP! ARE US)
15. Apa kes (provided by RAMLEE)
16. Apanama (provided by RAMLEE)
17. Apek
18. Awek
19. Ayat (provided by KEN KIN)
20. Ayoyo
21. Babi
22. Bagus
23. Bahalul (provided by DANNY LIM)
24. Baik punya
25. Balak
26. Balun (provided by AZMYL)
27. Bangali (provided by POP! ARE US)
28. Bangang (provided by DANNY LIM)
29. Bangla
30. Bangsat (provided by POP! ARE US)
31. Bapak
32. Bapuk
33. Barua
34. Basket
35. Batu api
36. Beb ((provided by DANNY LIM)
37. Bebal (provided by DANNY LIM)
38. Best (provided by ANDREW)
39. Binawe
40. Blah (provided by AZMYL)
41. Blur
42. Bodek
43. Bohsia
44. Boleh
45. Bongok (provided by DANNY LIM)
46. Borak
47. Boria
48. Boroi
49. Bos
50. Botak
51. Boyan
52. Brader
53. Bugger
54. Bungkus
55. Burit (provided by TIPTRA)
56. Butuh
57. Cable
58. Cabut (provided by AZMYL)
59. Canggih
60. Catch no ball (provided by JY)
61. Caya
62. CBT
63. Celaka (provided by LIFF)
64. Chabo (provided by DANNY LIM)
65. Choi
66. Cibai
67. Cilok
68. Cinapek
69. Cincai
70. Cipap (provided by M.ZUL)
71. Ciplak
72. Ciput
73. Comolot
74. Conteng
75. Control hensem
76. Corner
77. Cover line
78. Cucuk
79. Cun
80. Dajal (provided by ALIA)
81. Dangdut
82. Dengki
83. Die-die
84. DLL (dan lain-lain) (provided by XMOCHA)
85. Duit kopi
86. F’ler
87. Faiti
88. Feng shui
89. Feng tau
90. Fire
91. Fren (provided by JY)
92. Frust
93. Fuyoh
94. Gabra
95. Gam (provided by POP! ARE US)
96. Gatal
97. Geli
98. Gempak (provided by ZALEE)
99. Geng
100. Geram
101. Gian
102. Giler
103. Goblok (provided by TIPTRA)
104. Gol (as in death)
105. Gone case (provided by DANNY LIM)
106. Goreng
107. Gostan (and its opposite, gohed, is provided by SAHARIL)
108. Gua
109. Gundek
110. Gwailoh (provided by DANNY LIM)
111. Hai lo (provided by TAY SY)
112. Haiya (provided by POP! ARE US)
113. Halal (provided by ANDREW)
114. Half-past six (provided by JY)
115. Ham sap
116. Hampeh (provided by LIFF)
117. Hancus
118. Hantu
119. Hapchu (provided by SHARON BAKAR)
120. Havoc
121. Illek
122. ISA
123. Izzit?
124. Jakun
125. Jalan (incl. jalan-jalan)
126. Jam
127. Jamban
128. Jambu
129. Jinjang
130. Jiwang
131. Joli ((provided by DANNY LIM)
132. Jom ((provided by DANNY LIM)
133. Jubur
134. Kacang
135. Kacau (provided by ANDREW)
136. Kaki
137. Kamching
138. Kampung
139. Kan (provided by TAY SY)
140. Kan chong (provided by TAY SY)
141. Kantoi
142. Kapcai
143. Kasi can
144. Kau tim
145. Kau-kau
146. Kay poh
147. Kayu (provided by TIPTRA)
148. Kecoh
149. Kelam-kabut
150. Kelas
151. Kelentong
152. Keling
153. Kencing
154. Kepala
155. Kerek
156. Ketot
157. Khalwat
158. Kiasi (provided by TAY SY)
159. Kiasu
160. Kira
161. Kongkek
162. Kongsi ((provided by DANNY LIM)
163. Kontot
164. Kopek
165. Korek
166. Kosong-kosong
167. Koyak (provided by AZMYL)
168. Kuku (provided by TAYSY)
169. Kurang ajar
170. Kurang manis
171. Kureng
172. Lah
173. Lahanat (provided by SAHARIL)
174. Laidat (provided by TED MAHSUN)
175. Lain-lain
176. Lalang
177. Lalok
178. Lancap (provided by KEN KIN)
179. Lancau
180. Lansi
181. Lantak
182. Lanyak ((provided by DANNY LIM)
183. Laser
184. Layan (provided by AZMYL)
185. Leceh
186. Lempang ((provided by DANNY LIM)
187. Leng chai
188. Leng loi
189. Lepak (provided by TIPTRA)
190. Lingkup
191. Loaded
192. Lor
193. Lu
194. Lubang (produced by GRACE SHU)
195. Ma fan
196. Ma hai
197. Macha
198. Mah
199. Main (incl. main-main)
200. Mak Datin
201. Makan
202. Malu (incl. malu-malu)
203. Mamak
204. Mampus
205. Mangkuk
206. Manja
207. Mat fit (provided by AZMYL)
208. Mat salleh
209. Meletup
210. Member
211. Mengamok
212. Mengarut
213. Menten (provided by AZMYL)
214. Menyampah (provided by TIPTRA)
215. Meraban (provided by AZMYL)
216. Merajuk
217. Miang
218. Miscall
219. Muhibbah
220. Muka seposen / Ten-sen face
221. Ngam (incl. ngam-ngam)
222. Nyanyuk
223. Ondaway
224. One
225. Ong
226. Opocot ((provided by DANNY LIM)
227. Orait
228. Ori
229. Paiseh
230. Palat
231. Pancit
232. Pangsai (provided by DANNY LIM)
233. Pantat
234. Pariah
235. Pau
236. Pecah lubang
237. Pengkid
238. Pengsan (provided by ANDREW)
239. Pening
240. Perasan (provided by TIPTRA)
241. Pesan
242. PM (provided by ANDREW)
243. Pokai
244. Pondan
245. Ponteng
246. Porah
247. Pot
248. Power
249. Poyo (provided by DANNY LIM)
250. Projek (provided by DANNY LIM)
251. Pukimak
252. Pundek
253. Rempit
254. Rilek ((provided by DANNY LIM)
255. Rojak
256. Rubber
257. S’kali
258. Sabo
259. Saje (provided by DANNY LIM)
260. Sakai
261. Samseng
262. Sapu ((provided by DANNY LIM)
263. Sayang
264. Sayur (provided by AZMYL)
265. SB
266. Sedap
267. Selamba
268. Selekeh
269. Semacam
270. Sempoi (provided by JULIANA CHOO)
271. Sengkek
272. Sensitif
273. Settle
274. Share-share
275. Siut
276. Skodeng
277. Sky juice
278. Slowtalk
279. Sotong
280. Spender
281. Sporting
282. Spotting
283. Steady
284. Steng (provided by AZMYL)
285. Stim
286. Suay
287. Sub sub suay (provided by MISBEN)
288. Sub-con
289. Sundal
290. Surat layang
291. Syok
292. Tai kor
293. Tai tai
294. Taik
295. Tanggaci
296. Tapau
297. Taruh
298. Taukay
299. Telur
300. Tembak (provided by DANNY LIM)
301. Tension
302. Terbalik (provided by TAY SY)
303. Terpleot
304. Terror
305. Teruk (provided by ANDREW)
306. Thamby
307. Tibai
308. Tiu
309. Tokkok (talk cock)
310. Torak
311. Uncle
312. Usha
313. Wa lau eh
314. Whack
315. Wheregot?
316. Win-win
317. Yamakahai
318. YB




any further suggestions? :-)

93 comments:

M.Zul said...

what about CIPAP?

Amir Muhammad said...

thanks! it is now added. together with telur (as in balls), cucuk (as in provoke).

Anonymous said...

Saje.

Amir Muhammad said...

now added.

i wonder if people still say 'boria' when two or more people accidentally turn up with similar outfits.

also, if 'kosong-kosong' as a way to settle debts is too specific, reserved only for Hari Raya, and not used by anyone else.

well, i have kept them in provisionally.

(and if i have feng tau, why don't u have dangdut? hmmm...)

Ted Mahsun said...

My wife uses boria once in a while.

I'd nominate "laidat" (like that).

an0nymous-ign0ranus said...

taik lembu?

Amir Muhammad said...

taik lembu? hmmm...apa kes?

i don't mind taik, as in 'buat taik' though.

an--ew said...

"pengsan", "teruk", and "best"?

Amir Muhammad said...

bagus!

Anonymous said...

Kau-tim.

alippy said...

sial??
celaka??
hampeh??
gampang??

Amir Muhammad said...

Anon,

Thanks:-)

'sial' i will cover under 'siut'.
'gampang' is more indo, kan?
thanks for the other 2:-)

Am also adding 'ponteng.'

Anonymous said...

Poyo

Anonymous said...

Where do you draw the line when it comes to insults. There's a rich, multi-lingual source of must-use words and phrases there.

Amir Muhammad said...

thanks :-)

i will shove everything in first, then edit. my criteria for the moment: it has to be a word that is used even by people who are not (at that moment) speaking that particular language. like saying 'lancau' when speaking engish.

Anonymous said...

bebal
bahalul
bangang
nabbeh (as in nabbeh cibaiii)
ganas
Projek
Kot
Kaninah (bu)
Konek
Kucing kurap
Tiuuuuu (ni ah seng)
Kepala bapak (engkau)
Kepala otak (engkau)
Lanyak
Lempang
Kongsi
Kwailoh/Gwailo
Babi
Whack only
Tembak aje

Anonymous said...

Lampah
Dey
Lim teh / Lim chui
Jom
Tani
Rilek

Anonymous said...

apa kehe ko ni?

Anonymous said...

jialat
siao
balik lah
mak engko
opocot

Anonymous said...

Gone case
Bongok
Sapu
Beb

Anonymous said...

lobang
ornot
anden

Anonymous said...

Blur cock

Anonymous said...

pangsai

Anonymous said...

joli (berjoli)

Anonymous said...

pirah
buntut

Anonymous said...

burit
goblok
siot
perasan
menyampah
sakit
kayu (as in referee kayu)
mencanak
skema
pirate
pantek
LEPAK

Anonymous said...

eksiden

Anonymous said...

haram jadah!

Anonymous said...

caboh
miang
hiao

Amir Muhammad said...

I added miang just before your message.

Together with gatal, selamba, leceh.

*cosmic freak* said...

kimak? I heard chinese and indians saying that too. they even say "puki anjing"

or maybe hanjin.

Anonymous said...

penyamun
kopikat
tiru
tipu
hacks
tiruan
pseudo intelekpuan

Burhan said...

on top of my head:

aik?
jeng-jeng-jeng!

and from sarawak:

auk (yes)
nisik, or sik (no)
taik ogek (that white yellow stuff in unbrushed teeth)

Anonymous said...

what about

LAHANAT (aka LAKNAT)

and GOHED (sebab ada GOSTAN)

Anonymous said...

jalang
jamban
juboh
jual bontot

Amir Muhammad said...

'sundal' is used a bit more than 'jalang', methinks.

Anonymous said...

Lansi
Indon
Hantam

Anonymous said...

lansi (sombong)
hai lo (yes! in kantonis)
boss... bayar
neslo
tehping
kopi ping
lan eh (same as wa liao)
kan chong (nervous)
kan (mean tiu)
tiu ni ah seng (fuck you)
tebalek (upside down)
u turn
kiasi (afraid to die in hokkian)

Anonymous said...

yamakahai

Dr3am T3am said...

Dear Amir,

do u think u can pass me your e-mail....i want to send you some stuff from this writer friend of mine.Ill tell you more in the mail.

drmerp@gmail.com

Amir Muhammad said...

kancah2001 at yahoo dot com.

i already put "laan si" what. maybe alternate spelling ;-)

thanks!

Unknown said...

Beh tahan
Blah/belah
Cabut
Gampang
Jilaka
Ketupat
Koyak
Layan
Oi
Lepuk
Menten (maintain)
Mat fit
Meraban
Muka tak mandi
Rabak
Sayur
Sien
Steng (setengah)
Wah lan
Wah

Unknown said...

balun

art harun said...

bro, u forgot "puki tiang!" :)

HS said...

bangali

HS said...

wa lau eh!
gam (kena gam)
ramly (ramly burger)
koko leng piau (well not quite, but i figure this is a good bet to make it famous and take credit for it :))

HS said...

ta fu ke (or however its spelt)
kibod (kaki bodek...a recent addition by ASWARA students)
ichibawa kamigaru
no sweat
pion
a/l
a/p
conman
konek
ku ku cau

HS said...

macibai
see la/see la how
cis
cheh!
black maria
chinaman
rotiman
kaya (roti bakar)
putumayam
papadum
An-ne (...at the mamak)
i see...
bangsat
if you say so la
your wish la
watever!
police n thief
haiya

Amir Muhammad said...

Thanks :-)

If I don't put in a suggested entry, it doesn't mean you're stupid or anything. It just means that I can't imagine writing a whole paragraph about those words.

Zalee said...

hello brader.. amacam "gempaq" boleh lupa?

Anonymous said...

amok
584
ang pow
sedap
mc
handphone

Anonymous said...

kelentit

an--ew said...

Amir,
"PM", "Gila", "Sibuk", "Sabo" as in Sabotaj.

an--ew said...

One more... how can we forget this one "Halal"

an--ew said...

"benci" and "kacau"

Anonymous said...

gago (bahasa Sarawak for kepo/busybody)
bulak (lie or liar)
play-play (I know this term was made popular by Singapore's "Phua chu Kang", but we seem to have adopted it into our lingo)
kentut
kacak
hensem
tripod (it's a term my parents' generation use to describe apple-polishing. Don't know where it originated from or how it came into being. There's a hand-gesture to go with it)
bah
loso (long-winded)
het (as in " you never think, make me so het onli..."
keksim (frustrated, heartbreak)
seksident (unwanted pregnancy)
pos lambat
your head (or yo hed; as in "that's not right! Yo hed ah!")
dungu (stupid)
chiayu (literally "more oil")
boh lui (no money)
bolehland

Anonymous said...

Just thought of another one:

fren (as in "I don't fren u")


Do you accept short phrases as well?

half past six
catch no ball

paperheART said...

one word for u to add up : dajal.

alia (once upon a time, ur neighbor)

Anonymous said...

kuku (cock in hokkian)
lui (duit in hokkian)
kaki (buddy)


taysy

Anonymous said...

bagus
lalat (as in "blur lalat")
khalwat

Civilian said...

anak haram

bibliobibuli said...

hapchu - as in that frequntly-used (by shop-girls) phrase "can i hapchu?"

Anonymous said...

Power (atau "hebat". power tuu..)

Ramlee Samsam said...

How about....
1. apa nama
2. apa kes

FLOODY said...

294."wa liao" should be "wa lau eh"? it originates from johor...

FLOODY said...

Add one more huh, that is "kanasai", which means kena shit lah!

XMOCHA said...

how about DLL?

I hear people talk about the DLLs sometimes.. Dan Lain-Lain

Anonymous said...

ah soh/makcik
ada angin?

Anonymous said...

machai/konco

Anonymous said...

nyanyuk

Unknown said...

Habis!
Cis!

Misben said...

sub sub suay

Amir Muhammad said...

thanks, now updated :-)

Anonymous said...

lelong
pantang
pantun

Anonymous said...

sembang or "shake leg"

Anonymous said...

chop or chup or cup, as children use will playing games

Anonymous said...

cool list! some more...

1. kepam
2. tungkit
3. nasi lemak (referring 4. 'lingku pao')
5. cempegha
6. kamjat
7. peghak
8. hai lat
9. "fuck, spiders!"
10. bogon (=police)
11. racik
12. sut/suwit
13. tayam (dick-implants like ball bearings)
14. Huk aloh
15. setan gondol
16. ketupat girls (my friends here don't know it, but what we used to refer to tudung girls)

can't think of any more.

Anonymous said...

"ketupats tapi mengkaaaa beb!"

mengka is variation of mengkal=fit babe

Anonymous said...

got a party started here:

kodok
kelentit
mogwai (=jendul)

kurtak, habuk (=cigarettes)-- street

contender from kelantan: koq chak (hard k) -- =shag e..g. "demo nok kok chak?"

kerinchi word: keduk (kay-duk) = doggiestyle

cheers!

kasut-gombak said...

hmm amir..

how bout
-sengal
-cet?

Anonymous said...

face,
give face,
waterface.
Valisa

Anonymous said...

Hi Amir,

Notice an absence of "e" words.

Here's a few:

Eleh
Ewah
Eksyen

Anonymous said...

new word. skema. like nerdy. but slightly better than nerdy though.

Anonymous said...

Hi Amir,

Hentam and Taram ade tak?

- Hamdi

Anonymous said...

Amir,

Masa sekolah kitorang guna perkataan 'derb' utk 'cop' atau tempah sesuatu.

Satu lagi, perkataan 'toron'. most ppl tau apa maknanya.

Anonymous said...

Amir,

'kopak' - as in pokai
'kulikutif' - eksekutif yang kerja macam kuli
'kipas' - as in bodek
'ngokngek' - tak tau lak exact meaning
'patah' - maknyah
'gebang' - kelentong/cakap banyak (sebutan: gehbang)
sontot/suntut - liwat
tongtong - kongsi bayar
sebiji - seiras
pulun
sebat - lebih kurang macam pulun gak
skema - 'by-the-book'
FaMa - pakai duit sendiri, mak ayah sponsor
giler babeng
cikai - kurang memuaskan
standard - normal
maple/mapleh

Amir Muhammad said...

Thanks Azman :-) Wah you Petronas people, so creative...

Anonymous said...

for the ah bengs and ah lians (yes, we have them too they're not only across the border) ... so hap lah .. as in happening ...

CheRyL said...

amir..like i said just now..'hold don' as in when aswering the phone we always say..'hold don ar.." instead of hold on

CheRyL said...

and..and..also so-so..we always use so-so

Anonymous said...

apalanchau

Anonymous said...

ngok
cheneke

The Pooper said...

salah parking

strictly for guys only when your *ehem* is not in the comfy position