Hi everyone!
It's me Zarina as always, your friend from Malaysia. Apa khabar?
It has been so long that I have not been updating the blog or even the youtube channel. Maafkan saya! (Forgive me). I have been busy with work and will start creating contents again..hehe.
Today, we will learn Questions and Interrogative Expressions in Malay Language. They are six of them. Not that many.
Let's take a step back.
Imagine a toddler about two years old. In order for him to gain new vocabularies everyday, he needs to ask. He has observed all he could when he could not speak before and when he starts saying things and learning new stuff, he will continuously ask anyone around him.
So, we shall do the same. We are babies. Or...not. :)
The first and the most important Interrogative word in Malay Language, IMO is
1 - Apa or Apakah = What / What is
Let's look at some example phrases that use apa or apakah. Imagine that you are at a market and you don't know the name of a thing like whatever it may be that you want to buy.
You ask the person selling the thing:
Apa ini? = ‘What is this?
This may sound too stiff to my ear because we hardly say ‘ini’ unless it is really for official work like the newscaster, reporter or in a really formal situation like when you are with a king or someone highly respectful.
So we normally say;
Apa ni? = ‘ni’ is a contraction of ‘ini’. So, you may hear this spoken many times everywhere.
In case you want to be respectful to the person you speak to, you may call the person’s title like Sir, Madam, Miss etc.
For example;
Cik/Encik/Puan, apa ni? = Miss/Sir/Madam, what is this?
Or if the person you speak to is younger than you whether a man or a woman, you may say;
Dik, apa ni? = young man/young woman, what is this?
Dik is actually a contraction of ‘Adik’ which means younger brother or younger sister. It is normal in Malay culture to call another non-family related person with a term of endearment like this.
Or
Kak, apa ni? = Elder sister, what is this?
Bang, apa ni? = Elder brother, what is this?
Makcik, apa ni? = Aunty, what is this?
Pakcik, apa ni? = Uncle, what is this?
All the above phrases are highly colloquial. They don’t sound offensive though. So don’t worry. Use them to sound more colloquial.
Another way to ask is adding ‘kah’ a suffix use with any interrogative words. You may omit ‘kah’ and the phrase still means the same thing. For your information, the suffix ‘kah’ is normally added to interrogative words as you will see with the rest of the other interrogative examples in this lesson.
Apakah ini? = What is this?
We usually use ‘kah’ in formal work as well like in newspaper, broadcasting programs and etc.
If you want to ask for the name of the thing, say;
Apa nama ni? = What is the name of this?
Or
Apakah nama ini? = What is the name of this?
If the thing that you want to ask is nearer to you, use ni / ini but when the thing is further away from you, then replace ni / ini with tu / itu which means ‘that’.
As you have thought, ni is ini with letter i omitted from the word and the same goes with itu. In communication, you may use ni or tu and you are not considered rude but if you are with a total stranger ini / itu are preferable. Once you are with familiar faces or close acquaintances you may use ni / tu by all means.
Ok, let’s look at some real world example. The phrases below are from a famous Malay drama called ‘Nur’ from it’s highlight of episode 1. The link is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgrp0OBHzYw
At 0:06 seconds
Adam, hei apa ni? = Adam, hey, what is this? (refering to his action with his brother)
At 0:48 seconds
Soalan apa tu? = What question is that?
2 - Kenapa or Mengapa = Why
The second interrogative word that we are going to learn is Kenapa or Mengapa which means why.
The phrase below is also from the same drama ‘Nur’ from it’s highlight of episode 1.
At 1:53 seconds
Kenapa tak masuk dalam? = Why didn’t you go inside?
The phrase in Malay can be translated in present tense of English too for example - Why don’t you go inside? But this will suggest that he recommends that she goes inside instead of standing outside of the hall.
Using past tense, will mean that he questioned her action of staying outside instead of inside. I hope you get what I mean.
Kenapa v/s Mengapa
Both means the same thing. Kenapa is mainly used more in colloquial speech. In formal speech and writing both are used interchangeably.
3 - Mana / Di mana / Di mana kah = Where
The third interrogative word is mana/ di mana/ di manakah which means where.
The phrase below is from the same Malay drama called ‘Nur’ but from it’s highlight of episode 3. The link is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTvDShsh200&list=RDQM90H8KzvAKSI&index=16
At 1:31 seconds
Habis tu, mana dia? = So, where is she?
If you realize, the interrogative word mana / di mana / di manakah could be in any position in a sentence for example if you are looking for a toilet;
Di mana tandas? = Where is the toilet?
Di manakah tandas? = Where is the toilet?
We seldom ask properly like this which means using the prefix ‘Di’ and the suffix ‘kah’. The most colloquial way to ask is like this;
Tandas kat mana? = where is toilet?
Or
Kat mana tandas? = where is toilet?
Or
Tumpang tanya, mana tandas? = Excuse me, where is toilet?
Kat = dekat ; Literally means near. We use this contraction mainly to be added to words indicating direction, location, position and many more.
Kat mana? = where, where is it?
The position of the interrogative words can be situated either at the end or at the beginning of the sentence like in the examples mentioned.
4 - Siapa / Siapakah/ Sapa = Who
Let’s move on to the next interrogative words which is Siapa / Siapakah / Sapa. All of them mean ‘who’ in English.
Let’s dive in straight into the examples.
Sapa ni pa? = Who is this dad?
Sapa is a colloquial word of ‘siapa’ while pa is a contraction of ‘papa’; an English word.
Siapa awak / kamu / kau? = Who are you?
Siapakah perdana menteri Malaysia? = Who is Malaysia’s Prime Minister?
Again ‘Siapa’ when added with suffix ‘kah’ is normally used more in formal situation and in writing or literature.
5 - Bila / Bilakah = When
Let’s move on to the next interrogative words which is Bila / Bilakah. All of them mean ‘when’ in English.
Some examples:
Eh, Kita ni bila lagi? = Hey, when is our turn?
Bila ‘you’ sampai? = When did you arrive?
Bila harijadi awak? = When is your birthday?
6 - Bagaimana / Macam mana = How
Let’s move on to the next interrogative words which is Bagaimana / Macam mana. All of them mean ‘how’ in English.
Some examples:
The phrase below is from the same Malay drama called ‘Nur’ but from the highlight of episode 3.
At 1:36 seconds
Aduh..macam mana boleh hilang? = Sheesh, how could she disappear?
Other examples:
Kamu macam mana? = How about you?
Macam mana ‘live’ tadi? = How was the live broadcast just now?
Here on is an example of a mix of English and Malay words in a sentence. In Malaysia we do mix our sentences with English. This phenomenon is called as ‘rojak’ which means mix of many stuff. It is actually a name of a local delicacy as in the image below.
Bagaimana v/s Macam mana
Both means the same thing. Macam mana is mainly used more in colloquial speech. In formal speech and writing bagaimana is frequently used.
Well, that wraps up our lesson for today?
Macam mana pelajaran hari ni? = How is the lesson today?
Do you find anything that you need to know more from the lesson? If you are, don’t forget to check out the blog at ilearnmalay.blogspot.com for complete transcription of this lesson.
You may also download this lesson in pdf form and other previous episodes too at Download PDF menu. Don’t forget to leave comments, questions or you may comment at the YouTube video of this lesson as well.
Are you interested in speaking Malay colloquially?
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Well, today's lesson ends here.
I hope that this lesson helps.
Sampai jumpa lagi! (Till we meet again)