Numbers in Bahasa Melayu or Malay language can be pretty straightforward. Even though many Malaysians knows how to say numbers in English, not all of them knows, especially the rural part of Malaysia. So, you should at least know numbers in Bahasa Melayu to communicate easily or to avoid being scammed!
Because in Bahasa Melayu script are written using Roman Alphabet (Rumi), numbers also followed those Arabic Numerals which you already know and comfortable with! (I.e: 1, 2, 3…)
Numbers 0 – 10 (Fundamental)
Memorize all ten of these and you’re pretty much good to go!
| Numbers | Bahasa Melayu Name | English Name |
| 0 | Kosong (Kó-song) | Zero |
| 1 | Satu (Sá-too) | One |
| 2 | Dua (Doo-waa) | Two |
| 3 | Tiga (Tee-gá) | Three |
| 4 | Empat (Erm-phát) | Four |
| 5 | Lima (Lee-ma) | Five |
| 6 | Enam (Er-nám) | Six |
| 7 | Tujuh (Too-joh) | Seven |
| 8 | Lapan (Laa-pán) | Eight |
| 9 | Sembilan (Sém-bee-lán) | Nine |
| 10 | Sepuluh (Sé-poo-loh) | Ten |
Numbers 11 – 19 (Belas)
This one is a bit different. 11-19 are added the word “Belas” after the initial number’s name. Although, this applies to ONLY 12-19 though as 11 uses “Sebelas” instead of “Satu belas” as “Se” also means “One” in Bahasa Melayu.
| Numbers | Bahasa Melayu Name | English Name |
| 11 | Sebelas (Sé-ber-last) | Eleven |
| 12 | Dua belas (Doo-waa ber-last) | Twelve |
| 13 | Tiga belas (Tee-gá ber-last) | Thirteen |
| 14 | Empat belas (Erm-phát ber-last) | Fourteen |
| 15 | Lima belas (Lee-ma ber-last) | Fifteen |
| 16 | Enam belas (Er-nám ber-last) | Sixteen |
| 17 | Tujuh belas (Too-joh ber-last) | Seventeen |
| 18 | Lapan belas (Laa-pán ber-last) | Eighteen |
| 19 | Sembilan belas (Sém-bee-lán ber-last) | Nineteen |
Numbers 20 – 99 (Puluh)
Number 20 until 99 is very straightforward. Just add “Puluh” after the initial and another number after the word Puluh. You can think of Puluh as “-ty” in English numerals’ names. The pronunciation of Puluh is: Poo-loh
| Numbers | Bahasa Melayu Name | English Name |
| 20 | Dua puluh | Twenty |
| 25 | Dua puluh lima | Twenty five |
| 30 | Tiga puluh | Thirty |
| 38 | Tiga puluh lapan | Thirty eight |
| 57 | Lima puluh tujuh | Fifty seven |
| 62 | Enam puluh dua | Sixty two |
| 79 | Tujuh puluh sembilan | Seventy nine |
| 82 | Lapan puluh dua | Eighty two |
| 99 | Sembilan puluh sembilan. | Ninety nine |
Numbers 100 – 999 (Ratus)
Exactly the same as Puluh, you would need to add Ratus for number 100 to 999. Pronunciation of Ratus is: Rá-toos.
| Numbers | Bahasa Melayu Name | English Name |
| 100 | Seratus | One hundred |
| 392 | Tiga ratus sembilan puluh dua | Three hundred ninety two |
| 546 | Lima ratus empat puluh enam | Five hundred fourty six |
| 782 | Tujuh ratus lapan puluh dua | Seven hundred eighty two |
| 999 | Sembilan ratus sembilan puluh sembilan | Nine hundred ninety nine |
Numbers 1000 – 9999 (Ribu)
Exactly the same as Ratus, you would need to add Ribu for number 100 to 999. Pronunciation of Ribu is: Ree-boo.
| Numbers | Bahasa Melayu Name | English Name |
| 1000 | Seribu | One thousand |
| 3283 | Tiga ribu dua ratus lapan puluh tiga | Three thousand two hundred eighty three |
| 5981 | Lima ribu sembilan ratus lapan puluh satu | Five thousand nine hundred eighty one |
| 9999 | Sembilan ribu sembilan ratus sembilan puluh sembilan | Nine thousand nine hundred ninety nine |
Numbers 10,000 and above (Puluh, Puluh Juta)
When you memorize every essential word from Belas to Ribu, going above it is much easier. When the numbers are 10,000 until 99,999, just add Puluh Ribu. Same exact rule as above. For example, 10,000 is Sepuluh ribu while 49,000 is Empat puluh sembilan ribu. Can you guess what’s after Puluh Ribu?
It’s Ratus Ribu!
100,000 is Seratus ribu! While 755,000 is Tujuh ratus lima puluh lima ribu. Above 999,999 is 1,000,000! One million is Juta in Malay language. Just add the word after the initial number such as 2,000,000 is Dua juta.
If more than 9,999,999, just follow the rules from above and add Puluh or Ratus according to the number’s value. So, it would be Puluh Juta or Ratus Juta (If you already know what Puluh and Ratus are, you would know these word without me translating it :D)
Billion (Bilion)
For numbers above 999,999,999, it would be one billion and fortunately, Malay language borrowed the term billion from English language so the pronunciation of the word Bilion is the same as Billion in English! Just remove one “L” when writing in Malay. All the rules can and should be applied to Bilion as well. Puluh bilion and Ratus bilion.
Final say!
Numbers in Bahasa Melayu is not that hard! You should memorize all 1-10 so your learning journey will be a bit easier! Number zero is not really important but if can, do memorize it. Thanks for reading and good luck! If you have any question, just comment below! I’ll reply as soon as possible!