Malay Numbers
Learning the Malay Numbers is very important because its structure is used in every day conversation. The more you practice the subject, the closer you get to mastering the Malay language. But first we need to know what the role of Numbers is in the structure of the grammar in Malay.
Malay cardinal number convey the "how many" they're also known as "counting numbers," because they show quantity. Here are some examples:
| English Numbers | Malay Numbers |
| numbers | nombor |
| one | Satu |
| two | dua |
| three | tiga |
| four | empat |
| five | lima |
| six | enam |
| seven | tujuh |
| eight | lapan |
| nine | sembilan |
| ten | sepuluh |
| eleven | sebelas |
| twelve | dua belas |
| thirteen | tiga belas |
| fourteen | empat belas |
| fifteen | lima belas |
| sixteen | enam belas |
| seventeen | tujuh belas |
| eighteen | lapan belas |
| nineteen | sembilan belas |
| twenty | dua puluh |
| hundred | ratus |
| one thousand | satu ribu |
| million | juta |
As you can see from the example above, the structure of the Numbers in Malay has a logical pattern. Locate the Numbers above and see how it works with the rest of the sentence in Malaysian.
List of Ordinal Numbers in Malay
Malay Ordinal numbers tell the order of things in a set: first, second, third, etc. Ordinal numbers do not show quantity. They only show rank or position. Below is a list of the Cardinal Numbers and Ordinal Numbers in Malay. Memorizing this table will help you add very useful and important words to your Malay vocabulary.
| English Numbers | Malay Numbers |
| Ordinal Numbers | |
| first | pertama |
| second | kedua |
| third | ketiga |
| fourth | keempat |
| fifth | kelima |
| sixth | keenam |
| seventh | ketujuh |
| eighth | kelapan |
| ninth | kesembilan |
| tenth | kesepuluh |
| eleventh | kesebelas |
| twelfth | kedua belas |
| thirteenth | ketiga belas |
| fourteenth | keempat belas |
| fifteenth | kelima belas |
| sixteenth | keenam belas |
| seventeenth | ketujuh belas |
| eighteenth | kelapan belas |
| nineteenth | kesembilan belas |
| twentieth | kedua puluh |
| |
| once | sekali |
| twice | dua kali |
Cardinal Numbers and Ordinal Numbers have a very important role in Malay, therefore they need very special attention. Once you're done with the Malaysian Numbers, you might want to check the rest of our Malay lessons here: Learn Malay. Don't forget to bookmark this page.