Adjectives

1. Besar

   Be-sar

   Big

   Usage

   For talking about size — asking to change clothes or a room

2. Kecil

   Ke-cil

   Small

   Usage

   The opposite of big; learn the pair together

3. Berat

   Be-rat

   Heavy

   Usage

   For talking about the weight of your bags at check-in

4. Ringan

   Ri-ngan

   Light (weight)

   Usage

   Light in weight — a different word from "bright" in most languages

   Grammar Note

   Light in weight. For bright use terang

5. Mahal

   Ma-hal

   Expensive

   Usage

   Say a price is high; it is the usual opening for haggling

6. Murah

   Mu-rah

   Cheap

   Usage

   Cheap in price; also used to confirm the result of haggling

7. Panas

   Pa-nas

   Hot (to the touch)

   Usage

   For hot food, drinks, or water — not for hot weather

   Grammar Note

   For hot food or water. Hot weather is cuaca panas

8. Sejuk

   Se-juk

   Cold (to the touch)

   Usage

   For cold drinks or water — not for cold weather

   Grammar Note

   For cold drinks and objects; sejuk covers both cold and cool in Malay

9. Baru

   Ba-ru

   New

   Usage

   For checking whether an item is new

10. Lama

    La-ma

    Old (thing)

    Usage

    Old as in an object; do not use it about a person

    Grammar Note

    Old, of an object. For a person use tua

11. Muda

    Mu-da

    Young

    Usage

    For talking about a person's age

12. Tua

    Tu-a

    Old (person)

    Usage

    Elderly, said of a person — a different word from old (thing)

    Grammar Note

    Said of people; objects take lama instead

13. Bersih

    Ber-sih

    Clean

    Usage

    Praises cleanliness

14. Kotor

    Ko-tor

    Dirty

    Usage

    To point out that a room or dish is dirty; say it gently

15. Bagus

    Ba-gus

    Good

    Usage

    The basic word to praise quality or condition

16. Teruk

    Te-ruk

    Bad

    Usage

    To say quality or condition is not good

17. Dekat

    De-kat

    Near

    Usage

    Near in distance — you will hear it in answers to directions

18. Jauh

    Ja-uh

    Far

    Usage

    Far in distance; helps you decide whether to walk or ride

19. Awal

    A-wal

    Early

    Usage

    Early in time — in many languages a different word from fast in speed

    Grammar Note

    Early in time. Fast in speed is laju

20. Lewat

    Le-wat

    Late

    Usage

    Late in time — in many languages a different word from slow in speed

    Grammar Note

    Late for a time. Slow in speed is perlahan

21. Banyak

    Ba-nyak

    Many

    Usage

    Many or much; useful for adjusting portions

22. Sedikit

    Se-di-kit

    Few

    Usage

    Few or little; use it to ask for a smaller amount

23. Cuaca panas

    Cu-a-ca pa-nas

    Hot (weather)

    Usage

    For hot weather or a hot room — not for hot objects

    Grammar Note

    The weather is hot. For a hot object just say panas

24. Cuaca sejuk

    Cu-a-ca se-juk

    Cold (weather)

    Usage

    For cold weather or a cold room — not for cold objects

    Grammar Note

    The weather is cold. For a cold object just say sejuk

25. Comel

    Co-mel

    Cute

    Usage

    A versatile compliment for people, animals, or things

26. Kacak

    Ka-cak

    Cool

    Usage

    Mainly used to compliment someone's or something's appearance

27. Sedap

    Se-dap

    Delicious

    Usage

    The most common compliment to give during a meal

28. Hebat

    He-bat

    Amazing

    Usage

    Expresses surprise or admiration

29. Seronok

    Se-ro-nok

    Fun

    Usage

    Used to share how enjoyable an experience was

30. Lebih banyak

    Le-bih ba-nyak

    More

    Usage

    Ask for a larger amount; "lagi" on its own can also mean "again"

31. Sedikit sahaja

    Se-di-kit sa-ha-ja

    Just a little

    Usage

    Ask for a small amount; "sahaja" ("only") makes the limit explicit

32. Setengah

    Se-te-ngah

    Half

    Usage

    Ask for half the amount; in time expressions the same word means "half past", so keep it to quantities

33. Semua

    Se-mu-a

    All

    Usage

    The whole lot — for settling one bill or asking for every kind

34. Cukup

    Cu-kup

    That's enough

    Usage

    Signal you need no more — useful for stopping someone mid-serving

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