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Glite Dictionary
Bahasa Melayu

Bahasa Melayu

5.8
The Malay language spoken in Malaysia and nearby countries
  • noun
translation icon : bahasa malayo
  • The official documents were translated into Bahasa Melayu for the conference.

Examples

  • She is fluent in Bahasa Melayu as well as English.

  • Learning Bahasa Melayu helped him connect with local communities in Malaysia.

  • I am learning Bahasa Melayu this year.

  • Have you ever studied Bahasa Melayu?

  • Learning Bahasa Melayu helped him connect with local communities in Malaysia.

  • She is fluent in Bahasa Melayu as well as English.

  • The official documents were translated into Bahasa Melayu for the conference.

Synonyms

Malaysian
vsBahasa Melayu
1 3.2

The standard Malay language used in Malaysia

is the general spoken form across Malaysia and neighbours, not only standard
Malay
vsBahasa Melayu
1 6.0

A language spoken in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and Singapore

is the specific form spoken in Malaysia and neighbouring areas rather than the whole group
Malaysian language
vsBahasa Melayu
6.2

The Malay language people speak in Malaysia and nearby countries

has identical meaning but uses a different regional label
Bahasa Malaysia
vsBahasa Melayu
6.7

The standard Malay language used as the official language of Malaysia

is the broader spoken variety in Malaysia and neighbouring areas
Bahasa Kebangsaan
vsBahasa Melayu
9.5

The Malay language used as the national language of Malaysia and nearby countries

is focused on everyday speech in Malaysia and nearby countries

Surface Forms

Bahasa Melayu singular
Bahasa Melayus plural

Morphology

Bahasa + Melayu

The phrase is directly compositional: 'Bahasa' means 'language' and 'Melayu' denotes 'Malay', so the combined meaning 'Malay language' is immediately inferable from the parts. This language+demonym naming pattern is cross-linguistically common (e.g., Bahasa Indonesia), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would understand the MWE.

Etymology

Bahasa Melayu comes from two Malay words: bahasa meaning 'language' and Melayu meaning the Malay people or the Malay lands. So Bahasa Melayu simply means 'the Malay language' and is the name used for the Malay spoken in Malaysia and neighboring countries.