Kuala Lumpur

11 2.9

The largest city in Malaysia that was the capital until 2005 and is now home to the national parliament

proper noun
/kwɑːlə ˈlʊmpʊr/

: Kuala Lumpur

Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
studies in Kuala Lumpur

Examples

There are a lot of airlines flying between Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Jakarta.

Blog text (17)
This is the final boarding call for passengers on the flight F43421C to Kuala Lumpur.

Redirected (2014)
Please come with me to Kuala Lumpur.

Entrapment (1999)
But we liked Kuala Lumpur.

Blog text (27)
In Kuala Lumpur, only one man has unlimited access.

Entrapment (1999)
When do you leave Kuala Lumpur, Miss McDowell?

Fair Game (2010)
Weren't you in Kuala Lumpur last year?

Disclosure (1994)
Mum, this is the first time you're visiting us in Kuala Lumpur.

Phua Chu Kang The Movie (2010)
The easiest way to reach Malaysia is by air (mainly to Kuala Lumpur); otherwise, there are buses and trains from Singapore and Thailand.

Blog text (17)
On the appointed day, Samantha arrived in Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia.

Surface Forms

Kuala Lumpur main

Morphology

Kuala + Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur is a toponym (proper name) whose literal Malay components (kuala = estuary/confluence, lumpur = mud) do not convey the referential meaning ‘the largest city/seat of government in Malaysia’. Knowing the constituent words would not allow a B1 learner to infer the city identity or civic status, since place names are largely arbitrary and require encyclopedic/cultural knowledge.

Etymology

Kuala Lumpur gets its name from Malay words: Kuala means 'the place where a river meets another river' and Lumpur means 'mud'. The town began at a muddy meeting of rivers, so the name 'muddy meeting of rivers' stayed as the town grew into a city.