L'interface est traduite, mais les explications de cette page sont encore rédigées en anglais — le texte pédagogique n'a pas encore été traduit.
Malais : orthographe → son
Malay spelling (Rumi) is young and clean — the current system dates from 1972 — and nearly one-to-one. The traps are few and famous: c is always /t͡ʃ/ (cinta = 'chinta'), sy is /ʃ/, ng is one sound /ŋ/ and ngg is two (dengan vs tinggal), final -k is usually a glottal stop /ʔ/ (tidak, nak), and the letter e hides two sounds — schwa /ə/ (the common one: besar, kereta) and /e/ (untranslated in spelling: merah, bela). Arabic loans bring kh /x/ and gh /ɣ/. Stress is light, roughly on the second-to-last syllable; there is no tone, no vowel length, no gender, and syllables are simple — which is why Malay is regularly called the easiest major language to pronounce.
Suivre un mot
Chaque case est une règle qui se déclenche. Survolez une case (ou ouvrez le tableau) pour voir pourquoi. Les règles s'appliquent dans l'ordre, la première qui correspond gagne — et cet ordre est le système orthographique. Type the word as written. Final -k is a glottal stop; e is usually /ə/.
Consonnes et semi-voyelles
| IPA | Spelled | Example |
|---|---|---|
| p | p | pagi paɡi morning — Unaspirated — no puff. |
| b | b | besar bəsar big |
| t | t | tahu tahu to know |
| d | d | dua dua two |
| k | k | kita kita we (incl.) |
| ʔ | k (final), ' (loans) | tidak tidaʔ no / not — Final k = glottal stop, the catch in 'uh-oh'. tidak → 'tida'.' |
| ɡ | g | gigi ɡiɡi tooth — Always hard, even before e/i. |
| m | m | makan makan to eat |
| n | n | nasi nasi rice |
| ɲ | ny | banyak baɲaʔ many |
| ŋ | ng | dengan dəŋan with — ng = ONE sound; ngg = ng + g: tinggal /tiŋɡal/. |
| t͡ʃ | c | cinta t͡ʃinta love — c is ALWAYS ch — cawan, cuci, kucing. |
| d͡ʒ | j | jalan d͡ʒalan road / to walk |
| s | s | satu satu one |
| ʃ | sy | syukur ʃukur gratitude — Arabic loans. |
| x | kh | khabar xabar news — Arabic loans; many speakers just say /k/: kabar. |
| ɣ | gh | ghaib ɣaib unseen / supernatural — Arabic loans; often just /ɡ/. |
| h | h | hujan hud͡ʒan rain — Light between vowels, sometimes dropped: tahu → 'tau'. |
| l | l | lima lima five |
| r | r | rumah rumah house — Tapped or lightly trilled; often dropped at the end in Malaysia (besar → besa). |
| w | w | wang waŋ money |
| j | y | saya saja I — The letter y = IPA /j/. |
| f | f | faham faham to understand — Arabic loans; colloquially /p/: paham. |
| z | z | zaman zaman era — Arabic loans. |
Voyelles
| IPA | Spelled | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a | a | apa apa what — In Malaysia final -a often sounds like /ə/: apa → 'apə'. Indonesia keeps /a/. |
| ə | e (usually) | kereta kəreta car — THE default e. besar, benar, sepuluh. |
| e | e (sometimes) | merah merah red — Spelling doesn't distinguish it from schwa — learn per word. The tracer guesses schwa. |
| i | i | ini ini this |
| o | o | orang oraŋ person |
| u | u | untuk untuʔ for |
| ai | ai | pantai pantai beach |
| au | au | pulau pulau island |
Les règles, dans l'ordre
18 règles. La colonne de gauche est un motif (expression régulière) testé à la position courante dans le mot ; (?=…) regarde devant, (?<=…) regarde derrière, $ est la fin du mot.
| # | Pattern | Sound | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ngg | ngg = ng + g (tinggal) | |
| 2 | ng | ng = one sound (dengan) | |
| 3 | ny | ||
| 4 | sy | sy = sh (Arabic loans) | |
| 5 | kh | kh (Arabic loans) | |
| 6 | gh | gh (Arabic loans) | |
| 7 | c | c is ALWAYS ch | |
| 8 | j | ||
| 9 | y | ||
| 10 | k(?:$| ) | final k = glottal stop (tidak, banyak) | |
| 11 | ai | ||
| 12 | au | ||
| 13 | e(?=[^aeiou ]?(?:$| )) | e in the last syllable is usually /e/ (merah — but not always) | |
| 14 | e | e is usually schwa (besar, kereta) | |
| 15 | [aiou] | ||
| 16 | g | ||
| 17 | [pbtdkmnszlrwfh] | ||
| 18 | v |