How To Count In Malay And Understand The Number System
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The Malay number system is one of the most logical and straightforward parts of the language.
Once you learn the basic words for zero to ten, you can easily build any number up to a million.
There are no complicated exceptions or irregular counting rules to memorize.
I’ll show you exactly how to count in Malay and how the system pieces together.
Table of Contents:
Zero to ten in Malay
Here are the foundational numbers you need to memorize first.
Everything else in the Malay number system builds entirely on these specific words.
| Number | Malay Translation |
|---|---|
| 0 | Sifar (or Kosong) |
| 1 | Satu |
| 2 | Dua |
| 3 | Tiga |
| 4 | Empat |
| 5 | Lima |
| 6 | Enam |
| 7 | Tujuh |
| 8 | Lapan |
| 9 | Sembilan |
| 10 | Sepuluh |
The teens (11 to 19)
To form the “teen” numbers, you simply take the base number and add the word belas at the end.
Think of belas as the exact equivalent of the English suffix “-teen”.
The only slight exception is 11, which uses the prefix se- (meaning one) instead of the word satu.
| Number | Malay Translation |
|---|---|
| 11 | Sebelas |
| 12 | Dua belas |
| 13 | Tiga belas |
| 14 | Empat belas |
| 15 | Lima belas |
| 16 | Enam belas |
| 17 | Tujuh belas |
| 18 | Lapan belas |
| 19 | Sembilan belas |
Counting by tens (20 to 90)
Counting by tens is just as predictable as the teens.
You take the base number and add the word puluh at the end.
The word puluh simply translates to “tens”.
To say a complex number like 21 or 35, you just combine the tens and the single digits in order.
| Number | Malay Translation |
|---|---|
| 20 | Dua puluh |
| 21 | Dua puluh satu |
| 30 | Tiga puluh |
| 35 | Tiga puluh lima |
| 40 | Empat puluh |
| 50 | Lima puluh |
| 68 | Enam puluh lapan |
| 90 | Sembilan puluh |
| 99 | Sembilan puluh sembilan |
Hundreds, thousands, and millions
For much larger numbers, you continue to follow the exact same pattern.
You’ll use ratus for hundreds, ribu for thousands, and juta for millions.
Whenever you have exactly one hundred, one thousand, or one million, you replace satu with the prefix se-.
| Number | Malay Translation |
|---|---|
| 100 | Seratus |
| 200 | Dua ratus |
| 250 | Dua ratus lima puluh |
| 1,000 | Seribu |
| 5,000 | Lima ribu |
| 10,000 | Sepuluh ribu |
| 1,000,000 | Sejuta |
Ordinal numbers (first, second, third)
Ordinal numbers tell you the position of something in a sequence.
In Malay, you create these by simply adding the prefix ke- directly to the number.
The only exception is the word for “first”, which has its own unique vocabulary word: pertama.
| Position | Malay Translation |
|---|---|
| 1st (First) | Pertama |
| 2nd (Second) | Kedua |
| 3rd (Third) | Ketiga |
| 4th (Fourth) | Keempat |
| 10th (Tenth) | Kesepuluh |
| 100th (Hundredth) | Keseratus |
Spoken shortcuts and regional variations
When speaking casually, Malay speakers often shorten numbers to speak faster.
The most common shortcut is dropping the word puluh (tens) when it’s entirely obvious from the context.
For example, instead of saying tiga puluh lima (35), shopkeepers will often just say tiga lima.
Baju ini berapa?
Tiga lima ringgit.
Another major variation involves the number zero.
The formal, written word for zero is sifar.
However, in spoken Malay, almost everyone uses the word kosong (which literally translates to “empty”).
When giving someone your phone number, you’ll always say kosong instead of sifar.
