Malay vs Indonesian

Should I learn Malay or Indonesian?

Malay and Indonesian are two standard forms of the same language. They share grammar and most vocabulary and are largely mutually intelligible, but spelling details, loanwords (Dutch in Indonesian, English in Malay) and some everyday words differ.

The short answer

Choose Indonesian for the bigger market (Indonesia has around 280 million people) and more learning resources; choose Malay for Malaysia, Singapore or Brunei. They are standard forms of the same language and largely mutually intelligible, so the second comes almost free.

🥋 The Dojo · five rounds

Kungfucius asks Malay and Indonesian to come to the Dojo!

Five rounds, two choices each. Click what you would pick. No thinking allowed.

Round 1: breakfast · click one

The verdict

Pick the country you will use it in. Switching later takes weeks, not years.

5 / 5Family

5 / 5Script

4 / 5Vocabulary

5 / 5Grammar

4 / 5Pronunciation

4 / 5Intelligibility

Closeness score

27 / 30

Mutually intelligible?

largely

Shared vocabulary

Most core vocabulary is shared

Which first?

Pick the country you'll use it in; switching later is weeks, not years.

Kungfucius says: One language, two passports, and a few words that start arguments.

Side by side

false friend · budakbudak = child (MS)
budak = slave (ID)
Malay budak means child; in Indonesian it means slave. Indonesians say anak for child.

giveaway · ticket / officetiket / pejabat
karcis / kantor
Kantor comes from Dutch kantoor; Malaysian pejabat is a native formation. For tickets, modern Indonesian mostly uses tiket too.

false friend · free of chargepercuma = free (of charge) (MS)
percuma = in vain, useless (ID)
Malay percuma means free of charge; Indonesian percuma means pointless. Indonesians say gratis for free.

Kungfucius's answer: it depends on where you will stay longer

The honest answer to "Malay or Indonesian?" is: it depends. In Kungfucius's view the "depends" is mostly about one thing, which is where you want to stay longer. Market sizes and resource counts matter less than they look, because you are choosing between two standards of one language, and whichever you learn carries most of the other with it.

So ask where your months will be spent, not your holidays.

Mostly Malaysia, Singapore or Brunei: learn Malay. You will hear Malaysian pronunciation, read Malaysian spelling and pick up the local words from the first day.
Mostly Indonesia: learn Indonesian. Everyday spoken Indonesian differs noticeably from the textbook standard, and you will only absorb it by living in it.
Both, or undecided: start with Indonesian, as the short answer says. There is more course material, and the Malay you need later is a matter of adjusting, not starting again.

A shorter stay does not need this much thought. For two weeks in Bali and one in Penang, either standard will get you fed, transported and understood, and people on both sides are used to hearing the other variety.

Why the place matters more than the standard

What separates the two in daily life is mostly the informal layer: slang, particles, loanwords and the local mix. Malaysian speech borrows freely from English, and Indonesian from Dutch, Javanese and Jakarta slang. None of that is in a general textbook, and all of it comes from the people around you. That is why the country you will live in is a better guide than any comparison of the two standards.

The same logic applies to tutors and media. Choose teachers, podcasts and series from the country you are heading for, so your ear is tuned before you land.

Kungfucius says: learn the one spoken by the people who will be serving your breakfast.

What to do next

Pick the country, then pick the course. The differences to watch for are listed at is Malay similar to Indonesian, and the quick visual clues at how to tell Malay from Indonesian.

Keep reading

/compare/is-malay-similar-to-indonesian//compare/is-malay-easier-than-indonesian//compare/how-to-tell-malay-from-indonesian/