Indonesian and Malay: 372 words that are the same
Among the two thousand words each language uses most, these are written identically and carry the same meaning in both. If you have one of the two, this is the part you do not have to learn.
Indonesian Malay
A shared word is not proof of a shared root. Two languages can land on the same spelling by borrowing from a third — that is all tren and bomba are — and a word that looks the same can still be said quite differently. What this list is good for is the head start.
| Word | In English | Indonesian | Malay |
|---|---|---|---|
| itu | that | #6 | #16 |
| dan | and | #7 | #10 |
| untuk | for | #13 | #17 |
| dengan | with | #20 | #21 |
| dari | from | #22 | #27 |
| tapi | alternative form of tetapi | #24 | #31 |
| jika | if | #35 | #47 |
| hanya | only | #37 | #53 |
| semua | all | #38 | #30 |
| sekarang | now, today | #39 | #38 |
| sini | here | #40 | #29 |
| dalam | inside, in, within | #42 | #28 |
| bukan | not | #43 | #43 |
| pada | at, on | #50 | #40 |
| lakukan | to do something | #53 | #73 |
| sangat | very | #55 | #60 |
| satu | one | #56 | #51 |
| siapa | who, whose | #61 | #61 |
| atau | or | #69 | #77 |
| datang | to come | #70 | #55 |
| melakukan | to do, to perform, to take action | #79 | #174 |
| bilang | to say | #87 | #504 |
| masih | still | #88 | #82 |
| sana | there | #91 | #80 |
| malam | night | #98 | #111 |
| sekali | once | #105 | #160 |
| beberapa | a few | #110 | #149 |
| mengapa | why | #115 | #148 |
| tunggu | to wait | #120 | #113 |
| yg | abbreviation of yang | #134 | #289 |
| ibu | mother | #135 | #153 |
| masalah | problem | #136 | #144 |
| belum | not yet | #138 | #190 |
| dua | two | #141 | #141 |
| cukup | sufficiently, adequately | #144 | #205 |
| selalu | always; forever; evermore | #145 | #222 |
| tuhan | god | #146 | #142 |
| seseorang | someone | #148 | #184 |
| setelah | after | #150 | #391 |
| makan | to eat | #163 | #176 |
| sayang | love | #172 | #170 |
| kali | times; multiplied by | #173 | #171 |
| tetap | continuously | #174 | #317 |
| mulai | starting | #181 | #496 |
| dunia | world | #182 | #168 |
| sebelum | before | #189 | #157 |
| sebenarnya | actually, in fact | #202 | #209 |
| tanpa | without | #206 | #216 |
| jam | hour | #207 | #262 |
| berapa | how many, how much | #212 | #217 |
| itulah | that's | #214 | #180 |
| ingat | to remember | #215 | #169 |
| pun | also, too | #220 | #116 |
| segera | soon | #225 | #396 |
| takut | afraid | #229 | #235 |
| nama | name | #233 | #167 |
| mu | alternative spelling of -mu | #244 | #561 |
| tiga | three | #252 | #242 |
| bawah | under, below | #257 | #225 |
| pagi | morning | #260 | #276 |
| keluarga | family | #262 | #233 |
| jauh | far | #274 | #295 |
| paling | most | #278 | #244 |
| cuma | only, merely | #289 | #123 |
| tua | old | #293 | #362 |
| minum | to drink | #305 | #300 |
| bulan | moon | #308 | #309 |
| sejak | since | #310 | #329 |
| tetapi | but | #315 | #127 |
| pintu | door | #329 | #255 |
| hati | liver | #332 | #250 |
| bermain | to play | #335 | #344 |
| tim | team | #340 | #1,192 |
| berubah | to change, to shift | #351 | #384 |
| minggu | week | #360 | #374 |
| bunuh | to kill | #363 | #177 |
| kehidupan | life | #365 | #319 |
| berharap | to hope | #367 | #506 |
| darah | blood | #375 | #350 |
| dilakukan | to do something | #381 | #468 |
| lepaskan | let go | #397 | #293 |
| perang | war | #406 | #410 |
| pertanyaan | question | #407 | #993 |
| belajar | to study; to learn | #409 | #371 |
| suara | voice, utterance | #410 | #461 |
| lupa | to forget | #411 | #418 |
| muda | young | #412 | #446 |
| cerita | story | #416 | #381 |
| naik | to climb, to ascend, to rise | #418 | #360 |
| lima | five | #429 | #389 |
| kecuali | except | #434 | #503 |
| semakin | increasingly; more and more; getting; becoming | #458 | #430 |
| kesalahan | error | #460 | #658 |
| api | fire | #465 | #358 |
| bahasa | language | #482 | #475 |
| empat | four | #485 | #455 |
| setuju | to agree | #493 | #520 |
| janji | promise | #497 | #380 |
| tampak | to look | #499 | #1,572 |
| surat | document | #503 | #518 |
| kelas | a group, collection, category or set sharing… | #504 | #548 |
| ulang | to repeat | #508 | #831 |
| jumpa | to meet; to encounter | #509 | #139 |
| sebaiknya | preferably, better, one's best | #510 | #1,062 |
| namun | however | #512 | #746 |
| permainan | game | #514 | #424 |
| tutup | to close | #519 | #464 |
| terbang | to fly | #525 | #332 |
| laut | sea | #530 | #551 |
| perempuan | female | #533 | #234 |
| segala | everything | #534 | #568 |
| mesin | machine | #540 | #554 |
| berita | news | #542 | #407 |
| mimpi | dream | #544 | #523 |
| tembak | to shoot | #548 | #313 |
| berbahaya | dangerous; hazardous | #551 | #643 |
| tersebut | that, the aforementioned, said | #555 | #639 |
| berani | brave | #557 | #434 |
| hitam | black | #564 | #491 |
| lagu | song | #568 | #577 |
| tubuh | body | #570 | #750 |
| siang | daytime | #571 | #1,027 |
| bersalah | to make a mistake | #574 | #574 |
| saling | each other, one another | #579 | #774 |
| paman | uncle | #581 | #1,399 |
| manis | sweet | #593 | #800 |
| selain | in addition to, besides | #597 | #627 |
| bebas | free | #600 | #593 |
| juta | million | #601 | #505 |
| milik | property | #606 | #445 |
| benci | hatred | #608 | #575 |
| merah | red | #614 | #566 |
| arah | direction | #616 | #376 |
| menyesal | to regret | #617 | #858 |
| wajah | face | #619 | #723 |
| enam | six | #621 | #594 |
| lantai | floor | #625 | #986 |
| anggota | body part | #628 | #656 |
| jujur | honest, truthful | #631 | #757 |
| sibuk | busy | #635 | #636 |
| gagal | to fail | #646 | #547 |
| musik | music | #650 | #1,756 |
| serangan | an attempt to cause damage, injury to, or death of opponent… | #654 | #488 |
| musuh | enemy, foe | #655 | #508 |
| pakaian | clothes; clothing | #659 | #502 |
| acara | agenda | #667 | #937 |
| memanggil | active of panggil | #677 | #560 |
| detik | second | #682 | #1,317 |
| kini | now, today | #685 | #500 |
| tertawa | to laugh | #689 | #1,784 |
| tujuan | goal, objective, aim, purpose | #695 | #705 |
| hutan | forest | #705 | #605 |
| menonton | to watch | #707 | #674 |
| utara | north | #708 | #637 |
| utama | best | #709 | #543 |
| kamera | camera | #710 | #608 |
| burung | bird | #711 | #553 |
| dewa | god | #712 | #621 |
| pahlawan | hero, patriot, a strong and brave warrior | #718 | #743 |
| perhatian | attention | #726 | #515 |
| kiri | left | #728 | #534 |
| menjual | to sell, to market | #730 | #815 |
| mengganggu | to disturb | #736 | #666 |
| pistol | a pistol | #737 | #537 |
| bahaya | danger | #738 | #532 |
| gelap | dark | #740 | #701 |
| ahli | expert | #742 | #369 |
| main | unpromptedly | #744 | #585 |
| kejadian | incident, occurrence | #751 | #631 |
| penjaga | guard; guardian | #765 | #970 |
| sampah | discarded items that are of no use | #772 | #753 |
| pemerintah | government | #774 | #1,605 |
| lapar | hungry | #776 | #708 |
| emas | gold | #781 | #555 |
| meja | table | #792 | #732 |
| ikan | fish | #797 | #578 |
| jiwa | soul | #806 | #782 |
| selatan | south | #810 | #744 |
| lelah | tired | #811 | #1,882 |
| tumbuh | to grow | #818 | #1,485 |
| rambut | hair | #837 | #607 |
| pelacur | prostitute | #854 | #1,052 |
| peluru | bullet, projectile, ammunition | #859 | #498 |
| binatang | animal | #862 | #797 |
| tujuh | seven | #874 | #785 |
| putus | cut off | #877 | #1,023 |
| bercinta | to be in love | #879 | #1,235 |
| lemah | weak | #881 | #673 |
| suami | husband | #885 | #638 |
| pemimpin | leader | #886 | #950 |
| langit | sky | #895 | #821 |
| angin | wind | #896 | #650 |
| lokasi | location | #900 | #735 |
| pihak | side | #905 | #451 |
| sungai | river | #908 | #789 |
| sepuluh | ten | #910 | #837 |
| pulau | island | #911 | #626 |
| menahan | active of tahan | #912 | #924 |
| hujan | rain | #921 | #878 |
| kucing | cat | #922 | #814 |
Showing the 200 commonest of 372. Download all 372
The overlap is the easy part.
The rest comes from using it with someone who speaks it.