Interested in learning Malay?
The Malay language, also known as Bahasa Melayu is spoken in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Brunei. Learning the language opens opportunities to diverse cultures and destinations.
Whether your motivation for learning Malay is personal or professional, it is important for you to identify your learning goals and preferences early on. This will help you pick out the right mix of resources to make your learning more efficient and effective.
We’ve made searching for resources easier for you. Here at ALR, we’ve spent hundreds of hours testing various Malay apps, courses, classes, and other media to come up with a curated list of the best apps to learn Malay just for you.
Table of Contents
Resources for Learning Malay
From apps to textbooks and podcasts to poetry, there are plenty of ways to teach yourself Malay.
Learn Malay Script(Jawi) Through Apps, YouTube, and Tracing Paper
Mastering the Jawi script won’t take you too long, but it can be a struggle to find resources. Omniglot has a good introduction to the Jawi alphabet, and this blog post dives into the pronunciation. Meanwhile, the Malay language YouTube video Bacaan Jawi Mudah Ringkas will help you distinguish between similar Jawi characters.
The apps Mari Belajar Jawi and Belajar Huruf Jawi Alif Ba Ta will help you learn it through gamification, and Cari Kata Jawi uses word searches to familiarize yourself with the characters.
Although not specifically about Jawi, you might find reading through Arabic Quick! a useful way to pick up general information about writing in Arabic scripts.
Sooner or later, you’ll want to not just recognize Jawi but also write with it. As well as opening up new ways to communicate, it’ll speed up the process of memorizing the different glyphs. If you live in a Malay neighborhood, you might be able to buy a workbook from a local store.
If not, you’ll probably need to create your own: you’ll be lucky to find something on Amazon. We recommend printing out the alphabet and picking up some tracing paper. Begin by tracing the glyphs to familiarize yourself with their forms and flow. Then, write them out yourself while looking at the originals. And finally, cover the originals while you do it. Don’t forget to mix up the order now and then so that you remember the meaning of the characters and not just what comes after ڠ on your worksheet.
You can also practice writing in Jawi and ask for feedback in this Jawi subreddit. Use this Rumi-Jawi converter or Rumi-to-Jawi to look things up and double-check your writing before you post.
As for typing online, try using the Lexilogos Jawi keyboard. Don’t forget to also download a Jawi keyboard for your phone.
Top Picks for Learning Malay
Looking for the best language tools to help you master Bahasa Melayu? Check out this guide to the top apps, courses, and resources you can try!
Ling
If you like the cheerful illustrations and gamified style of Duolingo, you will love Ling. You can download the app on Android or iOS, or choose to experience the course online.
One of the biggest advantages of using Ling is that it features many “less popular” or non-European languages, like Bahasa Melayu, Tagalog, and many more. In fact, Ling features courses in over 70 different languages! Other leading language apps like Rosetta Stone only offer 25 different languages.
Each course takes you through around 200 lessons in total, each comprised of bite-sized interactive activities, quizzes, and games to keep you motivated. While you may not dive deeply into grammar intricacies, you will get a fairly good comprehensive overview of the language and learn around 1000 vocabulary words.
Plus, the audio tracks all feature native speakers. This is a great resource for learning Malay, as you will develop your listening comprehension skills for conversing with native speakers.
Of course, Ling does have a few drawbacks. For one, the app has a monthly subscription fee of $8.99/month. This is quite reasonable but still not free. For another, Ling does not focus on literacy, and you will want another tool to learn the Jawi script.
Pimsleur
Pimsleur offers Indonesian. Indonesian is a standardized version of Malay, and Indonesian and Malaysian Malay are considered generally mutually intelligible. This app-based Indonesian course uses a technique called spaced repetition theory to help you build a quick and permanent understanding of the basics of the language. The idea behind this is that consistently circling back to keep information at carefully timed intervals is the best way to place a new concept in your long-term memory.
While the app does feature some videos and visual activities, it mostly uses audio instruction and out-loud repetition to develop your listening comprehension and conversation ability.
One thing you may love or hate about Pimsleur’s Indonesian program is that it does not teach you thousands of new words. Instead, it focuses on what it calls a “core vocabulary,” giving you mastery of a set of useful words and phrases instead of inundating you with a flood of words.
The theory behind this choice is that most native language users only use a fraction of their vocabulary in daily communication anyway.
The app also features a special direct speaking software so you can get feedback on your pronunciation of tonal words and sounds. While not perfect, it will help you gain confidence and prepare for real-life conversations.
If your goal is to learn to converse in Malay, then Pimsleur is a good option worth considering.
Mango Languages
Mango Languages is available as an app-based or online course. Offering beginner-level language learning in over 70 different languages. The unique thing about Mango is that the program tailors to your level and preferences, instead of taking you through a set progression of lessons and activities.
This is useful if you want to focus on culture, or on conversation, to advance your Malay skills.
The focus of Mango’s Bahasa Melayu is to teach conversational skills, with a little emphasis on grammar and a strong focus on vocabulary.
Rather than teaching textbook-style lessons, Mango uses a concept called “organic language acquisition,” with the idea that you will pick up words through context in conversation just as you would if you moved to a part of the world that speaks your target language.
One cool thing you will notice as you do the activities in each lesson is the color coding of the translations. This is especially helpful when comparing Bahasa Melayu and English, because of the very different sentence structures. You will still be able to find the word-for-word translations by matching the color of the fonts between the sentences in each language!
Mango does require a monthly subscription fee of $7.99/month, though you may find it for free from your local public library due to a special partnership Mango has with many libraries in the US. Other potential downsides include the fact that the material does not continue into intermediate or advanced subject matter.
Preply and Italki
If you do better with one-on-one learning, you may learn Bahasa Melayu most quickly with the help of a professional tutor. But how do you find a qualified tutor in a safe virtual setting? Italki is an app designed to connect you with expert tutors in almost any language around the world.
You can easily narrow down your tutor search based on language, experience, student ratings, price, or even available schedule. Both Preply and iTalki tutors set their own hourly rates, so you will find a lot of variation in price, More experienced tutors often charge upwards of $60 per hour, but other tutors may charge as little as $10 per hour.
Working with a tutor gives you a chance to try out real-time conversations in your target language and get valuable feedback on your pronunciation and vocabulary. Most Italki tutors will also craft a personalized learning plan for you, allowing you to focus on what you need to learn most and tailoring material to your individual learning level.
Plus, you can ask questions when you don’t understand something, which is not af eautre you get in standard app-based language learning programs!
Besides the potentially high cost of working with an Italki or Preply tutor, the only real con is that you will get out of this experience what you put into it. The tutor can present great lessons, but if you do not show up consistently do homework, and practice, you will not advance a lot.
Udemy
If you work better in a structured course with more of a classroom vibe, you may like Udemy’s online or app-based Bahasa Melayu course. This program works well for beginners, casual learners, or travelers seeking a surface knowledge of the language before a trip.
One big caveat you need to note is that not all Udemy courses come from professional teachers. Many courses come from the community and can have varying levels of quality, so make sure you read a course review before starting it!
Despite the more formal structure, the Udemy course does strive to teach you formal, informal, and even slang Malay to build your conversational skills.
The biggest drawback to this course is its beginner level, which only covers the basics. On the other hand, you get the whole course for just $19.99!
Tandem
Tandem is a conversation app that helps connect you to people who speak your target language. This app will not take the place of a comprehensive language course, but it will help you virtually chat in your new language, building your listening comprehension, pronunciation, and vocabulary skills for daily, informal situations.
Holding real-life conversations is an essential part of learning Malay. Tandem has lots of great features like some safety checks for your protection, translation and correction tools for text-based chatting, and more.
However, it also comes with a monthly subscription fee. If you need a free conversation app you may want to try HelloTalk instead.
Malay Language Courses and Classes
Although Rosetta Stone, Duolingo, and other well-known brands don’t have Malay courses, there are still plenty of language courses for you to choose from.
You already learned about a couple of our top picks for learning Bahasa Melayu, including Mango Languages and Udemy. Now you can get the down-low on the pros and cons of other Malay courses currently available online.
LingoHut offers 125 free lessons to help you master the basics of Malay. Lessons cover topics ranging from family members to types of birds and musical instruments. LingoHut is an online resource describing itself as “a global humanitarian language learning project,” designed by refugees who discovered firsthand the importance of free tools for learning a language.
L-Lingo offers 10 free lessons covering fundamental aspects of Malay. You won’t get in-depth here, but you find this a valuable resource with its simple, structured lessons to get you started.
17 Minute Languages offers a “Malaysian” course. In our experience, however, the translations are often incorrect and it’s full of bugs.
Cudoo promises to teach you Malay and even business-specific Malay. But even if you regularly work with Malay-speaking clients, suppliers, or coworkers, we don’t recommend their courses. Not only do they fail to cover all the topics listed in the course description, but they have no explanations, don’t teach individual words and phrases, use phrases that sound translated, lack opportunities to practice and review, and contain extremely dull teaching presentations.
Malay Word Lists and Vocabulary Builders
Studying vocabulary lists won’t help you build sentences and can’t replace courses. However, when used as a supplementary tool, they’ll allow you to talk about a wider range of topics, give more detailed opinions, and communicate with greater precision.
Transparent Language is marketed as a course, but since you won’t learn any grammar or phrases, we consider it more of a vocabulary builder. It drills you on lengthy word lists, but if we’re honest, we found it repetitive, pedagogically questionable, and expensive.
Fortunately, there’s no shortage of free alternatives. iLanguages will help you memorize vocabulary through word lists, audio files, and flashcards, while Polymath covers grammar as well as vocabulary but doesn’t have audio files.
101Languages covers everything from numbers to slang. You’ll have to find your own way to drill the phrases, but it’s a good starting point for your study sessions. The website also claims to teach you grammar, but we would look elsewhere for that: this section is sparse, simplistic, and devoid of examples.
MyLanguages has several word lists structured by grammatical function. In theory, it should also help you pick up grammar structures, but we felt the vocabulary selection was too sloppily organized to really work. The patterns aren’t always as visible as they could be. Use it to pick up new vocabulary but turn to a different resource for grammar and sentence-building.
You’ll find some basic Malay phrases here. Although it’s a brief list, we like the audio files and information on pronouns.
This flashcard-based quizlet set will also help you memorize new vocabulary, but be warned: the phrases can seem disorganized.
You’ll also come across some good vocabulary and flashcard options in our list of apps.
Best Apps to Learn Malay
Besides the top-tier apps we listed earlier like Pimsleur, Mango Languages, Preply and iTalki, you can find a variety of useful apps to boost your language learning.
Memrise has a large range of community-made Malay courses on everything from numbers to phrases related to real estate. As unofficial courses, they can be hit or miss. Unfortunately, so far Memrise’s ‘official” courses, now easily accessible through the Memrise Experience, do not yet feature a Malay course.
L-Lingo Malay kicks off with some explanations of basic grammar before jumping into memory games. You’re shown a panel of six images and can listen to their pronunciation as well as see how they’re written and what they mean in English. It’s a good beginner-level tool for expanding your vocabulary, but slightly too challenging for complete beginners.
Malay By Nemo uses a flashcard-like approach to teach you a set of basic words and phrases. This tool can help you as an auxiliary vocabulary builder, or as a crash course ahead of a trip to Indonesia. One of the great things about Malay By Nem is that it does teach Bahasa Melayu, rather than Indonesian.
LingQ offers a Malay course with units on entertainment, business, science, and more. It also allows you to read and listen to Malay texts and even import your own. We find it a productive way to practice listening and reading but recommend using a different app for reviewing the words.
The flashcard app Anki adapts to how difficult you find certain words. You can either create your own sets, which is useful if you want to create ones specific to your interests, or use a prebuilt deck. Tolemo Malay is a popular beginner-level one with audio files.
Alternatively, if you’re just going for a quick trip, you might prefer uTalk. This app doesn’t set out to teach you how the language works but instead helps you memorize useful phrases. All the phrases are recorded by native speakers. Plus, you’ll get to practice speaking as well as listening. You can read all about our experience with it here.
Hoping for a language exchange partner? Or just a way to double-check check you’ve understood something? Apps such as Tandem, Speaky, and HelloTalk will allow you to chat with native and non-native speakers across the world. Tandem offers extra features, but HelloTalk is free.
HiNative will connect you with native speakers who can answer your questions. Check out our reviews (Tandem, Speaky, HelloTalk, HiNative) plus our HelloTalk and Tandem comparison to help you pick between them, or just go ahead and download them all.
Podcasts and Audio Courses for Learning the Malay Language
More of an aural learner? Or simply wishing you could make the most of your time spent commuting? Learn on the go with the 160 downloadable audio clips from Colloquial Malay, which is a complete course for beginner students.
When you’re ready for podcasts designed for fluent Malay speakers, you’ve got a few to choose from. Listen to horror stories on the professionally produced Malam Seram, complete with chilling sound effects. It’s frequently updated, with multiple new episodes published every week.
Sembang Kencang is irregularly updated but has a fair number of episodes to choose from. Topics range from movie reviews to current affairs and social issues.
Bila Larut Malam also explores current affairs, but it hasn’t been updated for a while. Still, you’ll find some interesting past episodes that are still relevant today.
Looking for something a bit more specific? EFM Podcasts is a business-oriented podcast with a mixture of Malay and English episodes, while you can listen to the New Testament in Malay with Bahasa Malayu Alkitab.
Learn the Malay Language Through YouTube and TV
You’ll find content suitable for complete beginners all the way through to fluent speakers on YouTube. Tina Amir’s channel has over 350 instructional videos, plus additional listening exercises. She covers everything from pronunciation to highly specific word lists and current affairs.
Speak Malay Like a Local by Sierra Lisse starts with the basics and is frequently updated. She has also uploaded some word lists for the videos on her website.
The channel Putori & Omak has both basic Malay instructional videos and regular Malay-language ones. We like how the instructional videos include clips from cartoons to illustrate the language and make the video more engaging.
The EasyMalay YouTube series is designed to help you pick up Malay by listening to basic interviews with native speakers. Most of them are filmed in Malaysia.
Ready for Malay-language TV shows? Start off by watching the Upin & Ipin and Boboiboy cartoons. You’ll find plenty of episodes on YouTube.
When you’re ready for a bigger challenge, try watching Malay TV on the official TV3Malaysia YouTube channel or flicking through the movies, TV series, and live shows on TonTon. There’s also a wide range of Malay-language TED Talks.
