adat customary or traditional law
air water
air panas hot springs
air terjun waterfall
ancestral hall building at clan temple housing ancestral tablets
ancestral tablet small upright object representing a departed forebear, venerated in Chinese ancestor worship
atap/attap palm thatch
Baba Straits-born Chinese (male)
bandar town
bandaraya city
bangunan building
banjaran mountain range
batang river system
batik wax and dye technique of cloth decoration
batu rock/stone
bejalai period in an Iban youth’s life when he ventures out from the longhouse to experience life in the towns
belian a hardwood traditionally used to construct Sarawak longhouses
belukar secondary rainforest, essentially woodland that regrows in areas where primary forest has been disturbed or cut down
bomoh traditional spiritualist healer
bukit hill
bumbun hide
bumiputra person deemed indigenous to Malaysia (“son of the soil”)
bungalow in local English, any detached house
candi temple
Cantonese pertaining to the Guangdong province of southeast China
clan association social club and welfare organization, its members drawn from Chinese migrants from a particular city or area; its premises are called a clan hall/house
coolie colonial-era term for an unskilled labourer
daerah an administrative district
daulat divine force possessed by a ruler that commands unquestioning loyalty
Dayak/Dyak a now largely obsolete umbrella term once used to denote the tribal peoples of Borneo
dipterocarp the predominant family of trees in the rainforest, comprising many types of exceptionally tall trees reaching up to the top of the forest canopy
ekspres express (used of boats and buses)
empangan dam
Foochow pertaining to Fuzhou, a city in Fujian province, southeast China
gasing spinning top
gawai annual festivals celebrated by indigenous groups in Sarawak
gelanggang seni cultural centre
gereja church
godown warehouse
gopuram pyramidal tower decorated with deities and placed over the entrance to a Hindu temple
gua cave
gunung mountain
Hainanese pertaining to Hainan Island, southeast China
halal something permissible in Islam
hill station a settlement or resort at relatively high altitude usually founded in colonial times
Hokkien pertaining to the Fujian province of southeast China, the main dialect of which is more formally called minnan
huay guan/kuan another term for clan association
hutan forest
ikat woven fabric
istana palace
jalan road, street
jambatan bridge
kampung/kampong village
kelong a fishing platform extending out to sea from some beaches, acting to lure fish to nets at the far end
kemah campsite
kerangas sparse forest (“poor soil”)
khalwat an offence under Islamic law, typically involving an unmarried Muslim couple being together in private
kongsi Chinese clan house/temple; has entered Malay as a word meaning “share”
kota fort
kris wavy-bladed Malay dagger
kuala river confluence or estuary
labu gourd; also used of the gourd-like ceramic bottles made as souvenirs in some parts of the Peninsula
lata waterfall
laut sea
lebuh avenue, street
lebuhraya highway/expressway
lorong lane
mak yong courtly dance-drama
makam grave or tomb
Malaya old name for the area now called Peninsular Malaysia
Mamak Indian Muslim; used particularly of restaurants run by Indian Muslims
mandi Asian method of showering by dousing with water from a tank using a small bucket or dipper
masjid mosque
Mat Salleh Malaysian slang for a white person
Melayu Malay
menara minaret or tower
merdeka freedom, in general; can specifically refer to Malaysian independence
Minangkabau matriarchal people from Sumatra
negara national
nipah a type of palm tree
Nyonya/Nonya Straits-born Chinese (female)
Orang Asli Peninsular Malaysia aborigines (“original people”); also Orang Ulu (upriver people) and Orang Laut (sea people)
padang field/square; usually the main town square
pangkalan jetty or port (literally “base”)
pantai beach
parang machete
pasar market
pasar malam night market
pasir sand
pejabat Pos post office
pekan town
pelabuhan port/harbour
penghulu chieftain, leader
Peranakan Straits-born Chinese
perigi well
persekutuan federal
pintu arch/gate/door
pondok hut or shelter
pulau island
rajah prince
Ramadan Muslim fasting month
rebana drum
rotan rattan, and the rattan cane used to inflict corporal punishment
rumah persinggahan lodging house
rumah rehat older guesthouse (literally “resthouse”), now mainly privately run, though once state-owned
rumah tumpangan boarding house
samping songket worn by a man as a short sarong over loose trousers
saree traditional Indian woman’s garment, worn in conjunction with a choli (short-sleeved blouse)
sarung/sarong cloth worn as a wrap around the lower body
sekolah school
semenanjung Peninsula
seni art or skill
shophouse a two-storey terraced building found mainly in town centres, and often featuring a facade that is recessed at street level, providing a shaded walkway that serves as a pavement
silat Malay art of self-defence
songket brocade
songkok Malay male headgear, a little like a flattish fez, made of black velvet over cardboard
sulap hut (East Malaysia, especially Sabah)
sultan ruler
sungai/sungei river
taman park
tamu market/fair
tanjung/tanjong cape, headland
tasik/tasek lake
telaga freshwater spring or well
teluk/telok bay or inlet
Teochew pertaining to Chaozhou, a city in Fujian province, southeast China
tokong Chinese temple
towkay Chinese merchant
tuai tribal headman (Sarawak)
wasai waterfall or area with a pool (Brunei), Sabah
wau kite
wayang show, ranging from a film screening to Chinese opera
wayang kulit shadow-puppet play (literally “skin show”, after the fact that the puppets are made of hide)
wisma building, especially a commercial one
BN Barisan Nasional or National Front – the coalition, dominated by UMNO, which has governed Malaysia since 1974
KTM Keretapi Tanah Melayu, the Malaysian national railway company
MAS Malaysia Airlines
MCA Malaysian Chinese Association, the Chinese wing of the governing BN
MCP Malayan Communist Party
MRT Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit system
PAP Singaporean People’s Action Party
PAS Parti Islam SeMalaysia, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party
PKR Parti Keadilan Rakyat, the Malaysian opposition People’s Justice Party (usually called simply Keadilan)
SIA Singapore Airlines
UMNO United Malays National Organization