Learn Malay
Bahasa Melayu · 200+ million speakers (with Indonesian, mutually intelligible)
About Malay
Malay (Bahasa Melayu) is an Austronesian language and a regional lingua franca across maritime Southeast Asia. Written in Latin script (Rumi) since the 19th century — and historically in the Jawi Arabic-derived script — Malay has famously friendly grammar with no verb conjugation, no gender, and no tones.
Where it's spoken
Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, and parts of southern Thailand and the Philippines
Interesting facts
- 1No tones, no verb conjugations, no grammatical gender
- 2Malay is the third Austronesian language by speakers, after Indonesian and Tagalog
- 3Jawi, the Arabic-derived script, is still used for religious and ceremonial texts
Why learn Malay?
Three reasons to make Malay your next language.
Southeast Asia's regional language
Malay reaches across Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and parts of southern Thailand.
One of the gentlest grammars in the world
No tones, no conjugations, no gender — Malay is forgiving and fast to make progress in.
Two languages for the price of one
Malay and Indonesian are mutually intelligible at the everyday level — learn one, follow both.
Your learning path
The Languages Center Malay course follows the CEFR scale, from A1 (beginner) to C1 (advanced).
Beginner
8 sections · 32 lessons
Elementary
8 sections · 32 lessons
Intermediate
7 sections · 28 lessons
Upper-Intermediate
7 sections · 28 lessons
Advanced
5 sections · 20 lessons
Read short articles
Short reads in Malay at every level — with full English translations side by side. Great for building reading confidence at your pace.
Podcasts
PremiumNative-speaker audio at every level. Listen anywhere.
Podcasts coming soon.
Videos
PremiumAnimated lessons, real-life scenes and documentary clips.
Videos coming soon.
Related languages
If Malay interests you, you might also enjoy these.
