Top Ten Portuguese Loanwords in Malay and Indonesian Language

Both Malay Language (Bahasa Melayu) and Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) are closely related because both of them are Austronesian Languages. Indonesian Language is just a standard language that is based on standard Malay. On the other hand, Bahasa Melayu is a variant of Malay that serves as the national language of Malaysia.

Both the two languages look similar but have some differences especially by their colonizers. Indonesia was a Dutch colony while Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore were under British Rule. Which means that Bahasa Indonesia borrows a lot of Dutchwords while Malay borrows a lot of English words. This situation makes the two languages different.

However, they have a similarity when it comes to Portuguese language. Portuguese is an official language of Portugal and Brazil. There are some Portuguese words that have been absorbed into the vocabulary of two different languages. That's a result of Portuguese trade in the archipelago particularly on Moluccas island or Spice Island as well as the control of a state of Malacca. In fact, Indonesia was a Portuguese colony before the Dutch stole the land after the Portuguese defeat in the war. Only half of Timor Island was under Portuguese rule.
Because of that, there are some Portuguese words that have been used in Malay language but not as much as Dutch and English.

In this list, it will focus about the Portuguese words that are been used in Malay and Indonesian language.

Some of the words are only used in one variant while the other variant uses another term.
The Top Ten
1 Natal (Natal)

Both of the words mean Christmas. The word is mainly used in Indonesian as a term for Christmas. In Malay, the language sometimes uses that word for the greeting "Selamat Hari Natal," which means Merry Christmas. However, Malay more commonly uses the word "Krismas," derived from the English word.

2 Keju (Queijo)

Both words mean cheese. Both Indonesian and Malay use the term, except that the 'j' is pronounced as the English 'J' instead of the "zh" sound found in the word "pleasure."

3 Pesta (Festa)

By its name, the word means "party." It shares a cognate with the Spanish word "Fiesta" and the English word "feast." Both variants use the term to describe a party.

4 Almari/Lemari (Armário)

The Indonesian term is "lemari," while the Malay term is "almari." Both words come from the Portuguese "armário," which means cupboard or closet. They have the same meaning in both languages.

5 Bola (Bola)

All three languages use the word bola for ball. It is derived from a Portuguese word of the same name.

6 Sepatu (Sapato)

The word "sepatu" means shoes in the Indonesian language and shares a cognate with the Spanish word "zapato." However, Malay uses the term "kasut" instead.

7 Kemeja (Camisa)

Both the Indonesian and Malay languages use a word for "shirt" that originates from the Portuguese word "camisa." It shares a cognate with the Spanish word "camisa."

8 Meja (Mesa)

Both the Indonesian and Malay languages use a word for "table" that originates from the Portuguese word "mesa." It shares a cognate with the Spanish word "mesa."

9 Sekolah (Escola)
10 Rosario (Rosário)
BAdd New Item