Malay to Arabic translator (and Arab to Malay)
Arab to Malay translate and Malay to Arabic both start in the box below, with Malay set as the source. Type Bahasa Melayu, choose the Arabic your reader speaks, and get Arabic script with full harakat, the Standard Arabic line, a Latin transliteration and a Listen button. The swap arrow reverses the direction. Free, no account, nothing stored.
Translations are generated by an AI model and can be wrong; the Standard Arabic line is there so you can compare. Up to 1000 characters at a time.
What you get on this page
- Malay to Arabic in Standard Arabic (fusha) or in Gulf, Saudi, Egyptian, Levantine, Iraqi or Moroccan.
- Every short vowel written on the result, with the Standard Arabic version under any dialect output, so a phrase for a doa or a khutbah can be read aloud.
- Transliteration in Latin letters, familiar to Rumi readers, and a Listen button using your device's Arabic voice.
- Up to 1,000 characters per request; swap the arrow for Arabic to Malay.
Is Malay Arabic? Why Malay to Arabic is tricky
Malay is not Arabic and is not related to it: Malay is Austronesian, Arabic is Semitic. What Malay has is centuries of Arabic vocabulary from Islam and trade, and Jawi, the Arabic-based script that is still taught and used on signs in Kelantan, Terengganu and Brunei. That makes Arabic feel close while the grammar stays far apart.
- No tense, no gender, no number endings in Malay. Saya makan is "I eat", "I ate" or "I will eat"; Arabic needs one form, and marks the speaker's gender too. Add semalam or esok and say who you are talking to.
- Loanwords with new sounds. Masjid, kitab, ilmu, dunia, waktu, kerusi, khabar, faham, sabar, maaf, selamat and the days Ahad, Isnin, Selasa, Rabu, Khamis, Jumaat and Sabtu are Arabic, but Malay dropped ع and ح and reshaped endings: kerusi is كُرْسِيّ (kursiyy), faham is فَهِمَ (fahima).
- Loanwords with new meanings. Malay kitab is a religious text; Arabic كِتَاب is any book. Malay selamat is a greeting; Arabic سَلَامَة is "safety".
- Spelling. Malay writes the same sound in two ways depending on the word (khabar but kabar in Indonesian); the model reads both, but standard Malay spelling is safest.
Example sentences (swap the arrow for Arab to Malay translate)
| English | Malay | Arabic (MSA) | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good morning | Selamat pagi | صَبَاحُ الخَيْرِ | sabaa7 al-khayr |
| How are you? | Apa khabar? | كَيْفَ حَالُكَ؟ | kayfa 7aaluka? (m.) |
| My name is Aminah | Nama saya Aminah | اِسْمِي أَمِينَة | ismee ameena |
| Thank you | Terima kasih | شُكْرًا | shukran |
| I don't understand | Saya tidak faham | لَا أَفْهَمُ | laa afham |
| Where is the toilet? | Di mana tandas? | أَيْنَ الحَمَّامُ؟ | ayna l-7ammaam? |
| How much is this? | Berapa harga ini? | بِكَمْ هَذَا؟ | bikam haadhaa? |
| I am from Malaysia | Saya dari Malaysia | أَنَا مِنْ مَالِيزِيَا | ana min maaleeziyaa |
| I want to eat | Saya mahu makan | أُرِيدُ أَنْ آكُلَ | ureedu an aakula |
| See you again | Jumpa lagi | إِلَى اللِّقَاءِ | ilaa l-liqaa' |
Tips for better results
Add a time word (semalam, sekarang, esok) so the Arabic gets the right tense, and say whether the reader is a man, a woman or a group. For a doa, a speech or a classroom text keep Standard Arabic; for a message to a friend in Jeddah or Cairo pick Saudi or Egyptian. Keep each request to a few sentences. Malay names are already Arabic in many cases (Aminah, Ahmad), and the name in Arabic page shows the usual spellings for the rest. The reverse direction is Arabic to Malay; Indonesian readers have their own Indonesian to Arabic page, the how to say phrasebook lists greetings with harakat, and Arabic transliteration explains the Latin letters under the result.
Frequently asked questions
Is Malay similar to Arabic?
Only in vocabulary. Malay borrowed many Arabic words through Islam (masjid, kitab, ilmu, waktu, sabar, maaf) and once used the Arabic script as Jawi, but the grammar, sounds and sentence structure are unrelated.
Which Malay words come from Arabic?
Common ones: masjid, kitab, ilmu, dunia, waktu, kerusi, khabar, faham, sabar, maaf, adil, akal, hadiah, selamat, and the weekday names from Ahad to Sabtu. Religious vocabulary is almost entirely Arabic.
Does Google Translate do Malay to Arabic?
Yes, into Standard Arabic without vowel marks and without a dialect option. This page adds the dialect menu, harakat and transliteration; both are machine translation.
Can it write Jawi?
No. The output is Arabic (the language), not Malay in Arabic letters. The language menu also has Indonesian, which differs from Malay in spelling and some words.
Is the Malay to Arabic translator free?
Yes, with a daily free limit for the whole site and no account. Nothing you type is stored.