The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Malay pronunciations in Wiktionary entries. For a guide to adding IPA characters to Wiktionary entries, see Template:IPA and Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation#Entering IPA characters.
See Malay phonology at Wikipedia for a more thorough look at the sounds of Malay.
Consonants
| IPA |
Examples |
English approximation
|
| b
|
bola[1]
|
rebut
|
| d
|
dari[1]
|
cadence
|
| dʒ
|
jari
|
ajar
|
| f
|
fikir, visa[2]
|
festival
|
| ɡ
|
galah[3]
|
again
|
| h
|
habis, tokoh
|
hat
|
| j
|
yakin, kaya
|
yes
|
| k
|
kalah[1][3]
|
sky
|
| l
|
lama
|
lean
|
| m
|
makan
|
moon
|
| n
|
nakal
|
note
|
| ŋ
|
ngarai
|
feeling
|
| ɲ
|
nyaman
|
canyon
|
| p
|
pola[1]
|
spy
|
| r
|
raja, dari, pasar[4]
|
Spanish río[5]
|
| s
|
saya
|
six
|
| ʃ
|
syak[2]
|
shoe
|
| t
|
tari[1]
|
sty
|
| tʃ
|
cari
|
itchy
|
| v
|
visa[2]
|
vision
|
| w
|
waktu, Jawa
|
we
|
| x
|
khas[2]
|
Scottish loch
|
| z
|
zaman[2]
|
zero
|
| ʔ
|
bapak, rakyat[1][3]
|
uh-oh
|
|
Vowels
| IPA |
Examples |
English approximation
|
| a
|
ajar, buka[6][7]
|
father
|
| e
|
serong, boleh, pilih, yakin, kirim[8]
|
clay[9]
|
| ɛ
|
pek,[10] teh
|
festival
|
| i
|
bila, ini
|
see
|
| o
|
roda, toko, tujuh, rumput[8]
|
sole[11]
|
| ɔ
|
kos[10]
|
off
|
| u
|
upah, baru
|
cool
|
| ə
|
gelak, buka[6]
|
about
|
Diphthongs
| IPA |
Examples |
English approximation
|
| au
|
kalau[8]
|
how
|
| ai
|
capai[8]
|
bye
|
| oi
|
cakoi
|
boy
|
| ei
|
Mei[12]
|
survey (uncommon)
|
| ui
|
fengsui
|
British ruin (uncommon)
|
Other symbols
| IPA |
Explanation
|
| ˈ
|
Primary stress
Placed before the stressed syllable[13]
|
|
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 /p/, /t/, /k/ are unaspirated, as in the Romance languages, or as in English spy, sty, sky. In final position, they are unreleased [p̚, t̪̚, ʔ̚], with final k being a glottal stop. Word-finally, /b, d, ɡ/ do not occur phonemically but orthographically in certain loanwords where they are pronounced [p̚, t̪̚, k̚]. There is no liaison: they remain unreleased even when followed by a vowel, as in kulit ubi "potato skins", though they are pronounced as a normal medial consonant when followed by a suffix.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 The fricatives [f, z, ʃ, x] are found in loanwords only.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The glottal stop [ʔ] is an allophone of /k/ and /ɡ/ in the coda: baik, bapak. It is also used between identical vowels in hiatus. Only a few words have this sound in the middle, e.g. bakso (meatballs) and rakyat (alternative word of 'people' or 'society'). It may be represented by an apostrophe in Arabic derived words such as Al Qur'an.
- ^ In Johor-Riau Malay, the more widely used standard variety of Malay in Malaysia, /r/ in the syllable coda is omitted (although it may be retained in formal speech).
- ^ In traditional Malay areas, the rhotic consonant /r/ is realized as a velar or uvular fricative, [ɣ] or [ʁ], and elided word-finally. Elsewhere, it is an alveolar tap [ɾ], trill [r] or approximant [ɹ]. Its position relative to schwa is ambiguous: kertas "paper" may be pronounced [krəˈtas] or [kərəˈtas].
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 In Johor-Riau Malay, word-final /a/ is pronounced as [ə].
- ^ [ɑ] is an occasional allophone of /a/ after or before more carefully pronounced consonant from Arabic loanwords, example: qari [qɑri].
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 [e, o] are allophones of /i, u/ in native words in closed final syllables, but have become established as distinct phonemes in English and Javanese loanwords. The diphthongs /ai, au/, which only occur in open syllables, are often merged into [e, o], respectively, especially in Java.
- ^ The Malay /e/ doesn't quite line up with any English vowel, though the nearest equivalents are the vowel of clay (for most English dialects) and the vowel of get. The Malay vowel is usually articulated at a point between the two.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Some words borrowed from European languages have the vowels [ɛ] and [ɔ], such as pek [pɛk] ('pack') and kos [kɔs] ('cost'). Words borrowed earlier have a more nativized pronunciation, such as pesta ('fest'), which is pronounced [pestə]..
- ^ The Malay /o/ doesn't quite line up with any English vowel, though the nearest equivalents are the vowel of sole (for most English dialects) and the vowel of raw in Australian English. The Malay vowel is usually articulated at a point between the two.
- ^ Instances of [ei] are typically realized simply as [e].
- ^ Stress generally falls on the penultimate syllable. If that syllable contains a schwa [ə], stress shifts to the antepenult if there is one, and to the final syllable if there is not. Some suffixes are ignored for stress placement.
