Malay
/ˈmeɪ̯leɪ̯/adjective, noun
Malay is spelled M-A-L-A-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,342nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, Malay means “Of or relating to the Malays, a people living in Brunei and coastal regions of Borneo including Kalimantan in Indonesia, on the eastern coast of…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in Malay?
| Letters | 5: M-A-L-A-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.5 times per million words; the 17,342nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is Malay?
Malay appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,342nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce Malay?
- UK /məˈleɪ̯/
- UK /meɪ̯ˈleɪ̯/
- US /ˈmeɪ̯leɪ̯/
Malay has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-Malay.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with Malay?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as Malay from its last stressed vowel (/eɪleɪ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of Malay
- Malays plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does Malay mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of or relating to the Malays, a people living in Brunei and coastal regions of Borneo including Kalimantan in Indonesia, on the eastern coast of Sumatra, the islands of Bangka and Belitung, the Riau archipelago, in most of the Malay Peninsula including the southernmost provinces of Thailand, states of West Malaysia (where they are politically dominant in the federation), and in Singapore.
- 2
In, of or otherwise relating to the languages spoken by Malays.
noun
- 1
A person of Malay ancestry, referring to a diverse group of Austronesian peoples inhabiting the Malay archipelago and Malay peninsula in Southeast Asia.
- 2
Type of mild curry made with yoghurt and fruit, usually pineapple or lychee.
She ordered chicken Malay with rice.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Malay in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | malais, malay , Malais, Malaise, Malay, Malaye |
| German | malaiisch , Malaiie, Malaiin |
| Portuguese | malaio, malásio |
| Spanish | malayo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does Malay come from?
From Malay Melayu, from Malayu, a kingdom on Sumatra's eastern coast (today's Jambi), mentioned by the Chinese Monk Yijing as 末羅瑜國 and during the Yuan (1271–1368) and Ming (1368–1644) dynasties as 木剌由, 麻里予兒, 巫來由 and 無來由. First attested in English as 1598. Exonymous derivation from Malayalam മല (mala, “mountain”) has not been demonstrated.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).