Malay alphabet chart with pictures
26 letters · tap 🔊 to hear each one.
| Picture | Letter | Word | Meaning | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | A | ayam | chicken | |
 | B | bola | ball | |
 | C | cawan | cup | |
 | D | daun | leaf | |
 | E | epal | apple | |
 | F | feri | ferry | |
 | G | gajah | elephant | |
 | H | harimau | tiger | |
 | I | ikan | fish | |
 | J | jam | clock | |
 | K | kucing | cat | |
 | L | lebah | bee | |
 | M | monyet | monkey | |
 | N | nanas | pineapple | |
 | O | oren | orange | |
 | P | payung | umbrella | |
| Q | Quran | Quran | ||
 | R | rumah | house | |
 | S | sudu | spoon | |
 | T | tikus | mouse | |
 | U | ular | snake | |
 | V | van | van | |
 | W | wau | kite | |
| X | xilofon | xylophone | ||
 | Y | yoyo | yo-yo | |
 | Z | zirafah | giraffe |
The Malay alphabet for kids uses the same 26 Latin letters as English, known in Malay as tulisan Rumi. Children who already know their ABC recognise every shape; what they need is the Malay letter names and sounds. On this page each letter has a picture word, such as A ayam (chicken), G gajah (elephant), J jam (clock), R rumah (house) and W wau, the colourful moon kite of Kelantan. Tap a letter to hear it in clear audio.
Malay letter names and sounds
The Malay letter names are close to English, with a few changes: a, bi, si, di, i, ef, ji, ec, ai, je, ke, el, em, en, o, pi, kiu, ar, es, ti, yu, vi, dabliu, eks, wai, zed. Inside words, though, every letter keeps one steady sound, which makes reading much easier than in English. Watch out for these:
- C sounds like "ch": cawan (cup) is "cha-wan", cili is "chi-li".
- R is lightly rolled: rumah, harimau.
- E has two sounds. The soft e pepet (like "uh") in emak and sepuluh, and the clear e taling (like "eh") in epal and oren. Children learn them by ear.
- Letter pairs: ng as in bunga (flower), ny as in nyanyi (sing), sy ("sh") as in syukur, and kh as in khabar.
Q, V, X and Z are rare and appear mostly in borrowed words, so our chart uses Quran, van, xilofon and zirafah. Many Malaysian classroom charts use the same choices.
Vowels, then syllables: how tadika teaches reading
In Malaysian tadika and prasekolah classes, the national preschool curriculum (KSPK) builds early reading step by step. Children first learn the vowels (huruf vokal) a, e, i, o, u, then consonants (huruf konsonan), and then the suku kata method: every consonant is sung with every vowel.
| Syllable row | Words to read | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ba bi bu be bo | bola, batu | ball, stone |
| ka ki ku ke ko | kaki, kuda | leg, horse |
| ma mi mu me mo | mata, muka | eye, face |
| sa si su se so | susu, sudu | milk, spoon |
| la li lu le lo | lebah, lori | bee, lorry |
Two open syllables make most first words, which is why Malay children often read simple words by 5 or 6. There is no need to hurry a younger child: letter play at 3-4 is plenty.
Rumi and Jawi
Malay has two scripts. Rumi (Latin letters) is used for school, signs and books, and it is what this page teaches. Jawi, based on Arabic letters, is still taught in religious classes and appears on some signboards and in Brunei. If your child is learning to read the Quran, they will meet Arabic letters there. Keep the two separate at first; young children cope well with both when each has its own time and place.
How to use the Malay alphabet game
Start in Listen: tap five letters and repeat each with its word, "B, bola!". Then open Find it, where Golu asks for a letter and your child taps it. A wrong tap gets a hint and a glow, never a "wrong". Memory suits 5-6 year olds. In the settings you can lower the number of choices for a 3-year-old.
Alphabet play at home
- Name first. Find the letters in your child's own name.
- Sign spotting. Read big letters (huruf besar) on shop signs and small letters (huruf kecil) in books.
- Clap syllables. Clap ha-ri-mau or ze-bra and count the claps.
- Make a wau. Draw a moon kite for W and decorate it.
- Print this page. The letter chart prints cleanly from your browser for tracing.
Children in English schools may call B "bee". That is fine; echo the Malay name "bi" and the Malay sound in words. English learners can also try ABCD for kids, and Indonesian-speaking relatives the Indonesian alphabet.
ABC bahasa Melayu untuk kanak-kanak
Abjad bahasa Melayu mempunyai 26 huruf, dari A hingga Z. Di halaman ini, setiap huruf ada gambar dan perkataan, contohnya A ayam, B bola, W wau dan Z zirafah. Sentuh huruf untuk mendengar sebutannya.
Mulakan dengan huruf vokal a, e, i, o, u. Kemudian ajar suku kata seperti ba-bi-bu-be-bo dan gabungkan menjadi perkataan, contohnya bo-la dan ku-da. Belajar sambil bermain selama lima minit sehari sudah memadai. Jangan lupa memuji setiap usaha anak.
How to use this page at home
Say it, then find it
Play for a few minutes, then look for the same thing away from the screen: malay words on the shelf, in the kitchen, on the way to school. A child learns a word properly when they meet it twice, once on the screen and once in their hand.
Ten minutes is enough
Short and happy beats long and tired. Stop while your child still wants more, and come back tomorrow: the same page on five short days teaches far more than one long sitting. Nothing here is scored, so there is no reason to push.
Use both languages
Tap the language button at the top to hear the words in your home language first and the second language after. Hearing the same picture named in two languages is one of the few things research agrees builds attention as well as vocabulary.
