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Malay Words in Dutch

This page is just a collection of Malay words that I often heard as a child. My mother grew up in the Dutch Indies (now Indonesia) before WWII, and she would still use a few Malay words in conversation. In general Dutch there are a few words of Malay, mostly for food; most Malay words have disappeared from Dutch with the passing of that colonial generation. How I say the words will probably not be exactly like native speakers of Malay speak.
Maybe in modern Indonesian Malay (officially: Bahasa Indonesia) the spelling is no longer like Dutch but as in English, like in Malaysia, kechang instead of katjang (peanut) and satay instead of saté (small pieces of meat on wooden skewers, barbecued.)
The Malay word toko

('shop, grocery') specifically means 'Asian grocery' in Dutch.
Nederlands-Indië

2 'The Dutch Indies' - Indonesia of the Dutch colonial era
(Ons Indië

'our India' - Indonesia of the colonial era)

Malay words most Dutchmen are familiar with are in bold

pisang	banana
nasi goreng	fried rice
bami goreng 2	fried noodles
saté	satay
kroepoek	shrimp crackers (large)
taugé	(mung) bean sprouts
katjang	peanut
djeroek	lemon, citrus
ketimoen	cucumber
klapper (klapperboom 2	coconut 'meat' coconut palm)
sambal	ground hot peppers (sauce/paste)
pedis	hot, spicy
wadjang	wok
ketjil	small
besar 2	big

ketjap	soy sauce
manis	sweet
asin	salty
djintan	cumin
ketoembar	coriander
djahé	ground ginger
koenjit 2	turmeric
trassie	smelly dried fish paste
ikan	fish
ajam	chicken
ajam blanda ('Dutch chicken')	turkey
kambing	goat
babi	pork
pangang	roasted

kantjil	(mythical) miniature deer
toko	shop, grocery
pasar	market
goedang	pantry
klamboe	mosquito net
kassian	[expression of pity]
tabé	bye-bye
orang-oetang	orangutang >>
rimboe 2	jungle, boondocks
batik	batik (fabric dyeing technique)
kris	dagger, small sword
klewang	machete
senang	feeling OK
baboe	nanny
tuan	Sir, Lord
krètèk	cloves-scented cigarette

pisang

tietjak

nasi goreng

(with green beans)

Rijsttafel

(rice-table) is the Dutch name for an elaborate Indonesian meal of rice with lots of small side dishes.

Multatuli: Max Havelaar

Multatuli

2 (Latin: 'I have carried, suffered much') was the pen name of Eduard Douwes Dekker

2 who resigned from his position in the colonial bureaucracy of the Dutch Indies (now Indonesia) in protest over the exploitation of the indigenous population, in particular the free hand given local rulers in dealing with their subjects. Multatuli's 1860 novel Max Havelaar

is a slightly fictionalized account of his experiences. It is still considered one of the best, if not the best book in Dutch literature. His sentences are a bit long, but his language is very lively.
The book's first paragraphs introduce the dour narrator of the first chapters Batavus Droogstoppel

a few fragments from the book, but not about the Dutch Indies

Read more of the Max Havelaar in Dutch, free at Project Gutenberg: overview of formats - HTML

Hebrew Words in Dutch

Dutch Food Words and Conversation - Dutch Meals - The Dutch Kitchen

email - Copyright © Marco Schuffelen 2009. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, redistributed, or hotlinked to. Don't be a dief (thief) / dievegge (female thief) - diefstal (theft) - stelen (to steal) - heler (dealer in stolen goods) - hear Dutch - 2