Count, pay, and check the change
Ten numbers, two rules, every price in Singapore.
The one line to remember
Berapa semua?
How much altogether?
Malay numbers are honest. Once you know one to ten, everything up to a million follows one rule each — belas for the teens, puluh for the tens.
Prices are just numbers read left to right, with setengah for fifty cents. No word for dollar needed.
How it sounds
You and Pakcik
Read it, then hide the English and play it through. Tap a bubble for the word map.
Paying for three things at a wet-market stall.
Malay
Pakcik, ni semua berapa?
English
Uncle, how much for all of this?
Malay
Sayur dua, telur tiga setengah, ikan lapan. Semua tiga belas setengah.
English
Veg two, eggs three fifty, fish eight. Thirteen fifty altogether.
Note
Tiga belas = thirteen. Belas is the -teen: dua belas, tiga belas… up to sembilan belas. Eleven is sebelas, not satu belas.
Malay
Ni lima puluh. Maaf, tak ada duit kecil.
English
Here’s fifty. Sorry, I don’t have anything smaller.
Note
Puluh is the tens: dua puluh (20), tiga puluh (30), lima puluh (50). Duit kecil = small change.
Malay
Tak apa. Baki tiga puluh enam setengah.
English
No problem. Thirty-six fifty change.
Malay
Tiga puluh enam setengah. Betul.
English
Thirty-six fifty. Right.
Note
Repeat the number back. It’s normal, and it’s how you check you heard it right.
Malay
Nak plastik?
English
Want a bag?
Malay
Satu je cukup.
English
Just one is enough.
Malay
Okay. Terima kasih, datang lagi.
English
Okay. Thanks, come again.
Lines to keep
Pocket these
The ones worth saying out loud on the way there.
- casual
Berapa?
How much?
- neutral
Berapa semua?
How much altogether?
- casual
Mahal sikit.
A bit pricey.
Say it with a smile at a market and you might get a discount.
- casual
Boleh kurang?
Can you go lower?
Markets and pasar malam only. Never at a hawker stall.
- casual
Ada duit kecil?
Do you have small change?
- casual
Tak payah baki.
Keep the change.
- casual
Bayar kat mana?
Where do I pay?
Ten numbers, then two rules
Belas makes the teens. Puluh makes the tens. Se- is a clipped satu.
- satu · 1
- dua · 2
- tiga · 3
- empat · 4
- lima · 5
- enam · 6
- tujuh · 7
- lapan · 8
- sembilan · 9
- sepuluh · 10
- sebelas · 11
- dua belas · 12
- dua puluh · 20
- dua puluh lima · 25
- seratus · 100
Watch out
Three things to know
The small things that give a beginner away.
Se- means one
Sepuluh (10), sebelas (11), seratus (100), seribu (1,000). Se- is a clipped satu. Satu puluh is wrong.
Prices skip the word dollar
Tiga setengah is $3.50. Lapan is $8. If the cents aren’t a half you’ll hear them as digits: dua sembilan puluh = $2.90.
Lapan, not delapan
Singapore and Malaysia say lapan. Indonesia says delapan. Same number, different side of the strait.
Quick check
Three questions
No account, no score kept. Just see if it stuck.
Question 1
Tiga belas setengah is…
Question 2
You want to know how much for everything.
Question 3
Which one is 25?
Try it with Aiman
Reading is the easy part. Now say it.
Buy three things at a pasar malam. Ask the price of each, ask for the total, then try for a small discount.
Paste this as your first message. Aiman sets the scene, replies in Malay, and keeps English on the side.