A kata nama am is a common noun: a general name for a person, an animal, a thing or a place — guru (teacher), kucing (cat), meja (table), sekolah (school). It is written with a small letter unless it starts a sentence.
What your child will learn
- Recognise common nouns
- Sort nouns into people, animals, things and places
- Find the common noun in a sentence
Naming in general
Common nouns do not point to one particular person or place. “Doktor” is any doctor; “bandar” is any town. That is what makes them different from proper nouns such as Doktor Lim or Ipoh.
A handy test: can you put “seorang”, “seekor” or “sebuah” in front of it? Seorang guru, seekor kucing, sebuah meja — all common nouns.
Example questions
Here are a few questions like the ones in the first quest. Can you solve them?
1. “Pasar” ialah kata nama am bagi…
🛒- orang
- tempat
- haiwan
- benda
Show answer
Answer: tempat. Pasar ialah tempat.
2. Yang manakah nama tempat?
- ubat
- katil
- hospital
- jururawat
Show answer
Answer: hospital. Hospital ialah tempat.
3. Betul atau salah? “Kerusi” ialah kata nama am.
🪑- Betul
- Salah
Show answer
Answer: Betul. Kerusi ialah nama umum bagi benda.
Tips for grown-ups
- Play “name five”: five animals, five things in the kitchen, five places in town — in Malay.
- Label things around the house with their Malay names.