When Malay counts things, a small word called a penjodoh bilangan (classifier) goes between the number and the noun: seorang guru (one teacher), dua ekor kucing (two cats), tiga buah rumah (three houses). English does the same in “a sheet of paper” or “a loaf of bread”.
What your child will learn
- Use orang for people and ekor for animals
- Use buah for large or solid things
- Use biji, batang, helai and keping by the shape of the thing
The shape decides
Orang is for people, ekor (tail) for animals and buah for big things such as houses, cars and tables.
Smaller things follow their shape: biji for small round things (telur, bola), batang for long stiff things (pensel, pokok), helai for thin soft things (kertas, baju) and keping for flat pieces (biskut, papan).
Example questions
Here are a few questions like the ones in the first quest. Can you solve them?
1. Pilih penjodoh bilangan yang betul: ___ guru
👩🏫- seekor
- seorang
- sebuah
- sebiji
Show answer
Answer: seorang. “Orang” digunakan untuk manusia.
2. Isi tempat kosong: “Tiga ___ murid sedang membaca.”
- buah
- ekor
- biji
- orang
Show answer
Answer: orang. Murid ialah manusia: tiga orang murid.
3. Gambar yang manakah dibilang dengan “ekor”?
- ✏️
- 🐔
- 🏠
- 👩🏫
Show answer
Answer: 🐔. Ayam ialah haiwan: seekor ayam.
Tips for grown-ups
- Count things at home aloud with the classifier: “tiga biji epal”, “dua helai tuala”.
- When shopping, ask “berapa ekor ikan?” or “berapa biji oren?”