The Malay alphabet has 26 letters, the same ones used in English. Five of them — a, e, i, o and u — are vowels (huruf vokal); the other 21 are consonants (huruf konsonan). Almost every Malay syllable is built around a vowel, so knowing them is the first step to reading.
What your child will learn
- Name the five vowels
- Tell a vowel from a consonant
- Find the first and last letter of a word
- Count the vowels and consonants in a word
Five vowels, twenty-one consonants
Malay spelling is very regular: each letter nearly always makes the same sound. The vowels are a, e, i, o and u. Every other letter is a consonant.
In the word “buku” (book), b and k are consonants and both u’s are vowels. Children who can pick out the vowels find it much easier to split words into syllables later.
Example questions
Here are a few questions like the ones in the first quest. Can you solve them?
1. Gambar yang manakah namanya bermula dengan huruf “b”?
- ⚽
- 🐘
- 🏠
- 🍎
Show answer
Answer: ⚽. Bola bermula dengan huruf b. Yang lain ialah gajah, epal dan rumah.
2. Perkataan yang manakah bermula dengan huruf konsonan?
- emak
- ular
- kaki
- itik
Show answer
Answer: kaki. “Kaki” bermula dengan k, iaitu huruf konsonan.
3. Apakah huruf akhir perkataan “ikan”?
🐟- n
- a
- i
- k
Show answer
Answer: n. “Ikan” dieja i-k-a-n. Huruf akhirnya ialah n.
Tips for grown-ups
- Say a word slowly and ask your child which vowel sounds they can hear.
- Hunt for the five vowels on signs, cereal boxes and book covers.