Latest / Learn Malay with Fexingo / Malay Question Word 'Apa' - What
Transcript
- Lucas: Hey, welcome back to Learn Malay with Fexingo. I'm Lucas. Luna: And I'm Luna. We're picking up right where we left off, and today we're zooming in on a question word that's super useful everywhere. Lucas: Exactly. Today we're playing with 'apa' — the Malay word for 'what'. You've heard it in 'Apa khabar?' for sure. Luna: Oh, definitely. That's like the first thing you learn. 'Apa khabar' — how are you. Lucas: Right. But 'apa' pops up in so many places. Let's start with the simplest: 'Apa ini?' — what is this? Lucas: Apa ini? Luna: Apa ini? Lucas: Good. 'Apa' means what, 'ini' means this. Put them together and you're pointing at something. 'Apa ini?' Luna: What is this? Nice. And if it's over there, I'd say 'Apa itu?' Lucas: Exactly. 'Itu' is 'that'. So 'Apa itu?' — what is that? Let's practice both. Lucas: Apa ini?... Apa itu? Luna: Apa ini?... Apa itu? Lucas: Perfect. Now, imagine you're at a fruit stall at the market. You see a strange fruit. You ask the seller, 'Apa ini?' Luna: What is this? And they say... hmm, how do I ask what they want? Lucas: Great question. You could ask, 'Apa yang awak mahu?' — what do you want? Or in a shop, you might hear that from the seller. Lucas: Apa yang awak mahu? Luna: Apa yang awak mahu? Lucas: Yeah. 'Awak' means you, 'mahu' means want. So literally, what do you want? Luna: And if I want something, I can say 'Saya mahu ini.' — I want this. Lucas: There you go. 'Saya mahu ini.' Simple and clear. Lucas: Saya mahu ini. Luna: Saya mahu ini. Lucas: Now let's put it together. I'll be the seller. You come to my stall, point at a fruit, and ask 'Apa ini?' Luna: Apa ini? Lucas: That's a durian. And you say, 'Saya mahu ini.' Luna: Saya mahu ini. Lucas: Perfect. You just bought a durian. That's a real conversation. Luna: Okay, I'm feeling more confident. But what if I want to ask someone how they are? I know 'Apa khabar?' but is that the same 'apa'? Lucas: Yes, same word. 'Apa khabar?' literally means 'what news?' but it's the standard greeting for 'how are you?' Lucas: Apa khabar? Luna: Apa khabar? Lucas: Good. So you have 'Apa ini?', 'Apa itu?', 'Apa yang awak mahu?', and 'Apa khabar?' — all with the same little word. Luna: It's like a key that opens lots of doors. Lucas: Exactly. And that's what we love about Malay — one small word, so many uses. Lucas: Before we go further, let's do a quick recap of today's phrases. Ready? Luna: Ready. Lucas: Apa ini? Luna: Apa ini? — what is this? Lucas: Apa itu? Luna: Apa itu? — what is that? Lucas: Apa yang awak mahu? Luna: Apa yang awak mahu? — what do you want? Lucas: Saya mahu ini. Luna: Saya mahu ini. — I want this. Lucas: And one more: Apa khabar? Luna: Apa khabar? — how are you? Lucas: Beautiful. Now, a little story. Let's say you're at the market with a friend. You see something weird. You ask your friend, 'Apa ini?' But your friend doesn't know either. So you ask the seller, 'Apa ini?' The seller says it's a jackfruit. You say, 'Saya mahu ini.' And you buy it. Luna: That's a great little scene. I can picture it. Lucas: So 'apa' is everywhere. It's the first question word many learners pick up, and for good reason. Luna: I'm glad we're giving it its own episode. It deserves the spotlight. Lucas: And speaking of spotlight, you know, we keep this show ad-free on purpose. We love making these lessons and we want them to feel like a friend talking to you, not a commercial break. Luna: Yeah, that's really important to us. We want every minute to be about learning, not about selling you something. Lucas: If Fexingo has helped you make progress with Malay, and you'd like to support that ad-free mission, you can buy me a coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Every little bit helps us keep making these episodes. Thanks for listening, genuinely. Lucas: Alright, back to 'apa'. Let's try a quick role reversal. You ask me, 'Apa yang awak mahu?' Luna: Apa yang awak mahu? Lucas: Saya mahu teh tarik. How about you? Luna: Saya mahu air. Plain water for me. Lucas: Perfect. You're using 'apa' and 'mahu' naturally. Luna: This feels doable. I'm liking this. Lucas: Let's do one more round, all together. Repeat after me: Apa ini? Luna: Apa ini? Lucas: Apa itu? Luna: Apa itu? Lucas: Apa yang awak mahu? Luna: Apa yang awak mahu? Lucas: Saya mahu ini. Luna: Saya mahu ini. Lucas: Apa khabar? Luna: Apa khabar? Lucas: Fantastic. You've got the core of 'apa' now. Just remember, it's a tiny word that does a heavy lift. Luna: So if I'm ever lost on what to say, I can just start with 'apa' and figure it out from there. Lucas: That's the spirit. And with that, we'll wrap up today's episode. Thanks for joining us, and we'll see you next time. Luna: Practice these phrases, and we'll chat again soon. Bye for now.