nombor
/ˈnombo(r)/
The English phrase "numbers" is translated into Malay as nombor.
nombor is used to refer to numbers. In Malay, the singular form nombor is often used to refer to a collection of numbers or the concept of numbers in general, similar to how English uses the singular for collective concepts. You can use various numerical forms such as Dua (two), Tiga (three), Empat (four), Lima (five), Enam (six), Tujuh (seven), Delapan (eight), Sembilan (nine) and Sepuluh (ten). There are also ordinal numbers such as Pertama (first), Kedua (second), Ketiga (third), Keempat (fourth) and Kelima (fifth).
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of nombor can be expressed by reduplicating the word as nombor-nombor.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈnombo(r)/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often confuse nombor with bilangan. While nombor refers to the digits or symbols themselves (such as a phone number or house number), bilangan refers to a quantity or amount of something.
Did you know?
- The word nombor shares a very distant ancestor with the English word 'name' through the root *nem-.
- In traditional Malay culture, some nombor are avoided in specific contexts due to local superstitions.
- The word nombor is actually a loanword from the English 'number', rather than a word of native Austronesian origin.
Examples in context
- Satu, tiga, dan lima adalah nombor ganjil.One, three, and five are odd numbers.Tatoeba #9130250 by LeeSooHa, translation #73502 by CK
- Dia suka mengumpul nombor bertuah.He likes collecting lucky numbers.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Amir and Farah are filling out a form together.
- AmirFarah, awak sudah isi bahagian nombor?Farah, have you filled in the numbers section?
- FarahBelum, saya tidak pasti nombor mana perlu ditulis.Not yet, I'm not sure which numbers need to be written.
- AmirTulis sahaja nombor kad pengenalan awak.Just write your identification numbers.
- FarahBaiklah, saya akan tulis sekarang.Alright, I will write them now.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry nombor, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries nombor, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
