Guru Bahasa Malaysia Tells ALL About "NYA"?

"Nampaknya ini guru Bahasa Malaysia kami yang baru...kacakNYA!" said a chubby little girl many,many years ago.

The statement above was my first and only crush on a teacher when I was 10 years old.

The same statement also contains the only word you will focus on for this discussion...another small,common and often misused word called NYA.

Nya-For Emphasis

That teacher was Cikgu Idris, a young, handsome and soft-spoken Malay. so it was not enough to say he was kacak. I must say kacakNYA because ALL the girls in my class had crushes on him, too.

Don't blame me for being such a silly goose because we also had another senior guru Bahasa Malaysia but she was very fierce and fat. Garangnya!! Gemuknya!!! We couldn't help it.

Nya-His

Soon it was time for Cikgu Idris to leave school. The girls and I said goodbye to him sadly. He was moved to sing us a farewell song.

"Cikgu Idris pun mengeluarkan GITARNYA dan mendendangkan sebuah ballad. NYANYIANNYA begitu mempersonakan sehingga sekelas menangis teresak-esak."

With HIS GUITAR, he also sang for another class and HIS SINGING moved all the girls there to tears as well.

That was the most handsome teacher I ever had. Sigh!

NYA-Her

Three years later, I met Cikgu Fauziah. This is how I would like to describe her:

" BAJU KURUNGNYA sering secocok dengan KEJELITAANNYA."

Yes, HER BAJU KURUNG always complemented HER LOVELINESS, making her the prettiest guru Bahasa Malaysia I ever had. Even after many years, I can still vividly recall her big eyes and rosy cheeks.

Nya-Its

Please refer to another web page in this site, Its for animals in Bahasa Malaysia

What About NampakNYA?

Nampak ( literally to see) is a verb and NYA serves as the object but is not translated in English. Therefore,

"Nampaknya ini guru Bahasa Malaysia kami yang baru" means

"This seems to be our new Bahasa Malaysia teacher."

Another useful word is rupanya which can be a synonym of nampaknya and another meaning- in fact. For example:

" RUPANYA Cikgu Fauziah seorang yang peramah walaupun beliau tegas semasa mengajar."

"Although Cikgu Fauziah is strict in class, she is IN FACT a friendly person."

A Common Blunder

Especially among non-Malay speakers is to use "dia" ( he/she ) instead of "nya". For example:

"Guru dia peramah" is incorrect.

" Gurunya peramah" is correct.

Caution

" Saya mahukanNYA!"

Be on guard if this is uttered by a guy wearing dark sunglasses and long raincoat lurking at a creepy corner because NYA can also mean SEX...something my guru Bahasa Malaysia is too shy to tell me.

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