Malaysian Culture Through |
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Campur bicara The mouth is used to talk and discuss. It seems to be a Malaysian culture to use related words to form a group of synonymous idioms. Campur bicara, campur cakap and campur mulut are simpulan bahasa of the same meaning. In bahasa cakap mulut, "campur cakap" is to mix two languages together. Officially, it means to meddle in other people's affair, i.e. to be a busybody.
Campur cakap Same as campur bicara.
Campur gaul To socialize with
Pelajar Universiti Belanda, Tom Gunnar Hoogervost,mampu menguasai Bahasa Melayu dengan pantas kerana bercampur gaul dengan penduduk Ambon.
Dutch University student, Tom Gunnar Hoogervost, was able to learn Malay fast because he mixes around with the residents of Ambon.
Campur mulut Same as campur bicara.
Campur tangan This is different from campur bicara/cakap/mulut, because the hands are involved, a person who campur tangan intervenes as to try to change a situation.
Dalam perlawanan Piala Dunia 1962 antara Itali dan Chile, dua pemain Itali dibuang padang dan polis terpaksa campur tangan untuk menenangkan keadaan setelah pemain-pemain saling menendang dan menumbuk.
In a World Cup match 1962 between Italy and Chile, two Italian players were disqualified while police had to intervene to calm the situation after players kicked and fought each other with fists.
Cangkul angin To hoe the wind is a futile deed.
Perokok yang sudah berada di peringkat ketagih tidak berganjak daripada amalan yang cangkul angin itu biarpun harga rokok dinaikkan.
Smokers who are already in the addicted stage do not give up on the futile habit even though the price of cigarettes has increased.
Carak benak The way one sucks out all the content of a turtle egg is carak, carak benak is to suck the blood out of the bone marrow. So this is a person who takes too much profit ...the blood and sweat of others...for himself.
Cari akal Use one's wit to solve a problem.
Abang ipar saya selalu mencari akal untuk mencari rezeki tanpa bekerja keras.
My brother-in-law always finds a way to make a living without working too hard.
Cari bala To look for misfortune.
Memang cari bala besar kalau hina si anjing hitam serta ahli keluarganya.
It is indeed looking for big trouble to insult that notoriously bad person and his family.
Cari fasal Fasal is a topic. So one who looks for a topic out of the blue is stirring up an issue -- looking for a fight...
Sepatutnya suami isteri dapat berbincang dengan tenang dan tidak selalu mencari fasal berterusan.
Ideally husband and wife can talk things out calmly and not always getting into fights continuously.
Cari gaduh In the Malaysian culture, there are many sanak saudara and sahabat handai, and "cari fasal" has many relatives and friends such as "cari gaduh". Yeap they are synonymous.
Cari helah To look for an excuse.
Apa gunanya kita mencari helah dan berdolak-dalik apabila sesuatu kegagalan jelas telah berlaku?
What's the point of us looking for excuses and excuses when a failure has occurred?
Cari jalan Same as cari akal.
Cari lantaran Lantaran is a synonym of fasal. Same as cari fasal.
Cari makan Look for bread of sustenance, another way of saying to make a living. A great reflection of food as a top priority in the Malaysian culture.
Wow! Seorang mekap artis baru beli kereta Mercedes. Siapa kata kerja jurumekap tak boleh "cari makan?"
Wow! A make-up artist has just bought a Mercedes. Who said it is not possible to make a living as a make-up artist?
Cari muka To seek praises for one's face.
Orang berada bolehlah pamer harta untuk cari muka.
Rich people can get admirations by show off their possessions.
Cari perkara Perkara is matter, fasal. Same as cari fasal.
Cari rezeki Cari makan.
Cari salah To look for fault therefore cari fasal.
Cari sebab Sebab is lantaran so...cari fasal
Cari selisih Selisih is clash of opinions same as cari fasal.
Cari seteru Seteru is enemy, to look for an enemy is cari fasallah! Hopefully this is the last strings of synonyms and Wan is a bit embarrassed with this cumbersome trait in the Malaysian culture just to explain ONE thing.
Cecah bumi Landing on the ground.
Kapal angkasa Soyuz dijangka mencecah bumi di Qaraghandy.
The Soyuz spacecraft is expected to land on the earth at Qaraghandy.
Cek lambung If you bring this cheque to the bank, they will bounce it back to you...the person who wrote this cheque does not have enough money in his account to pay you. Ah in English, cek lambung is the infamous bounce cheque in our Malaysian culture.
Cek tendangThe same principle as cek lambung. In this case, the bank kicks the cheque back to you...
"Akaun bank saya dibekukan berikutan cek yang saya hantar."--pemenang pertanding memancing yang diberi cek tendang oleh penganjur.
"My bank account is frozen as a result of the check I turn in."--Winner of an angler competiton who was given a bounce cheque by the organiser.
Top of Malaysian Culture and Idioms.
