Photo: Oqbas/Shutterstock 13 of the Most Hilarious Malaysian Expressions Travel by Gyneth Tan Jul 21, 2015 1. Malaysians are not ‘horny’ … we are ‘salty wet.’ (Ham sap) 2. Malaysians don’t say someone is ‘uptight’ or ‘anxious’…we say ‘you are a tight long spider.’ (Kan cheong spider) 3. Malaysians don’t ‘get confused’ … we ‘scramble around making a lot of banging noise.’ (Kalang kabut) 4. Malaysians don’t say someone has a ‘casual attitude’ … we say they’re ‘green vegetables.’ (Cincai) 5. Malaysians don’t ‘go on vacation’ … we ‘eat wind.’ (Makan Angin) 6. Malaysians aren’t curious to the point of being annoying …we’re ‘home grannies’. (Kaypoh) 7. Malaysians don’t say something is ‘super difficult’ … we say ‘eat strength.’ (Chia lat) 8. We Malaysians have a mental state somewhere between oblivious and silly … we call it ‘blur like a squid.’ (Blur like sotong) 9. Malaysians don’t say something is ‘second-rate’ … we say it’s ‘half-past six.’ 10. Malaysians don’t say ‘forget it’ … we say ‘wait long time.’ (Tan ku ku) This story was produced through the travel journalism programs at MatadorU.Learn More 11. We don’t refer to our slang as a “mix of Malay, English, Hokkien, Cantonese and Tamil’ … we say it’s ‘vegetables and a fruit salad’. (Rojak) 12. Malaysians don’t say ‘Oh wow! … we say ‘Is it’ or ‘Izzit’ (Ya ke!) 13. When someone points out the obvious, we don’t say ‘What else did you expect?’ … we say ‘ah, but then?’ (Abuden) Trending Now The Top 10 Best Adults-Only All-Inclusive Caribbean Resorts Jun 24, 2026 10 of the Best All-Inclusive Caribbean Resorts for Honeymooners Jun 9, 2026 The Most Beautiful Converted Churches You Can Stay in Around the World on Airbnb Jun 15, 2026 Steam Trains, Sleepers, and Underwater Tunnels: The 7 Most Iconic Train Rides in Europe May 12, 2026 8 Small Swiss Villages That Are Worth the Detour May 11, 2026
