Malaysian Malay expresses fractional quantity through ordinary vocabulary such as setengah and separuh, a productive denominator form with attached per-, and mathematical terms such as titik perpuluhan “decimal point” and peratus “percent.” The grammar is regular, but learners must coordinate it with Malaysian notation: a point marks decimals, while a comma can group thousands.
This page concentrates on mathematical and measurement expressions. It does not inventory classifiers or explain reduplication in general; those systems are covered in the measure-noun page and reduplication overview.
Half: setengah and separuh
Both setengah and separuh can mean “half,” but their preferred environments overlap rather than matching perfectly. Setengah is especially common before a measure or in an everyday quantity: setengah kilo, setengah jam, setengah cawan. Separuh readily highlights one of two portions of a whole: separuh kek, separuh gaji, separuh hari. Separuh is also often preferred in careful formal prose (formal).
Masukkan setengah cawan santan ke dalam periuk.
Put half a cup of coconut milk into the pot.
Saya tunggu hampir setengah jam di klinik tadi.
I waited nearly half an hour at the clinic just now.
Dia menyimpan separuh daripada gajinya setiap bulan.
He/She saves half of his/her salary every month.
With a specifically identified whole, daripada can make the part–whole relation explicit: separuh daripada kek itu “half of that cake,” dua perlima daripada gajinya “two fifths of his salary.” Before a simple measure phrase, no linker appears: setengah kilo gula, not setengah daripada kilo gula.
Ordinary fractions: numerator + per- denominator
For a fraction, state the numerator first. Form the denominator by attaching per- to the number word:
| Figure | Malay | Literal structure |
|---|---|---|
| 1/2 | satu perdua / setengah / separuh | one half |
| 1/3 | satu pertiga / sepertiga | one third |
| 2/3 | dua pertiga | two thirds |
| 1/4 | satu perempat / suku | one quarter |
| 3/4 | tiga perempat / tiga suku | three quarters |
| 2/5 | dua perlima | two fifths |
| 1/100 | satu perseratus / seperseratus | one hundredth |
The prefix and denominator are one word: pertiga, perempat, perlima, persepuluh. The numerator remains separate: dua pertiga, tiga perempat. For a numerator of one, se- may attach to the denominator form: sepertiga, seperempat, seperlima.
Dua pertiga responden bersetuju dengan cadangan itu.
Two thirds of the respondents agreed with the proposal. (neutral survey report)
Gunakan tiga perempat cawan tepung untuk adunan ini.
Use three quarters of a cup of flour for this batter.
Satu perempat daripada kawasan itu masih ditutup.
One quarter of that area is still closed.
Suku is an established word for “quarter” (neutral), particularly in time and ordinary measures: suku jam, tiga suku kilo. In explicitly mathematical prose, satu perempat and tiga perempat make the denominator structure transparent (academic).
There is no English-style plural ending on a denominator or unit. Malay marks the numerator lexically: dua pertiga, not a pluralized form of pertiga.
Mixed numbers and measurement order
A whole number precedes its fractional remainder: dua setengah 2½, satu tiga perempat 1¾. Contemporary usage often places that complete quantity before the unit: dua setengah kilogram, satu tiga perempat meter. The unit-medial order dua kilogram setengah is also established in Malaysian usage and remains common in prescriptive school grammar. In technical writing, figures such as 2.5 kg avoid that variation. Everyday speech strongly favors dua setengah over the more explicit mathematical dua satu perdua.
Resipi itu menghasilkan dua setengah liter sup.
That recipe makes two and a half litres of soup.
Papan ini panjangnya satu meter tiga suku.
This board is one and three-quarter metres long. (unit-medial order)
Malay unit nouns do not change after fractional numbers: 2.5 kilogram, 1.75 meter in a compact technical display; in a full sentence, follow the document's preferred order consistently. A unit name is not made plural.
Decimals: a point in writing, perpuluhan in reading
Current Malaysian notation writes a decimal point: 3.5, 0.75, 12.08. The mark is called titik perpuluhan (formal/academic). In a careful full reading, say the whole-number part, perpuluhan, and then the digits after the point one by one: 3.75 is tiga perpuluhan tujuh lima.
Suhu badan pesakit itu ialah tiga puluh lapan perpuluhan dua darjah Celsius.
The patient's temperature is 38.2 degrees Celsius. (formal reading)
Paras air meningkat sebanyak sifar perpuluhan tujuh lima meter.
The water level rose by 0.75 metres. (technical)
In casual professional speech, English-influenced poin is also heard (informal/technical), but perpuluhan and titik perpuluhan are the reliable standard Malay terms. Koma names a comma; it should not be the default word for the Malaysian decimal point. That is a frequent transfer from Indonesian and from continental European notation.
Digit grouping works in the opposite role: 12,500.75 has a comma separating the thousands and a point before the decimal fraction. Do not write 12.500,75 when following Malaysian numerical convention.
Percentages and discounts
Peratus follows the number: lima peratus 5%, dua belas perpuluhan lima peratus 12.5%. The symbol % replaces the word in compact notation, so do not write both unless a house style specifically requires a gloss.
Kedai itu menawarkan diskaun dua puluh peratus hujung minggu ini.
That shop is offering a twenty-percent discount this weekend.
Kadar respons meningkat daripada 62.5% kepada 71.3%.
The response rate increased from 62.5% to 71.3%. (formal report)
Hanya lapan peratus peserta memilih pilihan terakhir.
Only eight percent of the participants chose the final option.
Peratus does not acquire a plural ending. In a survey sentence, the following noun phrase may come directly after the percentage, as in lapan peratus peserta. Add daripada when you explicitly present the population as a selected whole: lapan peratus daripada semua peserta.
Ratios use kepada
A mathematical ratio is nisbah X kepada Y (academic/formal). Read 3:2 as nisbah tiga kepada dua, or simply tiga kepada dua once “ratio” is established. Kepada expresses correspondence between the ordered quantities; reversing them changes the ratio.
Nisbah air kepada beras ialah dua kepada satu.
The ratio of water to rice is two to one.
Bancuh bahan itu pada nisbah satu kepada empat.
Mix the substance at a ratio of one to four. (technical instruction)
English often compresses this into “three to two.” Malay kepada is not optional in a careful full reading, because it tells the listener how the two quantities correspond.
Common Mistakes
1. Separating per- from its denominator
❌ dua per tiga responden
Incorrect spelling for the fraction two thirds; per- attaches to the denominator.
✅ dua pertiga responden
Two thirds of the respondents.
2. Using koma for a Malaysian decimal point
❌ tiga koma lima
Nonstandard as the default Malaysian Malay reading of 3.5; koma refers to a comma.
✅ tiga perpuluhan lima
Three point five. (formal standard reading)
3. Reversing Malaysian punctuation conventions
❌ 12.500,75
Incorrect under Malaysian convention for twelve thousand five hundred point seven five.
✅ 12,500.75
Twelve thousand five hundred point seven five in Malaysian notation.
4. Adding an English plural ending to a unit
❌ dua setengah liters air
Incorrect — Malay unit nouns remain unchanged after a number.
✅ dua setengah liter air
Two and a half litres of water.
5. Confusing “one by one” with one half
❌ Bahagikan kek itu satu per satu.
Incorrect if the intended meaning is 'divide the cake into halves'; satu per satu means one by one.
✅ Bahagikan kek itu kepada dua bahagian yang sama besar.
Divide the cake into two equal parts.
Key Takeaways
Use setengah or separuh for half, and build most other fractions as numerator plus an attached per- denominator: dua pertiga, tiga perempat. Malaysian decimals use a point and are read with perpuluhan in standard Malay; percentages place peratus after the number, and ratios use kepada between their two ordered values.
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