Mun paham bisai

14-hours’ non-stop driving…

I knew it’d be tiring, but I didn’t expect it to be THIS tiring.

And now I am on sick leave until Tuesday…

***

Guess what?

Exactly 6 months ago yesterday, I stepped into the working world here in Brunei…

Yes.

It has been 6 months!

WOW.

And do I have a treat for you! 😀

‘Cos apart from work-related stuff, I have been “acquiring” some other “stuff” as well – the most noticeable of them being Bahasa Brunei (BB). FYI, when I grew up in Brunei, BB was not that commonly used back then but it is widely used throughout the country now so I am glad to have the chance to redeem this part of my “Brunei Legacy”. 😉

Based on the above “language-tree line”, it shouldn’t be too much different than Bahasa Malaysia right? 😉

Let’s just start with some of the basic(s) of conversation:-

(please note the following are more suitable for normal everyday conversations and not for formal use)

laki-laki : man, of the male sex

bini-bini :woman, of the female sex

Awang : Mr/Sir

Dayang : Madam/Miss

aku, ku : I, me

kau, ko : you

kita : you (polite)

tani : we

ia : he/she/it

durang : they

~punya : added at the back to show possession eg. ku punya

ani : this

atu : that

inda : no

auwoo, awu : yes

bah : okay

antah : don’t know, no idea

nada, ndada : don’t have (as in possession), nothing

manada : where got

sebarang : nonsense, no such thing

ingau : to care, worry

text, mesej : sms

mun: if

jua : also

pulang : however, used like “pula” in BM

agatah : let’s (as in inviting)

batah : late, taking a long time

karang : later (as in “in the future”)

lurus : correct

banar : true

buyuk : cheat

setau, gaban : when one or someone confidently thinks they know something, but actually don’t

setaie : when one or someone is arrogant, being a jerk

ambong : when someone is being proud, has the “better than thou” attitude

kambang : being proud/vain

malas (tah)(kan) ku ingau : “I don’t f***ing care”

siuk : exciting or “syok”

palui, buduh, baie : stupid

gila : an expression that can be used to mean anything at all, specifically “This is crazy!”

wa(h) : an expression used at the end of a sentence just to “complete” the sentence

apa kan, apa’an : an expression meaning “What the…?” or “What?!”

lai : dear, or used to fondly call those younger than you

damit : small (as in size), young (as in age)

bisai : good

lawa : cantik

bida : ugly

ngalih : tired, exhausted

kapih : no money, broke

berusin, loaded : has lots of money, wealthy

liat : see, watch, show

payah : difficult

kameh : pee

beria : poo

dahak : phlegm

jurit : messy, dirty

gaok : naughty, playful

kebeliangan : shocked, surprised

ijap : scared, afraid, fearful

bersigup : smoking (as in cigarrettes)

T-pax : “blanco”, correction liquid/fluid

beibun : joking, or referring to a joker

lauk : fish

and…

A very often used phrase that is NOT to be confused –

kali : maybe, that’s possible

kali ah : definitely

eg.

Your collegue doesn’t come to work. You wonder: “Sakit kali…” [Maybe he/she is sick.]

You see someone accidentally rams a door. You say: “Sakit kali ah…” [That’s got to hurt.]

Well, that’s about all I can come up with for now (and thanks to my bro for helping out!). In the meantime, you may visit this blog to see how the language really works…

So, until our next BB lesson (if any), know what the post title means?

Paham kali ah… 🙂

P.S.: The author is still learning the language herself so any feedback (corrections, new words) from Bruneians are much appreciated! 🙂