This is a list of Indonesian-Malay false friends, that is, word pairs similar in appearance but different in meaning. Diacritics are shown for clarity in this table (while they are not usually written). Translations may be approximated; see linked entries for details.
| Indonesian | Standard Malay | Translation, Indonesian only |
Translation, Both |
Translation, Standard Malay only |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| acara | acara | program, agenda; court examination | event | - | |
| ahli | ahli | - | expert | member | Both senses (member and expert) are listed in Indonesian dictionary, however the member sense is obsolete (fossilized in several compounds). |
| akar umbi | akar umbi | tuberous root | - | grass roots | |
| akta | akta | act (written legal document) | - | act (of parliament) | |
| alam | alam | universe | nature, realm, world | kingdom (taxonomic rank) | |
| ampaian | ampaian | - | clothesline | suspension (chemistry, physics) | |
| angkasawan | angkasawan | radio broadcaster | astronaut, cosmonaut | - | |
| awak | awak | I (Sumatran East Coast), crew (transportation) | - | you (casual) | |
| ayat | ayat | entry | ayat | sentence |