Malay in the wards

okay, this post is more to benefit myself - because I need to increase my prowess in Bahasa, I shall try and note useful terms in malay I could use in the Hospital wards in Malaysia.

I am a foreigner studying in Malaysia, so I had to slowly build on my malay - so I was wishing there was an easy reference to which I can refer to - but mostly I learnt from observation.

its going to be a long list, so i suggest using Ctrl+F to navigate yourself :)

Introduction

Hello, (good morning / good evening) My name is  -----, I am a medical student / doctor
Salam.(Selamat pagi / petang /) Nama saya  -----, saya pelajar perubatan / doktor

I wish to discuss about your condition/illness with you. is that okay?
Saya ingin membincangkan tentang keadaan/penyakit anda (encik / cik / puan / tuan). Boleh kah?

if you're comfortable with  it
kalau anda selasa.

Why did you come to visit us?
kenapa anda melawat kami?

Why did were you admitted here?
kenapa anda masuk ke wad ini?

how many days
berapa hari

how long
berapa lama

can we/I examine you?
bolehkah kami / saya periksa anda?

time-scale words -

satu - 1
dua - 2
tiga - 3
empat - 4
lima - 5
enam - 6
tujuh - 7
lapan - 8
sembilan - 9
sepuluh - 10
dua puluh - 20

hari - day
hari-hari - days
minggu - week
bulan - month
tahun - year

semmingu - one week
dua minggu - two weeks
sebulan - one month
dua bulan - two months

pagi - morning
petang - afternoon-evening
malam - night

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illness-words

Cardiovascular

sakit dada - chest pain
peluh - sweat
susah nafas - difficult breathing
nafas bersulit - difficulty breathing
batuk - cough
bangun - wake (from sleep)
bantal - pillow
jantung- heart
sakit jantung - heart disease
Darah tinggi - hypertension

Gastrointestinal

sakit perut - abdominal pain
muntah - vomit
angin - abdominal discomfort / bloatedness / pain (its a very vague word meaning "gas")
sendawa - burp
makan - eat
swallow - menelan
buang air besar - defecate
berak - poop (simple term)
tandas - toilet
sembelit - constipation
susah nak berak - constipation (simple term)
kencing manis - diabetes (literally - "sweet urine")
hati - liver
usus - intestine
dubur - anus

Respiratory

batuk - cough

kahat - sputum

bunyi - sound

nafas - breath

bunyi pernafasan - respiratory sound

asma - asthma 

rokok - smoking
paru - lung
tekak - throat
hidung - nose
selsema - common cold

CNS

Pening - dizzy

kepala - head

kepala sakit - headache 

... to be continued!
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the following text is unrelated to medical education.

The "BERAT" story

I would like to share a story about my misunderstanding in malay, since you've stuck around till the end. 

I used to travel to and fro from Kuala Lumpur to Seremban weekly, using the private bus that departs from the Pasar Seni (sentral market) LRT station to the Seremban bus station. 

During the 2 years of stay in Seremban, I became increasingly efficient at using the public transport and bus journeys - there are several things that we need to take care in order to have a safe journey - but the topmost in my list is the control of my bowels and gastrointestinal conditioning. 

This is the story which lead to me learning this, the hard way.

about 2 months into my Seremban - Kualalumpur routine journey, when that faithful day happened. 

in the afternoon of my day in KL, I think I ate something bad - perhaps the egg in the Nasi Lemak was a bit off... but anyway I was clutching onto my lower abdomen while I was riding my LRT towards the bus station. 

once I reached the bus station, the first thing I would do is to check if the bus is there or not. Sometimes if the bus is there, if you would run towards it, the bus driver would kindly wait for me to alight. So I did the usual and looked for the bus-

and it was there - ready to depart. At that moment, I forgot about my large intestine which was getting a bit hyperactive, I ran towards the bus before it would drive off and leave me waiting for 30 minutes or more at the hot bus station, looking at passerbys. 

Thankfully (or not!) I arrived in time and the bus departed as soon as I was on it. 

once I sat down, I had to come to my senses and came face-to-face with the most pressing sense - literally as i felt something was pressing from the insides of my guts. 

I attempted to use shallow breaths, so that my lungs would not expand onto my abdomen - any more pressure onto my large intestine and it would need to find an exit for its contents... 

I also tried focusing on something else - the greenery alongside the highway, but everything seemed to aggravate my gastrointestinal earthquake and the tsunami of colic that would come and go. The blasting music in the bus also seemed to make matters worse too. 

The private bus usually does not make stops. It would just depart, and it will not be stopped by anything till it reaches its destination - even if it ran over a cow, donkey or perhaps even a man, and definitely not to relieve the passengers of its rectal content. (That was what I assumed with my panicked state of mind)

I began looking into my bag for a plastic bag, and around to see if i can ask the other passenger to move away as I use the plastic bag (I was VERY desperate), but I still had some pride in me to not do that while I fight with the thirteenth colic wave that washed over me.

but when the fourteenth wave came, I slowly stood up and began walking down the aisle, plastic bag in my hand. I decided nope, there are too many people in the bus, and the windows of the bus is bolted shut so I can't throw the plastic bag out the window after my deed is done.

I have to do it - so I hobbled towards the bus driver -

"encik, saya nak BERAT"

(Berat means "heavy" in malay - I meant to say "Berak" which is poop)

the driver, who looked at my facial expression which was a mixture of purple and maroon from withstanding my labor pains, seemed to understand the situation.

"HAH!? OHHHHHH YOU NAK BERAK!!!!"

and I am sure everyone in the bus heard it even over the blasting tamil music in the bus. I was clutching onto the driver's seat until the driver prompty went into the rest-area. I thanked all the Gods there is in the universe, and controlled all my sphincters in my body towards the toilet.

This story has a happy ending.

nobody got hurt, and there were no shit-stained bus seats, nor horrified bus passengers, or a poop-filled plastic bag clinging onto the car frontscreen.

Most importantly my Colons are now calm and happy. It was very satisfied by itself for the job that it has done - which is to transport waste material smoothly outside.

I walked into the bus, apologizing to the driver and the passengers. Everyone knew what was going on.

.... So this is how I have learnt the word "berak" and "berat",  It has then since been engraved, deeper than the  groove that the middle meningeal artery sits on the inner surface of the skull. 

I have also learnt to manage my bowels before any journey. 

Thank you for reading this far, I know it was a waste of time, but I hope you had fun.