Endonym Atlas NAMES IN THEIR SCRIPTS
Country · MY

Malaysia in other languages: exonyms, Kuala Lumpur, flag and states

Malaysia is Malaysia in Malay as well, written مليسيا in the Jawi script, and its ISO codes are MY, MYS and 458. The name appears here in 174 languages, Kuala Lumpur in 67, and every state and federal territory in Rumi and Jawi with its ISO 3166-2 code.

Official languagesMalay (bahasa Melayu, بهاس ملايو)

Checked

ISO 3166-1alpha-2 · alpha-3 · numeric
Flag of Malaysia
ratio 1:2
alpha-2
MY
alpha-3
MYS
numeric
458
Malaysia Malay · Latin (Rumi)

Persekutuan Tanah Malaysia

مليسيا Malay · JawiRomanised Malaysia

ڤرسكوتوان تانه مليسياPersekutuan Tanah Malaysia

English
MalaysiaFederation of Malaysia
Capital
Kuala Lumpurكوالا لومڤورKuala Lumpur

ISO 3166-1, checked 28 October 2026

01 · Exonyms

Malaysia in other languages

Malaysia in 174 languages and variants, grouped where the spelling is shared, with ISO 639-3 codes and romanisation
LanguagesISO 639-3NameRomanised
English, Breton, Danish, Lower Sorbian, Friulian, Upper Sorbian, Interlingua, Indonesian, Javanese, Ladin, Malagasy, Norwegian, Novial, Sardinian, Saterland Frisian, Swedish, Tagalog, German, Luxembourgish, Low Germaneng / bre / dan / dsb / fur / hsb / ina / ind / jav / lld / mlg / nor / nov / srd / stq / swe / tgl / deu / ltz / ndsMalaysiasame as written
Corsican, Finnish, Kven, Igbo, Italian, Northern Samicos / fin / fkv / ibo / ita / smeMalesiasame as written
Aragonese, Estonian, Galician, Romansh, Võroarg / est / glg / roh / vorMalaisiasame as written
Asturian, Basque, Guarani, Nahuatl, Spanishast / eus / grn / nah / spaMalasiasame as written
Afrikaans, Limburgish, Dutchafr / lim / nldMaleisiësame as written
Crimean Tatar, Gagauz, Karakalpakcrh / gag / kaaMalayziya / МалайзияMalayziya
Welsh, Faroese, Tongancym / fao / tonMaleisiasame as written
Hungarian, Slovak, Albanianhun / slk / sqiMalajziasame as written
Catalan, Occitancat / ociMalàisiasame as written
French, Norman Frenchfra / nrmMalaisiesame as written
Croatian, Slovenianhrv / slvMalezijasame as written
Kinyarwanda, Kirundikin / runMaleziyasame as written
Latvian, Lithuanianlav / litMalaizijasame as written
Quechua, Swahilique / swaMalasyasame as written
AzerbaijaniazeMalayziya / МалајзијаMalayziya
BambarabamMalɛzisame as written
BosnianbosMalezija / Малезија / مالەزٖىياMalezija
CzechcesMalajsiesame as written
CornishcorMalaysisame as written
KashubiancsbMalezjôsame as written
EsperantoepoMalajziosame as written
Franco-ProvençalfrpMalèsiesame as written
West FrisianfryMaleizjesame as written
Scottish GaelicglaMalaidhsia, Malàisia, Malèisiasame as written
IrishgleAn Mhalaeisiasame as written
ManxglvYn Valaysiasame as written
Haitian CreolehatMalezisame as written
IcelandicislMalasíasame as written
Jersey Norman FrenchjnfMalaysiesame as written
Kurmanji KurdishkurMalayziya, Maleziyasame as written
LatinlatMalaesiasame as written
LingalalinMalasisame as written
LatgalianltgMalaizejasame as written
MaltesemltMalasjasame as written
MoldovanmolMalaezia / МалайзияMalaezia
MalaymsaMalaysia / مليسياMalaysia
PolishpolMalezjasame as written
PortugueseporMalásia, Malaísiasame as written
Kalderash RomanirmyMalayeziya / मालायेज़ियाMalayeziya
RomanianronMalaeziasame as written
AromanianrupMaleziasame as written
SicilianscnMalèsiasame as written
SloviosloMalaizia / МалаизиаMalaizia
SamogitiansmgMalaizėjėsame as written
SamoansmoMeleisiasame as written
SomalisomMaleeshiyasame as written
SilesianszlMalezyjosame as written
TetumtetMaláziasame as written
TurkmentukMalaýziýa / МалайзияMalaýziýa
TurkishturMalezyasame as written
UzbekuzbMalayziya / Малайзия / مەلەيزىيەMalayziya
VietnamesevieMã Lai Á, Mã Lai, Ma-lay-si-asame as written
VolapükvolMalaysiyänsame as written
WalloonwlnMalaizeyesame as written
WolofwolMaleesisame as written
ZazakizzaMalêzyasame as written
Abaza, Altai, Avar, Bulgarian, Khakas, Komi, Karachay-Balkar, Kumyk, Lezgi, Russian, Yakut, Tuvan, Udmurt, Kalmykabq / alt / ava / bul / kjh / kom / krc / kum / lez / rus / sah / tyv / udm / xalМалайзияMalajzija
Chuvash, Ossetianchv / ossМалайзиMalajzi
Rusyn, Ukrainianrue / ukrМалайзіяMalajzija
AbkhazabkМалаизиаMalaizia
BashkirbakМалайзия / MalayziyaMalayziya
BelarusianbelМалайзія / MałajzijaMałajzija
ChechencheМалайзи / MalayziMalayzi
KazakhkazМалайзия / مالايزيا / MalayzïyaMalayzïya
KabardiankbdМалайзиэMalajziă
KyrgyzkirМалайзия / مالايزىيا / MalayziyaMalayziya
Kurdish (Caucasus)kmrМалайзи / MalayzîMalayzî
Meadow MarimhrМалайзийMalajzij
MacedonianmkdМалезијаMalezija
MongolianmonМалайзMalajz
SerbiansrpМалезија / MalezijaMalezija
TatartatМалайзия / Malayziä / مالايزىيەMalayziä
TajiktgkМалайзия / ملیزیه / MalajzijaMalajzija
ArabicaraماليزياMālayziyā
South Azerbaijaniazbمالایزییا / MalayziyaMalayziya
Sorani Kurdishckbمالێزیا / MalêzyaMalêzya
Persianfasمالزی / Mâlezi, مالزیا / MâleziyâMâlezi, Mâleziyâ
Western PunjabipnbملائشیاMalāʾišiyā
DariprsمالیزیاMālēziyā
Pashtopusمالېزيا, مالېزيMāleziyā, Mālezī
SindhisndملائيشياMalāʾīšiyā
Uyghuruigمالايشىيە / Malayshiye / Малайшийә, مالايسىيە / Malaysiye / МалайсийәMalayshiye, Malaysiye
Urduurdملیشیا, ملائشیاMalēšiyā, Malāʾišiyā
Dhivehidivމެލޭށިއާ, މެލޭޝިޔާMelēŝiā, Melēšiyā
Hebrewhebמלזיה, מאלזיהMalezyah, Mālezyah
Ladinoladמאלאסיה / MalasiaMalasia
YiddishyidמאַלײזיעMaleyzye
Amharicamhማሌዢያ, ማሌዝያMaležiya, Malezya
GreekellΜαλαισίαMalaisía
ArmenianhyeՄալայզիաMalayzia
Georgian, Mingreliankat / xmfმალაიზიაMalaizia
Lazlzzმალეზია / MaleziaMalezia
HindihinमलेशियाMalešiyā
NepalinepमालेशियाMālešiyā
Bengalibenমাল্যাশিয়া, মালায়েশিয়া, মালয়শিয়াMālæšiyā, Mālāyešiyā, Mālôyšiyā
GujaratigujમલેશિયાMalešiyā
OdiaoriମାଲେସିଆMālesiā
Punjabipanਮਲੇਸ਼ੀਆMalešīā
SinhalasinමලයාසියාවMalayāsiyāva
KannadakanಮಲೇಶಿಯMalēšiya
Malayalammalമലേഷ്യMalēṣya
Tamiltamமலேசியா, மலேஷியாMalēciyā, Malēšiyā
TelugutelమలేషియాMalēṣiyā
Chinesezho馬来西亞/马来西亚Mǎláixīyà
Cantoneseyue馬来西亞/马来西亚Mahloihsainga
Japanesejpnマレイシア, マレーシアMareishia, Marēshia
Koreankor말레이시아Mallaeisia
Tibetanbodམ་ལ་ཤི་ཡ།Ma.la.ši.ya
Dzongkhadzoམ་ལེ་ཤི་ཡ།Ma.le.ṣi.ya
BurmesemyaမလေးရှားMálešà
ThaithaมาเลเซียMālēsiya
LaolaoມາເລເຊັຽMālēsiẏa
Khmerkhmម៉ាឡេស៊ីMāḷesī

Malay is given in Latin (Rumi) and Jawi. Chinese and Cantonese share one spelling and differ in reading; the Vietnamese row lists the Sino-Vietnamese Mã Lai Á, the short Mã Lai and the phonetic Ma-lay-si-a.

02 · NamesU+06A0 ARABIC LETTER AIN WITH THREE DOTS ABOVE

One name, two Malay scripts

Malay writes the country exactly as English does, Malaysia, in the Latin alphabet called Rumi. The older Arabic-based script, Jawi, spells it مليسيا, and the full title Persekutuan Tanah Malaysia becomes ڤرسكوتوان تانه مليسيا. Jawi needs letters that Arabic does not have; two of them, ڤ and ڠ, already appear in that title and in the name of the currency, ريڠݢيت (ringgit).

Because the name is short and ends in a familiar country suffix, few languages change it much. Twenty languages besides Malay keep Malaysia unchanged, among them Indonesian, German, Swedish and Tagalog. Italian, Finnish and Corsican write Malesia, Spanish and Basque Malasia, and French says Malaisie. Polish has Malezja, Turkish Malezya, Romanian Malaezia.

In Cyrillic the form Малайзия (Malajzija) is shared by Russian and thirteen other languages, Bulgarian among them; Ukrainian and Rusyn write Малайзія. Arabic has ماليزيا (Mālayziyā), while Persian prefers the shorter مالزی (Mâlezi). Further east the name is rebuilt in local sounds: マレーシア (Marēshia) in Japanese, 말레이시아 (Mallaeisia) in Korean, มาเลเซีย in Thai and മലേഷ്യ (Malēṣya) in Malayalam.

Kuala Lumpur travels almost untouched. Most Latin-script languages write it as Malay does; a few adapt the spelling to their own rules, as in Portuguese Cuala Lumpur, Latvian Kualalumpūra and Esperanto Kuala-Lumpuro, and Russian and Ukrainian hyphenate it as Куала-Лумпур.

03 · Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur in other languages

Kuala Lumpur in 67 languages and variants, grouped where the spelling is shared, with ISO 639-3 codes and romanisation
LanguagesISO 639-3NameRomanised
English, French, German, Luxembourgish, Low German, Irisheng / fra / deu / ltz / nds / gleKuala Lumpursame as written
Azerbaijani, Slovio, Turkmenaze / slo / tukKuala-Lumpur / Куала-ЛумпурKuala-Lumpur
BosnianbosKuala Lumpur / Куала Лумпур / قۆآلا لۆمپۆرKuala Lumpur
EsperantoepoKuala-Lumpurosame as written
Haitian CreolehatKouala Loumpousame as written
IcelandicislKúala Lúmpúrsame as written
Kurmanji KurdishkurKuwala Lûmpûrsame as written
LatvianlavKualalumpūrasame as written
LithuanianlitKvala Lumpūrassame as written
MoldovanmolKuala Lumpur / Куала-ЛумпурKuala Lumpur
MalaymsaKuala Lumpur / كوالا لومڤورKuala Lumpur
PortugueseporCuala Lumpursame as written
SamogitiansmgKvala Lumpūrssame as written
SomalisomKuala Lumbursame as written
TagalogtglKuwala Lumpursame as written
UzbekuzbKuala-Lumpur / Куала-Лумпур / كۇئەلە-لۇمپۇرKuala-Lumpur
VietnamesevieKua-la-lăm-pơsame as written
Mongolian, Russian, Ukrainianmon / rus / ukrКуала-ЛумпурKuala-Lumpur
BashkirbakКуала-Лумпур / Kuala-LumpurKuala-Lumpur
BelarusianbelКуала-Лумпур / Kuała-ŁumpurKuała-Łumpur
BulgarianbulКуала ЛумпурKuala Lumpur
ChuvashchvКуалӑ-ЛумпурKuală-Lumpur
KazakhkazКуала-Лумпур / كۋالا-لۋمپۋر / Kwala-LwmpwrKwala-Lwmpwr
KabardiankbdКуалэ-ЛумпурKuală-Lumpur
KyrgyzkirКуала-Лумпур / كۇالا-لۇمپۇر / Kuala-LumpurKuala-Lumpur
OssetianossКуалӕ-ЛумпурKualä-Lumpur
SerbiansrpКуала Лумпур / Kuala LumpurKuala Lumpur
TatartatКуала-Лумпур / Kuala-Lumpur / كۇئالا-لۇمپۇرKuala-Lumpur
TajiktgkКуала-Лумпур / کوؤله لومپور / Kuala-LumpurKuala-Lumpur
Arabicaraكوالا لامبور, كوالا لمبور, كوالا لومبور, كوالالمبورKuwālā Lāmbūr, Kuwālā Lambūr, Kuwālā Lūmbūr, Kuwālālambūr
South Azerbaijaniazbکوالا لومپور / Kuala-LumpurKuala-Lumpur
Persianfasکوالا لومپور / Kuâlâ Lumpur, کوآلالامپور / KuâlâlâmpurKuâlâ Lumpur, Kuâlâlâmpur
Western Punjabipnbکوالا لمپرKvālā Lampar
Pashtopusکوالا لومپور, کوالا لمپور, کواللمپورKwālā Lūmpūr, Kwālā Lumpūr, Kwālalumpūr
Sindhisndڪوالا لمپورKvālā Lumpūru
Uyghuruigكۇئالا لۇمپۇر / Kuala Lumpur / Куала-ЛумпурKuala Lumpur
Urduurdکوالا لمپورKvālā Lampūr
Hebrewhebקואלה־לומפורQūʾalah-Lūmpūr
Yiddishyidקװאַלע לומפורKvale Lumpur
Amharicamhኩዋላ ሉምፑርKuwala Lumpur
GreekellΚουάλα ΛουμπούρKoyála Loympoýr
ArmenianhyeԿուալա ԼումպուրKouala Loumpour
Georgiankatკუალა-ლუმპურიKuala-Lumpuri
Hindihinकुआलालम्पुर, कुआला-लंपुर, क्वाला-लंपुर, क्वाला लमपुरKuālālampur, Kuālā-Laṃpur, Kvālā-Laṃpur, Kvālā Lampur
Nepalinepकुआला-लुम्पूरKuālā-Lumpūr
Bengalibenকুয়ালা লামপুর, কুয়ালালামপুরKuyālā Lāmpur, Kuyālālāmpur
PunjabipanਕੁਆਲਾਲੰਪੁਰKuālālãpur
Kannadakanಕೌಲಾಲಂಪುರ, ಕೌಲಲಾಂಪುರ್, ಕೌಲ ಲುಂಪುರ್Kaulālaṃpura, Kaulalāṃpur, Kaula Luṃpur
Malayalammalകോലാലമ്പൂർ, കുലാലമ്പൂർKōlālampūr, Kulālampūr‍
Tamiltamகோலாலம்பூர்Kōlālampūr
Telugutelకౌలాలంపుర్Kaulālaṃpur
Chinesezho吉隆坡Jílóngpō
Cantoneseyue吉隆坡Gātlùhngbō
Japanesejpnクアラ・ルンプールKuara-Runpūru
Koreankor쿠알라룸푸르, 콸라룸푸르Kualla Lumpureu, Kwalla Lumpureu
Burmesemyaကွာလာလမ်ပူKwalalãpu
Thaithaกัวลาลัมเปอร์Kuālā Lâmpə̄[r]
LaolaoກົວລາລຳເປີKôwlā Lāṃpœ̄
Khmerkhmគួឡាឡុម្ពួរ, កួលាលុមបួរ, កូឡាឡាំពួរKuaḷāḷumpuar, Kualālumbuar, Kūḷāḷāṃpuar
04 · States

The 13 states and 3 federal territories of Malaysia

Malaysia has 13 states (negeri) and 3 federal territories (wilayah persekutuan). The table gives the full Malay name of each in Rumi and in Jawi, the name ISO 3166-2 uses, the code and the state capital. Letter codes were replaced by numbers in 2003; the old code stands under each one.

Malaysia, ISO 3166-2:MY: 13 states, 3 federal territories
ISO 3166-2Malay (Rumi)Malay (Jawi)EnglishAdministrative centreChange
States negeri نݢري13
MY-01was MY-J Negeri Johor Darul Takzimنݢري جوهر دارالتعظيم Johor Johor BaharuJohor Baharu
MY-02was MY-K Negeri Kedah Darul Amanنݢري قدح دارالامن Kedah Alor SetarAlor Setar
MY-03was MY-D Negeri Kelantan Darul Naimنݢري كلنتن دارالنعيم Kelantan Kota BaharuKota Baharu
MY-04was MY-M Negeri Melaka Bandaraya Bersejarahنݢري ملاك باندراي برسجاره Melaka MelakaMelaka
MY-05was MY-N Negeri Sembilan Darul Khususنݢري سمبيلن دارالخصوص Negeri Sembilan SerembanSeremban
MY-06was MY-C Negeri Pahang Darul Makmurنݢري ڤهڠ دارالمعمور Pahang KuantanKuantan
MY-07was MY-P Negeri Pulau Pinangنݢري ڤولاو ڤينڠ Pulau Pinang GeorgetownGeorgetown
MY-08was MY-A Negeri Perak Darul Ridzuanنݢري ڤيراق دارالرضوان Perak IpohIpoh
MY-09was MY-R Negeri Perlis Indera Kayanganنݢري ڤرليس ايندرا كايڠن Perlis KangarKangar
MY-10was MY-B Negeri Selangor Darul Ehsanنݢري سلاڠور دارالاحسن Selangor Shah AlamShah Alam
MY-11was MY-T Negeri Terengganu Darul Imanنݢري ترڠݢانو دارالايمان Terengganu Kuala TerengganuKuala Terengganu
MY-12was MY-SA Negeri Sabah Di Bawah Bayuنݢري سابه د باوه بايو Sabah Kota KinabaluKota Kinabalu
MY-13was MY-SK Negeri Sarawak Bumi Kenyalangنݢري سراوق بومي كڽالڠ Sarawak KuchingKuching
Federal territories wilayah persekutuan3
MY-14was MY-W Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpurولايه ڤرسكوتوان كوالا لومڤور Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur Kuala LumpurKuala Lumpur
MY-15was MY-L Wilayah Persekutuan Labuanولايه ڤرسكوتوان لابوان Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan Bandar LabuanBandar Labuan
MY-16 Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajayaولايه ڤرسكوتوان ڤوتراجاي Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya PutrajayaPutrajaya 2003 Added by ISO as the third federal territory

Codes and the names in the English column: ISO 3166-2:MY on the ISO Online Browsing Platform and newsletter I-5 of 5 September 2003, read from the English Wikipedia mirror on 28 October 2026; no change since. Full names in Rumi and Jawi and the capitals: the 2017 edition of this list.

Districts of every state

05 · Divisions

State titles and the change to numeric codes

Most states carry a title after the name, and the table keeps it. Eight titles begin with Darul: Johor Darul Takzim, Kedah Darul Aman, Kelantan Darul Naim, Negeri Sembilan Darul Khusus, Pahang Darul Makmur, Perak Darul Ridzuan, Selangor Darul Ehsan and Terengganu Darul Iman. Jawi spells these as one word, for example دارالتعظيم. Sabah is Di Bawah Bayu, Sarawak Bumi Kenyalang, Perlis Indera Kayangan and Melaka Bandaraya Bersejarah; Pulau Pinang has no title.

The three federal territories are Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya. Putrajaya is the newest of them and entered ISO 3166-2 on 5 September 2003, in the same newsletter that replaced the old letter codes with the numbers 01 to 16. The single letters match those on vehicle registration plates (J for Johor, W for Kuala Lumpur); Sabah and Sarawak were the exceptions, coded MY-SA and MY-SK.

Several capitals share a name with their state: Melaka, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, and Kuala Terengganu in a longer form. The capital of Labuan is Bandar Labuan.

06 · Questions

Questions about the names and states of Malaysia

How is Malaysia written in Jawi?

مليسيا. The official title Persekutuan Tanah Malaysia is ڤرسكوتوان تانه مليسيا.

How many states does Malaysia have?

13 states and 3 federal territories (Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya), 16 units in ISO 3166-2:MY.

What are Malaysia's ISO codes?

MY (alpha-2), MYS (alpha-3) and 458 (numeric) in ISO 3166-1. Subdivision codes run from MY-01 Johor to MY-16 Putrajaya.

What is Malaysia called in Malayalam?

മലേഷ്യ (Malēṣya). Tamil writes மலேசியா or மலேஷியா, Hindi मलेशिया.

How do Romanian and Albanian write Malaysia?

Romanian writes Malaezia, Aromanian Malezia, Albanian Malajzia.