(without the 'h' sound) or at times harimo (with the 'h' sound), hijau which is pronounced as ijo, and limau which is pronounced as lemo (the 'i' sound is pronounced with an 'ay' sound).
v) Many words which begin with 'h' are usually pronounced by the Babas without the 'h' sound:
| MALAY | BABA |
| hati | ati |
| hantu | antu |
| hidung | idong |
| hitam | itam |
| hutan | utan |
vi) Some words that end in 'i' (biji, nasi, tahi) are pronounced by the Babas with a 'k' sound at the end. For tahi, the 'h' sound is silent. Kecil, which does not end in 'i', is also pronounced with a 'k' sound at the end, viz kechik.
vii) Some Malay words which are pronounced differently by the Babas are:
| MALAY | BABA |
| ambil | amek |
| cari | charek |
| muda | munda |
| muka | mungka |
| pijak | pinjak |
| sedawa | sendawa |
| taruh | tarok |
| rezeki | jereki |
IV. ABBREVIATIONS
Some Malay words are abbreviated and pronounced differently by the Babas when conversing, e.g.
| MALAY | BABA |
| apa macam | amcham or apacham |
| apa pasal | apasair or apasal |
| bawa datang | buattang |
| bawa pergi | buat pi |
| buat apa | buat pa |
| beritahu | bertau |
| itu | tu |
| punya | mia |
| sudah | sua |
| tidak boleh | takleh |
| tak usah | toksa |
V. DOUBLE PRONUNCIATION
Some Malay words are pronounced in two ways by the Babas under different circumstances, e.g.
| MALAY | BABA |
| ajar | ajair and hajair |
| hari | ari and hari |
| satu | sau and satu |
VI. UKNOWN ORIGIN
There are words in the Baba language that are of unknown origin and are most probably purely of Baba origin. In such cases, section 2 of the Format is left blank. Examples include alagoju, bedenting, boto pau, dasat, krokodol and others.
VII. DIFFERENT MEANINGS
There are Malay words that carry different meanings in the Baba language, e.g.
| WORD | MALAY MEANING | BABA MEANING |
| benua | large country, continent | awed by everything |
| sekarang | now, immediately, presently | later |
| banding | compare | ponder |
| bujang | bachelor | widowed |
VIII. BABA PHRASES BEGINNING WITH TAK
In searching for the meaning of a Baba phrase beginning with the word tak, look under the next word, i.e. the second word. Thus, for the phrases tak abis-abis and tak manyak sikit look under the words abis and manyak respectively and so on.
a
A1 the best
■ A1 topside / tokside the best, the best of quality
abis / habis (habis) done, finished
■ abis kuat at the end of tether
■ abis manyak at the very most
■ tak abis-abis endlessly, not satisfied
■ tak abisan for no better reason
abok (abuk) dust; powdery stuff SEE tolak abok
■ abok sagu SEE kueh
abu (abu) ash
■ abu kueh chang lime-water for making Nyonya dumpling
achap-achap (acap-acap) just sufficient
achair / achar (acar) pickles
achar SEE achair
achu (acu) to aim at an object
■ achuan a mould
■ achuan kueh cake mould
ada (ada) to have; present; existence
■ ada-ada in possession [of wealth] ; wealthy
■ ada adat to have polite ways
■ ada angin baru pokok bergoyang there is no smoke without fire
■ ada ati to be thoughtful
■ ada chan there is a chance or an opportunity
■ ada gula ada semut when one has wealth, one will attract company
■ ada hal there is something going on
■ ada kah? is it?
■ ada kulit mungka to have dignity
■ ada lebeh tak kurang
