The Malay Word Counter counts words in Bahasa Melayu and correctly handles kata ganda — reduplication. In Malay, doubling a root with a hyphen, like kanak-kanak (children) or buku-buku (books), forms a single word rather than two. This free tool counts your text accurately and instantly, right in your browser.
How it works
Your text is split on whitespace into tokens. Each token’s leading and trailing punctuation is stripped, while internal hyphens are preserved. A token is classified as reduplication when:
- it is full doubling — X-X, e.g. budak-budak (kids);
- it is rhyming reduplication — the two halves share their first letters, e.g. bukit-bukau (hills); or
- it is affixed reduplication — one half extends the other, e.g. buah-buahan (fruits).
Every such token is counted as exactly one word, matching how Malay grammar treats reduplication.
Example
The phrase Kanak-kanak membaca buku-buku has three words: kanak-kanak, membaca, and buku-buku. A counter that splits on hyphens would wrongly report five. This tool reports three and lists kanak-kanak and buku-buku as reduplicated.
Tips
- Paste long passages freely; counting is instant and local.
- Use the reduplication list to confirm plural and emphatic forms were handled correctly.
- Pair with the Malay Character Counter for script-aware character totals.