The next time you say “I want to tapau some nasi lemak, ketupat and otak- otak”, you can officially claim to be a hundred percent speaking English.
These terms and names of popular Malaysian dishes have been officially added to Oxford English Dictionary in its latest March 2025 update.
It explained that people who spoke English alongside other languages tend to borrow “untranslatable words” from another language to fill a lexical gap.
The dictionary said that because the borrowed word is used so frequently, it has become part of their variety of English vocabulary.
Instead of having Anglicised names, Oxford English dictionary has kept the food terms as they are known.
“Nasi lemak” is a Malaysian coconut-infused rice dish that is regarded by many as the country’s national dish. Full of diverse flavours and textures, they are commonly served with egg, coconut slices, anchovies, peanuts, and a fiery sambal chili sauce.
Other new entries to the dictionary are “ketupat” which are rice cake boiled in woven palm leaves that is commonly served as a side with satay and eaten dipped in peanut sauce, and “otak-otak”, a ground fish or seafood snack food that’s mixed with spices, wrapped in banana or palm leaves and cooked by steaming or grilling.
“Tapau”, a colloquial term used to say “takeaway” which has Cantonese and Malay influences, is also another term that’s been added.
Oxford English Dictionary does its updates quarterly.
