A businessman from China chatting with Malaysian clients was left amused and a little confused after spotting a quirky texting habit: Malaysians love to end their sentences with “ya”.
Yes, “ya”.
He shared this observation on Xiaohongshu (XHS), saying almost every Malaysian he messaged used “ya” at the end of their texts — something he found both strange and oddly cute.
I was curious what it meant. Every time I got a message, it would end with ‘ya’. In Chinese, we wouldn’t usually do that.”
Why “ya” tho?
According to the man, even though his Malaysian contacts could speak Mandarin, they preferred to text in English — and that’s when the “ya” habit stood out.
He admitted that at first he thought it was some kind of special code, but later realised it’s just something Malaysians do to make their tone sound friendlier.
Malaysian netizens later explained in the comments: Adding “ya” softens the message so it doesn’t sound too formal or harsh.
So instead of a cold “Please confirm”, you’ll get: “Please confirm ya.”
See? Much nicer.
What do you think? Cute habit or unnecessary typing? Let us know in the commment section ya.
