A Malaysian Grab driver was left pleasantly surprised when a foreign student from China, who had only recently arrived, began conversing with him in fluent Malay during a ride.
The wholesome encounter was first shared by the student herself through a video posted on Xiaohongshu, where she documented her experience speaking Malay with a local driver in Malaysia.
‘I only know a little’
In the video, the student modestly told the driver that she only knew “a little bit” of Malay. But the moment she started talking, her clear and surprisingly fluent Malay immediately stunned the driver.
Curious, he immediately asked where she was from. When she replied that she was from China, the driver jokingly said he now needed to start learning Mandarin too.
Learnt the language back in China
The driver assumed the student must have lived in Malaysia for quite some time to pick up the language so well but was told she had arrived in the country not too long ago, leaving him stunned.
You just came and you already know the language?” he asked in disbelief.
The student then revealed that she had actually spent four years studying Malay back in China before coming to Malaysia.
Impressed, the driver praised her efforts, adding that even some Malaysians struggle with mastering the national language.
“People like this really give us headache,” he joked, referring to locals who grew up in Malaysia but still can’t speak Malay fluently.
Speaking to WeirdKaya, the student shared that she previously studied at Xi’an International Studies University, majoring in foreign languages.
I’ve always been a fan of learning foreign languages, and I chose Malay when I enrolled in university,” she said.
Her decision has certainly paid off, now that she is studying at the University of Malaya (UM), knowing the language has made daily communication much easier.
“Malaysians are very friendly, and they always give me a lot of praise when I speak Malay to them,” she added.
