: It is well known that each affix in the Malay language possesses its own specific meaning. However, studying affix meanings solely from a semantic perspective is insufficient for fully understanding their actual meanings. Therefore, the combined application of semantic and pragmatic approaches plays an important role in interpreting the meanings of affixes. This article analyzes the Malay ter- affix based on the views of previous linguists and examines its relevance through large-scale corpus data. The results of the study demonstrate that the integration of semantics and pragmatics enables a more precise interpretation of the meanings of the ter- affix. During the research, several functional and semantic meanings of this affix that were not indicated in traditional grammars were also identified.