The national language of Indonesia is Bahasa Indonesia , although
there are also over 250 native languages spoken throughout the
archipelago. Bahasa Indonesia is a form of Bahasa Malay and, because
it's written in Roman script, has no tones and uses a fairly
straightforward grammar, it's relatively easy to learn.
If you need more help, try Indonesian: A Rough Guide Phrasebook.
Pronunciation
a as in a cross between f a ther and c u p
e sometimes as in a long; or as in p ay ; or as in g e t; or sometimes
omitted ( selamat pronounced "slamat")
i either as in bout i que; or as in p i t
o either as in h o t; or as in c o ld
u as in b oo t
ai as in f i ne
au as in h ow Most consonants are pronounced as in English, with the
following exceptions:
c as in ch eap
g always hard as in g irl k hard, as in English, except at the end of
the word, when you should stop just short of pronouncing it.
Greetings and basic phrases
If addressing a married woman , it's polite to use the respectful term
Ibu or Nyonya; if addressing a married man use Bapak. Mau ke mana? (literally
"want to where") is the usual opening gambit in any conversation, and
means " where are you going ?" The proper reply is mau ke& (want to go
to&) followed by your intended destination. Other good answers are saya
jalan jalan (I'm just walking) or saya makan angin (literally "I'm
eating the wind"). When asked if you can speak Indonesian , bisa
berbicara bahasa Indonesia?, the usual response is saya belum lancar (I'm
not yet fluent) or sedikit sedikit (just a little); the less confident
should go for ma'af tidak bisa (sorry not at all).
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Good morning (5-11am)
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Selamat pagi |
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Good day (11am-3pm)
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Selamat siang |
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Good afternoon (3-7pm)
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Selamat sore |
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Good evening (after 7pm)
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Selamat malam |
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Good night |
Selamat tidur |
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Goodbye |
Selamat tinggal
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See you later |
Sampai jumpa lagi
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Have a good trip |
Selamat jalan |
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Enjoy your meal |
Selamat makan |
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Cheers/Enjoy your drink
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Selamat minum |
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How are you? |
Apa kabar? |
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I'm fine |
Bagus/Kabar baik
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Please (requesting)
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Tolong |
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Please (offering) |
Silakan |
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Thank you (very much)
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Terima kasih (banyak)
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You're welcome |
Sama sama |
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Sorry/Excuse me |
Ma'af |
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No worries/Never mind
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Tidak apa apa |
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Yes |
Ya |
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No (with noun) |
Bukan |
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Not (with verb) |
Tidak (sometimes pronounced
"tak") |
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What is your name? |
Siapa nama anda?
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My name is& |
Nama saya&
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Where are you from?
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Dari mana? |
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I come from& |
Saya dari&
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Do you speak English?
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Bisa bicara bahasa Inggris?
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I don't understand |
Saya tidak mengerti
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Do you have&? |
Ada&? |
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I want/would like&
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Saya mau& |
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I don't want it/No thanks
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Tidak mau |
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What is this/that? |
Apa ini/itu? |
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When? |
Kapan? |
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Where? |
Dimana? |
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Boyfriend or girlfriend
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Pacar |
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Foreigner |
Turis |
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Friend |
Teman |
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Men/women |
Laki-laki/perempuan or wanita
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Adjectives
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Another |
Satu lagi |
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Beautiful |
Cantik |
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Big/small |
Besar/kecil |
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Clean/dirty |
Bersih/kotor |
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Cold |
Dingin |
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Expensive/inexpensive
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Mahal/murah |
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Good/bad |
Bagus/buruk |
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Hot (water/weather)
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Panas |
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Hot (spicy) |
Pedas |
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Ill |
Sakit |
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Married/single
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Kawin/bujang |
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Open/closed |
Buka/tutup |
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Very much/a lot
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Banyak
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Getting around
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Where is the&?
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dimana&? |
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I would like to go to the&
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Saya mau pergi ke&
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& airport |
& lapangan terbang
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& bank |
& bank |
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& beach |
& pantai |
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& bemo/bus station
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& terminal
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& city/downtown
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& kota |
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& hospital |
& sakit |
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& hotel |
& losmen |
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& market |
& pasar |
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& pharmacy |
& apotik |
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& police station
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& kantor polisi
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& post office |
& kantor pos
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& shop |
& toko |
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& telephone office
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& wartel/kantor telkom
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Bicycle |
Sepeda |
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Bus |
Bis |
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Car |
Mobil |
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Entrance/exit |
Masuk/keluar |
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Ferry |
Ferry |
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Motorbike |
Sepeda motor |
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Taxi |
Taksi |
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Ticket |
Karcis |
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To come/go |
Datang/pergi |
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How far? |
Berapa kilometre?
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How much is the fare to&?
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Berapa harga karcis ke&?
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Where is this bemo going?
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Kemana bemo pergi?
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Stop! |
Estop! |
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Here |
Disini |
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Right |
Kanan |
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Left |
Kiri |
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Straight on |
Terus |
Accommodation and shopping
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How much is&? |
Berapa harga&?
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&single room |
&kamar untuk satu orang
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&double room |
&kamar untuk dua orang
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Can I look at the room?
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Boleh saya lihat kamar?
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Is there&? |
Apakah ada&?
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&air-conditioning
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&AC |
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&bathroom |
&kamar mandi
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&breakfast |
&makan pagi
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&fan |
&kipas |
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&hot water |
&air panas
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&mosquito net |
&kelambu nyamuk
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&toilet |
&kamar kecil/wc (pronounced
"way say") |
Numbers
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Zero |
Nol/kosong |
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One |
Satu |
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Two |
Dua |
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Three |
Tiga |
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Four |
Empat |
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Five |
Lima |
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Six |
Enam |
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Seven |
Tujuh |
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Eight |
Delapan |
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Nine |
Sembilan |
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Ten |
Sepuluh |
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Eleven |
Sebelas |
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Twelve, |
Duabelas, |
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thirteen, etc |
tigabelas, etc
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Twenty |
Duapuluh |
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Twenty one, |
Duapuluh satu,
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twenty two, etc
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duapuluh dua, etc
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Thirty, forty, etc
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Tigapuluh, empatpuluh, etc
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One hundred |
Seratus |
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Two hundred, three hundred,
etc |
Duaratus, tigaratus, etc
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One thousand |
Seribu |
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Two thousand, three
thousand, etc |
Duaribu, tigaribu, etc
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Ten thousand |
Sepuluhribu |
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One hundred thousand
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Seratusribu |
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One million |
Sejuta |
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Two million |
Dua juta |
Time and days of the week
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What time is it?
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Jam berapa? |
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It's three o'clock
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jam tiga |
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& ten past four
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jam empat lewat sepuluh
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& quarter to five
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jam lima kurang seperempat
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& six-thirty |
jam setengah tujuh (literally
"half to seven") |
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& in the morning
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& pagi |
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& in the afternoon
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& sore |
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& pm/in the evening
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& malam |
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Today/tomorrow
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Hari ini/besok
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Yesterday |
Kemarin |
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Monday |
Hari Senin |
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Tuesday |
Hari Selasa |
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Wednesday |
Hari Rabu |
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Thursday |
Hari Kamis |
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Friday |
Hari Jumat |
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Saturday |
Hari Sabtu |
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Sunday |
Hari Minggu |
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