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Instant Indonesian

Words 1 to 100

PART 1 Words 1–10

1	SELAMAT(a word used in greetings) Literally, safe, good, well

Selamat pagi! Good morning! (until around 10.30 a.m.)

Selamat siang! Good day! Good afternoon!

This applies to any time in the middle of the day, between 10.30 in the morning and late afternoon.

Selamat soré! Good afternoon!

This applies to a time from late afternoon till sunset. Note the pronunciation: soré. The é is pronounced like the e in the English word “pet.”

Selamat malam! Good evening!

Selamat makan! Enjoy your meal!

Selamat jalan! Have a safe journey!

Selamat tidur! Have a good sleep!

From the range of expressions, you can see that selamat is a general word for well-wishing. Make use of it any time, and people will be happy.

2	APA? what?

Apa? What (did you say)?

Apa kabar? How are you?

Literally, “What news?”

Mau minum apa, Bu? What would you like to drink? (to a woman)

You will find that where English puts the “what” at the beginning of a question such as this one, in Indonesian the apa comes after the verb concerned.

Mau makan apa, Pak? What would you like to eat? (to a man)

Ada apa, Bu/Pak? What’s up?; What’s wrong?

Apa (Bahasa) Indonesianya “stomach-ache?” What’s the Indonesian for “stomach-ache?”

You can put any word in place of “stomach-ache” in order to ask for its Indonesian equivalent.

3

INI this

Ini apa?/Apa ini? What’s this?

The meaning is the same, but the stress is different: the first word in the sentence gets more stress.

Ini durian. This is a durian.

You will frequently meet the simple sentence structure illustrated by the preceding example. Note that Indonesian does not need a word such as the English “is”—the sentence is quite clear without it.

Ini kamar anda. This is your room.

Durian ini mahal. This durian is expensive.

Hari ini. Today.

Literally, “this day.”

4

ITU that

Itu apa? / Apa itu? What’s that?

The meaning is the same, but the stress is different: the first word in the sentence gets more stress.

Itu siapa? Who’s that?

In Indonesian we say: “That is who?”

Itu isteri saya. That’s my wife.

Literally, “wife of me”; in Indonesian, the thing possessed comes first, and the possessor second. This mere positioning is all that is required to express possession.

Itu mahal. That is expensive.

Itu murah. That is cheap.

5	ADA there is/are

Ada kamar? Is there a room?

In Indonesian, you will quickly find that questions are indicated not by grammatical features, but by intonation. In this example, the question would be indicated by a raised, questioning tone at the end of the sentence. The same sentence, with different intonation, would be a statement.

Ada kamar. There is a room.

Pak Tirto ada? Is Mr Tirto there?

So ada can mean “to be present.”

Pak Tirto ada di rumah? Is Mr Tirto at home?

Ada. Yes, he is.

Tidak ada. No, he’s not.

Ada bir? Do you have a beer?

So ada can also mean “to have.”

Ada. Yes.

6	IBU mother; a mature woman; madam, Mrs

Ibu saya. My mother.

Ibu itu. That woman.

Ibu ada? Is your mother/wife at home?

You will have to use the words Ibu and Bapak very often. The words are often abbreviated to Bu and Pak. Ibu should be used when addressing any woman older than yourself or whom you do not know. Younger women may be addressed as Mbak, although if you are speaking with a younger woman whom you do not know, there is nothing wrong in addressing her as Ibu also.

Apa kabar, ibu? How are you? (to a woman)

Ibu sudah makan? Have you already eaten?

Ibu and Bapak can have names added after them. It is not polite to use someone’s name without using Ibu or Bapak before it, except with people with whom you are very familiar.

Ibu Sri. Mrs Sri, or Sri.

Ibu Hasan sudah makan. Mrs Hasan has already eaten.

Ibu and Bapak are used with everyday, first names, not usually surnames as in English.

7	BAPAK father; a mature male; Mr, sir

Pak Hasan. Mr Hasan, or Hasan.

Pak Hasan sudah makan. Hasan has eaten.

Mau ke mana, Pak? Where are you going? (to a man)

Something that can take a little getting used to is the preference in Indonesian for using Ibu or Bapak, or even the name of a person, in sentences where English uses the pronoun “you.” Speakers of Indonesian often avoid using the Indonesian equivalent of “you.” Try to use Ibu or

Bapak whenever you address a woman or man of the same or older age—you cannot go wrong!

Bapak sudah makan? Have you already eaten? (to a man)

Ini kamar Bapak. This is your room. (to a man)

Pak Hasan ada kamar? Do you have a room, (Mr) Hasan?

8	LAGI in the process of; still(used to express the present continuous tense)

Lagi apa, Bu? What are you doing? (to a woman)

Lagi apa, Pak? What are you doing? (to a man)

Lagi makan. Eating.

Pak Hasan lagi makan. (Mr) Hasan is (currently) eating.

Bu Tirto lagi sibuk. Mrs Tirto is busy (in the middle of doing something).

Pak Tirto lagi keluar. Mr Tirto is out.

Lagi also has another meaning, namely “more” or “again.”

9	SUDAH already

Pak Tirto sudah pulang. Mr Tirto has come home.

Anaknya sudah tidur. The children are asleep.

Sudah siap? Are you ready?

Sudah. Yes, I am.

Sudah soré. It’s late (in the afternoon).

Sudah malam. It’s late (in the evening).

Verbs in Indonesian are not modified to indicate tense. Instead, there are words such as sudah that indicate whether an action or state has been completed. Sudah can sometimes be translated to mean “already;” it serves to indicate that something is completed, or already in a certain condition, and can often be translated into the English perfect tense, “has/have …-ed.” Another such word is belum “not yet”:

Sudah makan? Have you eaten?

Belum. Not yet.

You will find belum very useful as a tag to end questions with:

Pak Hasan sudah datang, (atau) belum? Has Hasan arrived, or not?

Sudah makan, belum? Have you eaten yet, or not?

10	MINTA to ask for

Minta tolong, Pak. May I have some help? (to a male)

Literally, “I am asking for help.”

Minta informasi, Pak. I am seeking information. (to a male)

The word minta usually means “to ask for,” but it also means “could you give me,” or “I want.” It is useful for making requests politely.

Eating and Drinking

Most people love Indonesian food. But be careful of the chillis! The tiny green chillis are the hottest of all—pedas sekali (“very hot!”). You’ll find the red chilli sauce (sambal) in a little jar—help yourself to just a little, to brighten things up.

What will you order? At a restaurant (rumah makan, or restoran for slightly classier establishments) you’ll find a menu (daftar makanan), but probably not at a food-stall (warung). (The former are likely to be cleaner.) Anything with goréng is “fried,” e.g. nasi goréng “fried rice.”

The word nasi refers to rice in its cooked (i.e. steamed) form; it is the basic food of Indonesia. Almost all other dishes are usually eaten with nasi. Some Indonesians say that if they haven’t eaten rice in a particular day, they haven’t eaten! So ask for nasi putih “plain (literally, white) rice” with whatever you order, except with noodles and fried rice. Your fried rice will contain all sorts of tasty things, such as pieces of chicken, and should be eaten hot.

Some good tips:

á If there is saté, ask for about ten sticks. The meat may be chicken (ayam) or goat (kambing), but never pork (babi) in Muslim areas. Any meat of the pig is unlikely to be served, because the pig (like the dog) is considered unclean. In Bali, however, pork is often eaten.

á I would recommend the gado-gado, mixed par-boiled vegetables such as cabbage, carrot and bean sprouts, with a tasty peanut sauce—énak sekali (“very nice!”).

á If there is nasi goréng istiméwa (special fried rice), this usually means that a whole fried egg will be added.

What will you drink? If unsure, go for something that has been boiled. Standard is téh manis “sweet tea,” which comes in a glass, with a neat coaster and lid. Tea may be served with sugar already in it; so if you want tea without sugar, you should ask for téh pahit (literally, “bitter tea”). If you want orange juice, ask for air jeruk. If you just want plain water, ask for air putih.

By the way, the Indonesians are very proud of their fruits. Wherever you go, they will ask, “Have you tried the…?,” referring to their local variety. So try to remember the name, and give it a go, and you’ll find some are really delicious (even maybe the strong-smelling durian).

The way to order and pay for food is generally the same everywhere, with one exception, the rumah makan Padang (Padang restaurant). In this style of restaurant, which serves characteristic, spicy food from West Sumatra, you may find the waiter piling many dishes on the table without being asked. You take food directly from the dishes, and at the end of the meal, the waiter will tally up the price of what you have eaten.

And so, Selamat makan! Go ahead, enjoy your meal …