Indonesian for Beginners - Bahasa Indonesia untuk Pemula

Indonesian is a language created from a simple fisherman language that would combine the many residents under one roof and is therefore kept simple and easy to learn . It has no Articles and simple language uses a easy grammar. If one e.g. wants to strengthen a word or want to express that it is more, one uses the repetition of the words : Man is orang and orang-orang means people . Many words are made up of other , therefore the basic vocabulary is less than in the English language. e.g. Mata = eye , Hari = day .. Mata hari = eye of the day = the sun .. In contrast to the English language the adjectives allways come after the noun , so it means eg in english its the red car .. in Bahasa Indonesia : Mobile merah .. Car red. Also tenses are usually simply appended to the sentence .. Therefore, there are not many different verb forms but simply appendepends for example hari ini ( this day ) to the sentence .. or e.g. Kemarin (yesterday) or besok (tomorrow). Courtesy is very important in Indonesia , so there are two versions of the words for you and me , usually the polite form is used in normal Day speach, the other variant is only used to the same age and at the same time close friend . I is called in normal use Saya and you = Anda .. only real friends can also use kamu for you and aku for I Older women are addressed with the word Ibu , which means mother , older men with Bapak (short- pak ), which means father . Offers are normally not rejected with a precipitous No, but instead with more friendly descriptions as Sudah (already) , Sudah ada ( already have) Belum (not yet ) or nanti (later) .. or simply ma af (sorry) and negating with a friendly gesture. You will see that Indonesians are lovely and very hospitable people with just a few words and friendly behavior. Below now simplest words and sentences to facilitate the first contact and a little introduction to the language.

English Bahasa Indonesia
Hello hallo oder hi
Yes ya
No Tidak
Thank you Terima kasih (get like)
Please Silahkan
How are you ? Apa Kabar ?(Whats News ?)
i am fine Baik-baik saja (good-good only)
Good Morning Selamat pagi (Selamat is spoken salamat)
Good Midday Selamat Siang
Good afternoon Selamat Sore
Good Evening/Good Night Selamat Malam
Good Bye(when separating) Selamat Tinggal (when you go)(good stay)
Selamat Jalan (if you stay and the other one goes)(good going)
Sampai jumpa lagi (to meet again)
I don't understand Saya tidak mengerti
Left Kiri (also used for stop here in bus or taxi)
Right Kanan
can you speak english? Anda bisa bicara bahasa inggris? (you can speak language english?)
can you speak indonesian? Anda bisa bicara bahasa indonesia?
(normally you dont need to use it, but maybe you will be asked)
yes, a bit ya, sedikit
Sorry Ma af or Maafkan Saya (i am sorry)
(for asking for permission you use: permisi)
I want ... please Saya mau ... silahkan
Good Appetite Selamat Makan(good eating)
Selamat Minum (good drinking)
one satu
two dua
three tiga
four empat
five lima
six enam
seven tujuh
eight delapan
nine sembilan
ten sepuluh
eleven sebelas
12-19 dua-belas,tiga-belas...sembilan-belas
twenty dua-puluh
thirty-39 tiga-puluh (plus singles e.g. tiga-puluh-sembilan for 39)
one hundred seratus
xx-hundred xx+ratus (e.g. 500 = lima-ratus)
one thousand seribu
xx-thousand xx+ribu (e.g. 3000 = tiga-ribu)
million juta (e.g. 2 million = dua juta)