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) |