Bahasa Indonesia

Language & Dialects in Indonesia

There are about 583 languages and dialects spoken in the archipelago of Indonesia. They belong to the different ethnic groups of the population spread across the nation.

Some of the distinctly different local languages are: Acehnese, Batak, Sundanese, Javanese, Sasak, Tetum of Timor, Dayak, Minahasa, Toraja, Buginese, Halmahera, Ambonese, Ceramese, and several Irianese languages. To make the picture even more colorful, these languages are also spoken in different dialects.

Bahasa Indonesia is the national language which is simimlar to Malay Language spoken in Malaysia. Most of the words are similar, the difference is only in the slang and tune. Bahasa Indonesia is written in Roman script (English Alphabets) and based on European orthography hence it can be easy to learn if one is familiar with English.

In most of the tourist destination in Indonesia, English is the number one foreign language fairly spoken and written, some Dutch is still spoken and understood in the bigger cities. Mandarin and some Chinese dialects such as the Hokkien may be spoken by the Chinese community especially in Medan!

So here are some basic Bahasa Indonesia which can be useful for your short trip to Indonesia.

Simple Bahasa Indonesia

Greetings and Civilities

* Good Morning (until 11 a.m) = Selamat Pagi
* Good day (11 a.m. to 3 p.m) = Selamat Siang
* Good afternoon (3 p.m. to 6 p.m) = Selamat Sore
* Good Night (after 6 p.m) = Selamat Malam
* Goodbye = Selamat Tinggal
* What is your name? = Siapa Nama anda?
* My name is…. = Nama Saya….
* Thank you = Terima kasih
* You’re welcome = Kembali
* How are you? = Apa kabar?
* Im fine = Kabar baik
* Please (asking for help) = Tolong
* Please (giving permission) = Silakan
* Sorry = Maaf
* Excuse me = Permisi

Questions

* How much? = Berapa?
* Whats the price? = Berapa harganya?
* Expensive = Mahal
* Cheap = Murah
* Discount = Diskon
* How many Kilometers? = Berapa Kilometer?
* Where is….? = Di mana ada?
* Which way? = Ke mana?
* May I take a photo? = Boleh saya foto?
* Where do you live? = Anda tinggal di mana?
* What is this called in Bahasa Indonesia? = Apa namanya ini dalam bahasa Indonesia?
* Do you have…..? = Ada….?
* What time is it? = Jam Berapa?
* Time = Jam

Directions:

• Straight = Lempang / Terus
• Turn = Belok
• Left = Kiri
• Right = Kanan
• Up = Naik
• Down = Turun
• On top = Atas
• Front = Depan
• Behind = Belakang
• Side = Samping
• North = Utara
• South = Selatan
• East = Timur
• West = Barat

Useful World And Phrases

* I don’t understand = Saya tidak mengerti
* I don’t want it = Saya tidak mau
* I want to go to…. = Saya mau ke….
* Yes = Ya
* No = Tidak
* Toilet = Kamar Kecil, WC (pronounced “way say”)
* Telephone number = Nomor telepon
* Hot = Panas
* Cold = Dingin
* Delicious = Enak

• A little = Sedikit
• A lot = Banyak
• More = Tambah
• Less = Kurang

Food & Dining

* Delicious = Enak
* Let’s Eat = Ayo Makan
* I cant take Hot Spicy Food = Saya tidak bisa makan cabe (chilli)

• Fruit = Buah Buahan
• Meat = Daging
• Vegetables = Sayur
• Seafood = Sari Laut
• Beef = Daging Lembu
• Pork = Daging Babi
• Chicken = Ayam
• Prawn = Udang
• Mutton = Daging Kambing
• Ikan = Fish
• Crab = Kepiting
• Salt = Garam
• Sugar = Gula
• Water = Air

Romance:

* I like you = Saya suka kamu
* I love you = Saya cinta kamu

Pronouns & Title:

• I = Saya
• You = Anda, Kamu
• We = Kita, Kami
• He / She = Dia
• They = Mereka
• Mr.  = Bapak
• Miss = mBak
• Mrs. = Ibu
• Man / Boy = Lelaki / Laki – Laki
• Woman / Girl = Perempuan / Cewek

Weather and Temperature:

• Hot = Panas
• Cold = Dingin
• Warm = Hangat

Numbers:

One of the most important Bahasa to learn is the numbers. You use numbers everywhere, for time, dates, prices, descriptions etc. If you could find a calculator to indicate prices, that can help or even papaer to write down the numbers would work great. This is because numerical numbers in Indonesia are of international standards.

So here are the numerical numbers and translations to Bahasa Indonesia:

1. satu
2. dua
3. tiga
4. empat
5. lima
6. enam
7. tujuh
8. delapan / lapan
9. sembilan
10. sepuluh
11. sebelas ( for numbers 11-19 use word “belas” behind the single numbers, see below)
    
12. dua belas
13. tiga belas
14. empat belas
15. lima belas
16. enam belas
17. tujuh belas
18. delapan belas
19. sembilan belas
20. dua puluh (“puluh” means tens, or the “ty” in twenty = dua puluh, thirty = tiga puluh , forty = empat puluh)
21. dua puluh satu (add single numbers behind twenty-one = dua puluh satu)
22. dua puluh dua and so on

• tens = puluh
• hundreds = ratus
• thousands = ribu
• millions = juta
• billions = milyar

Hope these basic Bahasa Indonesia will be useful for your trip to Medan Indonesia. We have included this in our Medan City Guide & Map which you can download on top right.