Hi! How are you enjoying Indonesia so far? Is your vacation or business trip or travel going well? We hope so! When you’re staying here, you’ll need to have some basic knowledge of commonly used Indonesian phrases to make sure you’re not totally ‘blank’ when travelling.
Be sure to know how to introduce yourself in Indonesian before making a conversation. It will also increase your chances of making new friends and broaden your network during your stay, so take some time to learn these phrases!
Indonesian Essential Phrases and MeaningÂ
Here are the essential phrases you’ll mostly use in Indonesia:
1. Indonesian Greeting PhrasesÂ
- Good morning = Selamat pagi (s’lah-mawt pag-jee)
- Good day = Selamat siang (s’lah-mawt see-ung)
- Good afternoon = Selamat sore (s’lah-mawt sore-eh)
- Good night = Selamat sore (s’lah-mawt maw-lahm)
- Good bye (to a person leaving) = Selamat Jalan (s’lah-mawt jah-lahn)
- Good bye (if you are the person leaving) = Selamat tinggal (s’lah-mawt ting-gahl)
- How are you? = Apa Kabar (up-ah kah-barr) Also learn other ways to say how are you in Indonesian!
- I’m great = baik baik (bike-bike)
Read more about Indonesian greeting etiquette and manners too.
- I = Saya (sigh-ah)
- You = Anda (awn-da)
- You (sir, to adult man) = Pak (puck)
- You (madam, to adult women) = Ibu (ee-boo)
- He/she = Dia (dee-ah)
- We = kita (kee-tah)
- Them/they = Mereka (ma-reck-ah)
- Who? = Siapa? (see-up-ah)
- What? = Apa? (up-ah)
- When? = Kapan? (Kah-pahn)
- Where? = Kemana? (k’mah-nah)
- Why? = Kenapa? (k’nahp-ah)
3. Indonesian Negations Phrases
- How? = Bagaimana? (bug-eye-mah-nah)
- How many? = Berapa? (burr-ah-pah)
- How much is this? = Berapa ini? (burr-ah-pah in-ee)
- How much is that? = Barapa itu? (burr-ah-pah-ee-too)
- How long? (time) = Berapa lama? (burr-ah-pah lah-mah)
- How far? = Berapa jauh? (burr-ah-pah jow-ooh)
- Hold old? = Berapa umur? (burr-ah-pah oo-more)
- Please (can I have?) = Minta (min-tah)
- Please (help me) = Tolong (toe-long)Â
4. Indonesian Common PhrasesÂ
- Thank you = Terima Kasih (teh-ree-mah kah-see) Also read about How to Say Thank You in Bahasa Indonesia
- You’re Welcome = Sama Sama (saw-ma saw-ma)
- I’m Sorry = Saya minta ma’af (sigh-ah min-tah mah-uff)
- Good = Bagus (bah-goos)
- Very good = Bagus sekali (bah-goos s’kahlee)
- Not good = Tidak bagus (tee-duck bah-goos)
- Fine = Baik (bike)
- Yes = Ya (yaw)
- No = Tidak (tee-duck)
- Like = Suka (soo-kah)
- Don’t Like = Tidak Suka (tee-duck soo-kah)
- I want = Saya mau (sigh-ah mao)
- Don’t want (Tidak mau) (tee-duck mao)
- Family = Keluarga (k’loo-ah-ga)
- Relative = Famili (fa-mee-lee)
- Friend = Kawan (kah-wahn)
- Lover = Kekasih (K’kah-see)Â
5. Indonesian Phrases for Family MembersÂ
- Married = Nikah (nik-ah)
- Husband = Suami (Swah-mee)
- Wife = Isteri (Is-t’ree)
- Father = Bapak (Bah-puck)
- Mother = Ibu (Ee-boo)
- Grandmother = Nenek (neh-neck)
- Grandfather = Kakek (kah-keck)
- Son = Anak laki-laki (ah-nuck lucky-lucky)
- Daughter = Anak perempuan (ah-nuck purom-pwan)
- Child = Anak (ah-nuck)
- Older brother = Abang (ah-bahng)
- Older sister = Kakak (kah=kak)
- Younger sibling = Adik (ah-dick)
- Uncle =Â Paman (pah-mahn)
- Aunt = Bibi (bee-bee)
- Cousin = Misan (mee-sahn)
- Niece/Nephew = Keponakan (k’paw-nahk-ahn)
- 1 = Satu (sah-too)
- 2 = Dua (doo-ah)
- 3 = Tiga (tee-gah)
- 4 = Empat (um-putt)
- 5 = Lima (lee-mah)
- 6 = Enam (e-num)
- 7 = Tujuh (too-joo)
- 8 = Delapan (d’lup-un)
- 9 = Sembilan (sem-bee-lun)
- 10 = Sepuluh (seh-poo-loo)
- 11 = Sebelas (s’blahs)
- 12 = Dua belas (doo-ah b’lahs)
- 13 = Tiga belas (b’lahs)
- 14 = Empat belas(um-putt b’lahs)
- 15 = Lima belas (lee-mah b’lahs)
- 16 = Enam belas (e-num b’lahs)
- 17 = Tuju belas (too-joo b’lahs)
- 18 = Delepan belas (d’lup-un b’lahs)
- 19 = Sembilan belas (sem-bee-lun b’lahs)
- 20 = Dua puluh (doo-ah poo-looh)
- 21 = Dua puluh satu (doo-ah poo-looh)
- 22 = Dua puluh dua (doo-ah poo-look doo-ah)
- 30 = Tiga puluh
- 40 = Empat puluh
- 100 = Seratus (s’rahtoos)
- 1,000 = Seribu (s’ree-boo)
- 1,000,000 = Se juta (sir joota)
Learn more complete Indonesian numbers here as well as Indonesian vocabulary.
We hope these phrases are easy to understand and you may use them in your daily Indonesian practice. Have fun learning Indonesian!