Om Swastyastu. Welcome back. As a main tourist destination in the world, learning Balinese phrases and examples is as important as learning Indonesian pronunciation of basic words of Bahasa Indonesia. Therefore, you should also master some important Balinese phrases.
You won’t miss opportunity to visit Bali when you have a plan to go Indonesia, right? Even though they speak really good Bahasa Indonesia as well as English, but learning Balinese phrases also is quite essential for tourist. So, let’s learn the these list of basic Balinese phrases and pronunciation and examples less than 5 minutes.
Learn the general basic Balinese phrases
In general, Balinese has same Indonesian grammar rules like Bahasa Indonesia and Javanese. Instead, some of the words are similar with the Javanese (especially because they came from the same root), despite a little bit difference in terms of pronunciation. Therefore, if you have mastered the Bahasa Indonesia structure, learning Balinese is about add as many vocabulary as you can. For your information, it is less complex than English sixteen tenses that would change regarding its period of time.
Furthermore, the first group of phrases contains some very useful as well as simple Balinese words and sentences. Those would help you in daily life activity, help you in communicate to others and alos be considered more friendly. Here are some very common everyday words, from how to greet until some basic questions.
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Om Swastyastu = Hello (greetings)/
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Matur Sukma = Thank you
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Bli = *means big brother (use to call someone like Mr./Sir, similar with ‘Mas’ in Javanese)
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Mbok = *means big sister (use to call someone like Ms/Mam, similar with ‘Mbak’ in Javanese)
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Tiang = I
*Tiang gele = I am sick - Jani = now
*Tuti jani di Kuta= Tuti is now in Kuta - Tan/ nente = no
- Inggih = Yes
- abedik = a little
- Uli dija = where from
*Tiang uli negara Makassar = I am from Makassar - Saking Napi = where from
- Saking = from
*Saking Surabaya = I am from Surabaya) -
Punapi Gatra = How are you?
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Rahajeng Semeng = Good morning
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Rahajeng Tengai = Good afternoon
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Rahajeng Sanje = Good evening
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Rahajeng Wengi = Good evening
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Rahajeng Mekolem = Good night
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Rahajeng Memargi = Good bye
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Rahajeng Rauh = Welcome
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Rahajeng Wanti Warsa = Happy birthday
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Kenken Kabare = What’s up
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Jagi Lunga Kija = Where are you going?
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Dados Kirang/Kuang Nggih = Could you lower the price, please?
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Becik-Becik = I am fine
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Rarisang Ngajeng = Bon apetit/Enjoy your meal
- Sira pesengen ragane? = What is your name?
- Kude = How much
* Kude niki pak? = How much is this, Sir? - jam kuda = What time is it?
- Bisa basa Bali? = Could you speak Balinese?
- Dados tyang ngambahin meriki? = May I pass here
- Tyang jagi mapamit mangkin = I want to go home right now
- Tyang sampun mekelo di bali = I have been in Bali quite long
You could see the structure of Balinese language is not complex. You just need to remember some very common and useful vocabulary. In fact, Now you have mastered some very useful phrases in Balinese. Make sure to practice those useful Balinese phrases and also improve Indonesian speaking skills, so you could master it faster.
Then, let’s move to another group of phrases!
Learn The Days in Balinese Language
One of the main difference between Balinese and other local language and Bahasa Indonesia is the terms for days. Beside previous group of phrases, it is quite important to learn the days in Balinese. At least you will now what day is it, right? Here are the list of the days in Balinese language.
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Coma = Monday (‘Senin’ in Bahasa Indonesia)
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Angara = Tuesday (‘Selasa’ in Bahasa Indonesia)
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Budha = Wednesday (‘Rabu’ in Bahasa Indonesia)
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Wraspati = Thursday (‘Kamis’ in Bahasa Indonesia)
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Sukra = Friday (‘Jumat’ in Bahasa Indonesia))
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Saniscra = Saturday (‘Sabtu’ in Bahasa Indonesia))
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Redite = Sunday (‘Minggu’ in Bahasa Indonesia)
Notes: Remember, unlike Bahasa Indonesia, an ‘a’ at the end of a word in Balinese would be pronounced [ə], as well as t at the middle would mostly pronounced as [ṭ]. It has different Indonesian phonemes type. Therefore, instead of Kuta, the people would pronounce is as Pantai Kute (Kuta beach). Therefore, don’t get confuse if you find yourself on that situation in Bali only. Now, you have known about it!
It’s a wrap for the basic Balinese phrases and examples that would be very useful for you who want to go to the main island of tourist destination in Indonesia, Bali. Beside, understand also some of Balinese swear words you should not say or it would offend local people and ruin your trip to that beautiful island.
Make sure to you learn some offensive hand gesture in Indonesia that also implied in Bali as well as Sanskrit words in Indonesian language that has big influence in Balinese. Keep practice and good luck!