If you think of the most used Indonesian words which are essential for daily conversation, what would it be? Learning high frequency words in Indonesia is definitely crucial to help you speak like a local. Some words may be followed with non verbal communication to emphasize the meaning.
High Frequency Words in Indonesian
Here are some high frequency Indonesian words. Find out more about verbal and non verbal communication.
A
- Ada – there is
- Adalah – is, are
- Air – water
- Aku – me (informal)
- Akan – will
- Akhir – end
- Alasan – reason
- Anak – child, children
- Anda – you (formal)
- Antara – between
- Apa – what
- Atau – or
- Atas – up, above
- Arah – direction
- Awal – early
- Awan – cloud
B
- Bahwa – that
- Besar – big
- Bisa – can
- Bumi – earth
- Bagaimana – how
- Bulan – month, moon
- Baru – new
- Baik – good
- Bahkan – even
- Bawah – below
- Biasa – ordinary
- Bagi – for
- Bekerja – working
- Bagian – part
- Berpikir – think
- Berbeda – different
- Bisa – can
Learn more about how to learn Indonesian through English.
C
- Cepat – quick, fast
- Cair – liquid
- Cerdas – clever
- Cocok – suitable
D
- Dekat – near, close
- Diri – self
- Daya – power
- Daripada – than
- Dasar – basic, ground
- Depan – in front of
E
- Es – ice
- Emas – gold
- Ekonomi – economy
- Efek – effect
- Efisien – efficient
F
- Frekuensi – frequency
- Fakta – fact
- Fasih – fluent
- Fenomena – phenomena
- Fokus – focus
G
- Gerak – move
- Gesit – swift
- Geser – shift
- Gravitasi – gravity
H
- Hampir – almost
- Hilang – lost, gone
- Hingga – until
I
- Iya – yes
- Ia – he/she
- Ini – this is
- Indah – beautiful
- Ingat – remember
- Istirahat – rest
- Ingin – want
Learn more about unique Indonesian words.
J
- Jika – if
- Jawaban – answer
- Jangan – no
- Jauh – far
Learn more about Indonesian alphabets and pronunciation.
K
- Kematian – death
- Kesadaran – awareness
- Kejadian – events
- Kalau – if
- Kami – we (without the third person)
- Kita – we (include the third person)
- Kenapa – why
- Kecil – small
- Kira – estimate
L
- Lapisan – layer
- Langkah – step
- Lisan – speech
- Lebih – more
M
- Menyarankan – suggest
- Menyerang – attack
- Mungkin – maybe, perhaps
- Memiliki – own
- Manusia – human
- Makhluk – creature
- Matahari – sun
N
- Nama – name
- Nasihat – advice
- Nomor – number
- Normal – normal
- Netral – neutral
- Nasib – fate
- Nyata – real
O
- Oke – okay
- Oleh – by
- Operasi – operation
- Organisme – organism
P
- Pernah – have
- Pertama – first
- Panas – hot
- Panen – harvest
- Punya – to have/own
R
- Ratusan – hundreds
- Ruang – room, space
- Ribuan – thousands
S
- Saat – when
- Seluruh – all, whole
- Setelah – after
- Sedikit – a little, a few
- Sejarah – history
- Sempurna – perfect
- Seorang – someone
- Sosial – social
- Suka – like
T
- Tata – arrange
- Tanah – ground, soil
- Tampaknya – seems
- Tanpa – without
- Tanya – Ask
- Teori – theory
- Tentu – sure
- Tidak – no
- Tubuh – body
U
- Umum – general
- Utama – especial
- Universitas – university
V
- Vakum – vacuum
- Venus – venus
- Video – video
- Versi – version
- Visi – vision
W
- Waktu – time
- Wajar – fair
- Wawasan – knowledge
Y
- Ya – yes
- Yang – which is
Z
- Zona – zone
You may notice that some words have similarity to English but have different writing system. As you have learned before, all Indonesian words are pronounced exactly as it written. You should have no difficulties when learning Indonesian words similar to English. Thus, that was high frequency words in Indonesian you may need to learn. Terima Kasih (Thank You!) for reading this article.
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