Learning Indonesian is not difficult as it seems. There are many factors why Indonesian is easy to be learned. For instance, unlike English, Indonesian is spoken as the same as the written form. Therefore, you don’t have to worry too much on having mispronounced words. Moreover, several expressions in use the exact same word such as selamat pagi and selamat malam.
They both begin with the word selamat and both words have the same meaning. However, you might find the use of word selamat in some other sentences with different meaning. You don’t have to be worried about it. Stay tune to masteringbahasa.com to learn more about Indonesian language.
The first step to take to learn Indonesian language is knowing how to introduce yourself. Mastering this topic will lead you ten steps ahead to speak like true native speaker of Indonesian language. As long as you know how to introduce yourself in Indonesian, you are likely to be the center of attention.
So now let’s not waste more time to learn Conversation in Indonesia.
Indonesian language has two types of situation in every kind of conversation. The first is formal situation and the second is informal situation. When you are in meetings, in classes, or even when you are talking with someone you barely know or when you are talking with elderly, it is best when you speak formally. On the other hand, you could speak informally when you are with your friend or someone who is younger than you as long as you know them.
1. Greetings
The first point on how to introduce yourself in Indonesian is how Indonesian people greet each other. Greetings is a crucial opening of every conversation. If you do it with high confidence, it indicates you have a good day and you will get the person’s attention. So, here are the expression used in Common Greetings In Indonesian:
| Expressions | Meaning |
| Selamat pagi | Good morning |
| Selamat siang | Good afternoon |
| Selamat sore | Good afternoon |
| Selamat malam | Good evening |
These expressions tend to be used in a formal situation. For instance, it can be used when you are on a conference or simply if you are speaking with strangers. In the more informal one, you might use:
| Expressions | Meaning |
| Halo | Hello |
Then, while you greet someone, you could add another expression to make you friendlier such as asking for condition:
| Expressions | Meaning |
| Apa kabar hari ini? | How are you today? |
When someone ask you this question, you could answer it on whatever how you currently feel. You might use these expressions
| Expressions | Meaning |
| Kabar saya baik | I am fine |
| Kabar saya kurang baik | I am feeling a bit unwell |
You also might want to add the gratitude expression after you stated your condition. You can use:
| Expressions | Meaning |
| Terimakasih | Thank you |
Saying goodbye in Indonesian is also easy. These are the expressions that commonly used by Indonesian people:
| Expressions | Meaning |
| Selamat tinggal | Good bye |
| Sampai jumpa lagi | See you again |
| Sampai nanti | See you soon |
Now you can greet everyone with Indonesia. Remember, Indonesian is spoken exactly as how it is written. Now, try it yourself.
2. Stating Your Name
It is easy when it comes to saying your name in Indonesia. The expression that is used are very simple. In both situations, the expressions are the same.
| Expressions | Meaning |
| Nama saya (your name) | My name is (your name). |
| Nama panggilan saya (your nickname) | My nickname is (your nickname). |
| Saya biasa dipanggil (your nickname) | Everybody call me (your nickname). |
You can refer to this example if you still have a hard time doing it:
- “Selamat siang. Nama saya David McClarty. Saya biasa dipanggil Dave.”
- “Good afternoon, my name is David McClarty. Everybody call me Dave.”
3. Stating Where You Are From
You might look different from other people in Indonesia, therefore people will get curious from where you are from. This is the way on how you say your country:
| Expressions | Meaning |
| Saya berasal dari (your country) | I come from (your country). |
| Asal saya dari (your country) | I am from (your country). |
Refer to this example of Basic Words in Indonesian:
- “Selamat siang. Nama saya David McClarty. Saya biasa dipanggil Dave. Saya berasal dari Amerika.”
- “Good afternoon, my name is David McClarty. Everybody call me Dave. I come from America.”
4. Stating Your Family Members
Indonesian sometimes curious with your family. They will ask questions like: who is your father? Do you have siblings? They often do this to get closer with you. They will not harm you by asking such questions so don’t worry. Indonesian people are friendly.
Family is a precious belonging that people have. Indonesian people highly respect other family members. They have terms that could be use to describe their family. These are the common terms that you could use:
| Expressions | Meaning |
| Ayah | Father |
| Ibu | Mother |
| Kakak laki-laki | Big brother |
| Adik laki-laki | Little brother |
| Kakak perempuan | Big sister |
| Adik perempuan | Little sister |
So, if you happen to meet someone that ask you these kind of questions, you could answer it with:
| Expressions | Meaning |
| Saya memiliki satu kakak laki-laki | I have a big brother. |
| Saya memiliki dua adik perempuan | I have two little sisters. |
| Saya memiliki satu adik laki-laki dan satu adik perempuan | I have a little brother and a little sister. |
Note that if you have more than one brother or sister, you can add number before you state your brother or sister as in the example above.
Practice it with this example below once again:
- “Selamat siang. Nama saya David McClarty. Saya biasa dipanggil Dave. Saya berasal dari Amerika. Saya memiliki seorang adik perempuan. Dia bernama Blaire McClarty.”
- “Good afternoon, my name is David McClarty. Everybody call me Dave. I come from America. I have a little sister. Her name is Blaire McClarty.”
5. Saying your address
You could also add information on your whereabout. This is because Indonesian people like to visit each other much. You could do this by simply saying:
| Expressions | Meaning |
| Saya tinggal di (your address) | I live on (your address) |
Let’s practice it again using the same example as before.
- “Selamat siang. Nama saya David McClarty. Saya biasa dipanggil Dave. Saya berasal dari Amerika. Saya memiliki seorang adik perempuan. Dia bernama Blaire McClarty. Saya tinggal di jalan Moses Gatotkaca.”
- “Good afternoon, my name is David McClarty. Everybody call me Dave. I come from America. I have a little sister. Her name is Blaire McClarty. I live on Moses Gatotkaca street.”
Streets in indonesia are named base on the name of the national heroes or characters from myths. You will not find an address such as 105 Elm street in Indonesia but you might find a street named Moses Gatotkaca street and Werkudara street.
6. Conveying your age
Age maybe is just a number. However, Indonesian people put a high respect towards a person who is older than them. This why in Indonesia age matters even though age could be a very discrete information in your country.
Saying how old are you could be done using these expressions:
| Expressions | Meaning |
| Umur saya (your age) tahun | I am (your age) years old |
| Saya berumur (your age) tahun | My age is (your age) |
Let’s put it into practice.
- “Selamat siang. Nama saya David McClarty. Saya biasa dipanggil Dave. Saya berasal dari Amerika. Saya memiliki seorang adik perempuan. Dia bernama Blaire McClarty. Saya tinggal di jalan Moses Gatotkaca. Umur saya 25 tahun.”
- “Good afternoon, my name is David McClarty. Everybody call me Dave. I come from America. I have a little sister. Her name is Blaire McClarty. I live on Moses Gatotkaca street. I am 25 years old.”
7. Occupation
Saying job in Indonesian is also easy. You only need to know the phrases or the words that is used to describe your job in Indonesian such as Common Phrases in Indonesian. You could use these expressions to state your job.
| Expressions | Meaning |
| Saya bekerja sebagai (your job) | I work as a/an (your job) |
| Saya adalah seorang (your job) | I am a/an (your job) |
Using the same exact example, let’s practice it.
“Selamat siang. Nama saya David McClarty. Saya biasa dipanggil Dave. Saya berasal dari Amerika. Saya memiliki seorang adik perempuan. Dia bernama Blaire McClarty. Saya tinggal di jalan Moses Gatotkaca. Umur saya 25 tahun. Saya adalah seorang arsitek.”
“Good afternoon, my name is David McClarty. Everybody call me Dave. I come from America. I have a little sister. Her name is Blaire McClarty. I live on Moses Gatotkaca street. I am 25 years old. I am an architect.”
8. Hobbies
A hobby is one of the most common points that is stated in how to introduce yourself in Indonesian. Therefore, you could also add your hobby in your introduction. You could simply say:
| Expressions | Meaning |
| Hobi saya adalah (your hobby) | My hobby is/are (your hobby/hobbies) |
| Saya suka (your hobby) | I like to (your hobby/hobbies) |
Once again, let’s practice.
- “Selamat siang. Nama saya David McClarty. Saya biasa dipanggil Dave. Saya berasal dari Amerika. Saya memiliki seorang adik perempuan. Dia bernama Blaire McClarty. Saya tinggal di jalan Moses Gatotkaca. Umur saya 25 tahun. Saya adalah seorang arsitek. Hobi saya adalah menggambar.”
- “Good afternoon, my name is David McClarty. Everybody call me Dave. I come from America. I have a little sister. Her name is Blaire McClarty. I live on Moses Gatotkaca street. I am 25 years old. I am an architect. My hobby is drawing.”
9. Stating How Long Have You Been Studying Indonesian
Adding how long have you been studying Indonesian could also attract attention, especially if you have already been studying it for a long time. If you just studying it, you could simply say:
| Expressions | Meaning |
| Saya baru saja belajar Bahasa Indoneisa. | I am studying it just now. |
However, you have spent a long time to study Indonesian, for instance you have studying it for 5 years you could say:
| Expressions | Meaning |
| Saya sudah belajar Bahasa Indonesia selama 5 tahun. | I have been studying Indonesian for 5 years now. |
Again, practice makes perfect.
- “Selamat siang. Nama saya David McClarty. Saya biasa dipanggil Dave. Saya berasal dari Amerika. Saya memiliki seorang adik perempuan. Dia bernama Blaire McClarty. Saya tinggal di jalan Moses Gatotkaca. Umur saya 25 tahun. Saya adalah seorang arsitek. Hobi saya adalah menggambar. Saya sudah belajar Bahasa Indonesia selama 5 tahun.”
- “Good afternoon, my name is David McClarty. Everybody call me Dave. I come from America. I have a little sister. Her name is Blaire McClarty. I live on Moses Gatotkaca street. I am 25 years old. I am an architect. My hobby is drawing. I have been studying Indonesian for 5 years now.”
10. Stating Where Have You Been Studying Indonesian
To add the information from point 9, you could put information about the place where you study Indonesian. You could use this expression:
| Expressions | Meaning |
| Saya belajar Bahasa Indonesia di masteringbahasa.com | I study Indonesian from masteringbahasa.com |
Let’s complete the practice.
- “Selamat siang. Nama saya David McClarty. Saya biasa dipanggil Dave. Saya berasal dari Amerika. Saya memiliki seorang adik perempuan. Dia bernama Blaire McClarty. Saya tinggal di jalan Moses Gatotkaca. Umur saya 25 tahun. Saya adalah seorang arsitek. Hobi saya adalah menggambar. Saya sudah belajar Bahasa Indonesia selama 5 tahun. Saya belajar Bahasa Indonesia di masteringbahasa.com.”
- “Good afternoon, my name is David McClarty. Everybody call me Dave. I come from America. I have a little sister. Her name is Blaire McClarty. I live on Moses Gatotkaca street. I am 25 years old. I am an architect. My hobby is drawing. I have been studying Indonesian for 5 years now. I study Indonesian from masteringbahasa.com.”
This is the tutorial on how to introduce yourself in Indonesian. Now you can introduce yourself In Indonesian perfectly. Keep practicing don’t worry too much. Indonesian is easy as long as you have a will to learn it here Basic Indonesian Questions.