Welcome back to learn Indonesian together! We are glad to see you in this article. In this article, we are going to discuss about common conversations in Indonesian language. Basically, Indonesian conversation topics are no different with other countries’ conversations. Indonesian like to talk about themselves, about others, and about jobs. So why don’t we discuss about them? It should be interesting, no? Let’s start!
Before we start, we would like for you to check our article about How to Learn Bahasa and Conversation in Indonesian to know how to open conversation and how to have a proper conversation in Indonesian. When you already mastering those phrases and clauses, this article about common Indonesian conversation phrases will be no problem for you.
1. Indonesian Greetings
We had discussed about using Common Greetings In Indonesian language. We would like for you to check them out. But in this article, we would like to provide a quick review for greetings in Indonesian.
| Selamat Pagi. | Good Morning |
| Selamat Siang. | Good Afternoon |
| Selamat Sore. | Good Evening |
| Selamat Malam. | Selamat Sore |
| Salam Kenal. | Nice to meet you. |
| Senang Berkenalan. | Nice to meet you. |
| Apa Kabar? | How are you? |
| Bagaimana Kabarmu? | How do you do? |
The Example of Greetings in Indonesian:
Thomas: Selamat Pagi, Bambang (Good morning, Bambang)
Bambang: Pagi, Tom (Morning, Thom)
Thomas: Apa kabar? (How are you?)
Bambang: Aku baik – baik saja. Kalau kamu? (I am fine, and you?)
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2. Expressing Feeling in Indonesian
All of us have emotions. If you would like to tell others about your emotions, kindly take a look on this table of common Indonesian conversation phrases:
| Expressing Feeling | Meaning |
| Saya Senang | I am glad. |
| Saya Gembira | I am happy. |
| Saya Sedih | I am sad. |
| Saya marah. | I am angry. |
Note:
- Saya senang. = I am glad.
If you feel comfortable, or satisfied about something, don’t hesitate to say it! Just say “Saya senang”, it means you are happy about something. - Saya gembira. = I am happy.
Similar with phrase “Saya senang”. Yet, expression of “Saya gembira” shows more of your happiness. Maybe you are happy because your favorite heroine becomes a bomb in the movie. Or you are happy that you got straight Ace in the semester. Unleash your happiness by saying “Saya gembira”! - Saya sedih. = I am sad.
Got a bad day? Are your laptop just died when you have a perfect project? Or your cat is sick? Tell others what you are feeling by say “Saya sedih”. People will know what you are feeling and will try their best to help you.
- Saya marah. = I am angry.
Or if you are angry because your bad day? Instead of saying “Saya sedih”, you can say “Saya marah” instead. Show others that you are really, really disappointed with bad things that happened.
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3. Mentioning Your Conditions
In this part, we have list of phrases and clauses that are useful for telling others your current condition:
| Mentioning Your Condition | Meaning |
| Saya kesal. | I am upset. |
| Saya sedang sakit. | I am sick. |
| Saya sedang sibuk. | I am busy |
| Saya lelah. | I am tired. |
| Saya kesepian. | I am lonely. |
| Saya merasa tidak nyaman. | I am feeling uncomfortable. |
| Saya takut. | I am scared. |
| Saya kecewa. | I am disappointed. |
| Saya merasa bersemangat. | I am excited. |
| Saya merasa lesu. | I am feeling sluggish. |
| Saya merasa malas. | I am feeling lazy. |
| Saya kepanasan. | I feel so hot. |
| Saya kedinginan. | I feel so cold. |
| Saya lapar. | I am hungry. |
| Saya haus. | I am thirsty. |
- Saya kesal = I am upset.
Let’s say you are tired of your job. Or your classmate was being bossy at school. You are upset about that? Then say “Saya kesal”. Without saying that, people might getting misunderstand for your emotion. - Saya sedang sakit = I am sick.
Imagine, you are eating seafood in your travel. Unfortunately you are having allergic and feeling sick. Don’t hesitate to say “Saya sedang sakit”. Your friend will understand that you need some help for proper food or medicine. Instead of holding it, it is better to unleash it, no? - Saya sedang sibuk = I am busy.
If you are busy yet your friends asked you to go out, don’t hesitate to say “Saya sedang sibuk”. It is better in saying that than accepting your friend’s request but stranding your work. This clause works like charm if you are feeling uncomfortable in saying “No, thank you”. - Saya lelah. = I am tired.
Or when you feel tired because of your job, then say “Saya lelah”. - Saya merasa kesepian = I am feeling lonely.
When you are sad but no one listens, then say “Saya merasa kesepian”. By saying that, you are stating that you need someone that helps you. - Saya merasa tidak nyaman = I am feelng uncomfortable.
If you feel uncomfortable around someone, some people, or in an environment, don’t hesitate to say “Saya merasa tidak nyaman”. Your friend might have solution on solving your problem. - Saya takut = I am scared.
Imagine your friends forced you to watch a horror movie. You dislike that kind of movie. When you say “no” but your friends asked “why”, say “Saya takut”. You can say this statement if your instructor forced you to enjoy flying fox when you are scared with height. - Saya kecewa = I am disappointed.
If you are disappointed with a service, or you are disappointed with your colleague’s work, you should say “Saya kecewa”. Unleash the disappointment than holding it until the end. - Saya merasa bersemangat = I am excited.
Let’s say you and your friends are going to have a very exciting adventure after a long week. To express your happiness, you can say “Saya merasa bersemangat”. This works like a charm! Your positivity will spread and your friends will be excited too! - Saya merasa lesu = I am feeling sluggish.
If you are feeling not quite well but have a forcing project to do, you can say “Saya merasa lesu”. Hopefully there is a good friend of you than will help you to do your job. Then you can have a bed rest until you feel good again. - Saya merasa malas = I am lazy.
Or, if you are feeling lazy instead, you can state “Saya merasa malas”. Or, “Saya malas” works well too! By saying this, it means you can’t do a work properly as you are lazy to do it. - Saya kepanasan = I feel hot.
Since Indonesia archipelago is located in this earth’s equator, Indonesia’s weather is undoubtedly hot. If you can’t stand the heat, express your uncomfortableness by saying “Saya kepanasan”. - Saya kedinginan = I feel cold.
Or if you feel the opposite, let’s say you can’t stand the cold air circulation provided by the Air Conditioner, you can say “Saya kedinginan”. - Saya lapar = I am hungry.
If your stomach protesting you, you can say “Saya lapar” to mention that you are hungry. - Saya haus = I am thirsty.
Or if you are thirsty, then say “Saya haus”.
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4. Asking Times in Indonesian
Since you are having your adventure in Indonesia, it is nice to have a trip with your friends. Before you starting a plan, it is nice to coordinate your available time with your friends. You don’t want when you are ready for the trip, one of your friend ended to have an urgent meeting to be attended. You don’t want your tip to be ruined, right?
Then let’s take a look on this table as a guide for you to ask or answering questions about time:
| Asking Times | Meaning |
| Sekarang jam berapa? | What time is it? |
| Jam berapa sekarang? | What time is it? |
| Sekarang jam … | It is …. O’clock. |
- Sekarang Jam Berapa? / Jam berapa sekarang? = What time is it?
If you don’t bring your watch with you, you can ask your friend or even a stranger “Sekarang jam berapa?” - Sekarang jam … = It is … O’clock.
If you are happened to be asked about time, you can answer “Sekarang jam…” For example, if it is 9 o’clock, then you answer “Sekarang jam Sembilan”. For numbers nouns in Indonesia, you can check in our article Basic Words in Indonesian
Thus, you need to learn more about Indonesian conversation phrases here.
5. Shopping Conversation in Indonesian
Also, it is not an adventure if you are not buying something. Here are useful conversation phrases in Indonesian:
| Shopping Conversation | Meaning |
| Berapa Harganya? | How much is it? |
| Apakah ini? | What is this? |
| Ini apa? | What is this? |
| Saya ingin ini. | I want this. |
| Saya membeli ini. | I buy this. |
| Terlalu mahal. | Too expensive. |
- Berapa harganya? = How much is it?
This is a common phrase if you are shopping in traditional market or buying street foods. Some places where you are looking face-to-face with the seller. If you are interested in something, yo can ask the price with “Berapa harganya?” - Apakah ini? Ini apa? = What is this?
If something is new for you, you can ask the seller “Apakah ini?”. The seller will explain what they are selling for you. - Saya ingin ini = I want this.
This is useful if you are shopping with your Indonesian friend. You can express your excitement in shopping by saying “Saya ingin ini.” - Saya membeli ini = I buy this.
You can say “Saya membeli ini” to the seller if you want to buy the thing that attracts you most. - Terlalu mahal = Too expensive
You can tell the seller if something is overpriced by saying “Terlalu mahal”.
Indeed, here are the audio to learn Indonesian conversation better with the pronunciation:
So those are common Indonesian conversation phrases that you can use in your daily conversation. It is not that hard, right? You can also check the article of Conversation in Indonesian to help you for a very nice conversation. If you like this article, kindly share this in your Twitter and Facebook timeline to help others, since Sharing is Caring! See you again in other post of Mastering Bahasa! Selamat Belajar Bahasa!