Hello! Welcome back
As you know, learning informal language is as important as learning Indonesian Formal Language to deliver more flexible communication. I guess you have learned many Useful Words to Get You Anywhere in Indonesia, right? Now, why don’t we try to explore more about Indonesian Informal Letter. Therefore, you could use Bahasa Indonesia in formal as well as in it informal way too! Here are some examples of it! Before we start, take a look of these following articles!
Indonesian Informal Letter
Here is an example of an informal letter
Untuk Dinda tersayang,
Hai, Dinda! Bagaimana keadaanmu di sana? Aku harap kamu baik-baik saja. Aku pun di sini baik-baik saja. Sudah tiga bulan sejak kita terakhir berjumpa, sungguh aku sangat kangen mencicipi masakan kamu yang luar biasa enaknya. Nah, aku pun ingin mengabari bahwa aku akan pulang selama 5 hari Senin besok. Aku harap kamu bisa menjemput aku di bandara sekitar pukul 14.30. Semoga kita bisa menghabiskan waktu yang singkat itu dengan maksimal, ya. Sampai jumpa dan sampai ketemu di hari Senin.
Salam sayang,
Tono
(Indonesian translation)
Dear Dinda,
Hi Dinda! How are you there? I hope you are okay. Here, I am fine. It has been 3 months since we met, I really miss to taste your cook which is super delicious. Well, I am thrilled to tell you that I would be back next Monday for five days. I hope you could pick me at the airport around 2.30 p.m. Hopefully, we could spend this limited time effectively. Good bye and see you on Monday.
Sincerely,
Ton
Notes: There is no specific format in informal letter (therefore it is called informal). You may notice that the person use the informal pronouns ‘aku dan kamu’, which prohibited when you write a formal letter. In addition, you use the word ‘tersayang’ (dear) and salam sayang (which literally translated as ‘the greet of love) even though it is optional. In contrast, in formal letter you would not use those word. Usually people use ‘dengan hormat’ (literally translated as ‘with all due respect) equal with English ‘Dear’ and ‘Hormat kami’ (My respect) as equal replacement of English ‘sincerely’.
More about Indonesian Informal Letter!
Here is the example of the reply to previous letter
Untuk Tono, kakakku.
Tentu saja Dinda baik-baik saja. Wah, Dinda pun sudah tidak sabar bertemu dengan Mas Tono. Tentulah, Dinda akan menjemput Mas Tono di bandara pada hari Senin. Oh ya, bapak dan ibu pun sudah tidak sabar menunggu kedatangan Mas. Jangan lupa oleh-oleh, ya! Kalau tidak, jangan harap bisa masuk ke dalam rumah 🙂 Sampai jumpa!
Salam sayang,
Dinda, adik yang paling manis di dunia
(Indonesian translation)
To my older brother, Tono
Of course, I’m alright. Wow, I am also thrilled to meet you again, Bro Tono. Sure, I will pick you at the airport on Monday. By the way, daddy and mommy also could not wait to see you. Don’t forget for some souvenirs. If you don’t bring any, you are prohibited to enter the house 🙂 See you!
With all love,
Dinda, the cutest sister in the world
Notes: in informal letter (and also informal conversation) you could mention ‘I’ or ‘me’ with your name, as Dinda mention herself as ‘Dinda’ and still considered first-person like ‘I’. It is not to hard, isn’t it? You could also add some Slang Words or local/foreign language. Now try to make it one to your best friend!
Read also: Indonesian Slang in Internet Chatting
Addition of Indonesian Informal Letter!
When people speak, they use their own dialects. Therefore, there are different pronunciation for same words in Bahasa Indonesia. Consequently, it is influenced the way people write it down (especially in chatting). Here are some informal form of some Indonesian Words
‘ai [ay] ‘ to ‘e’
In Bahasa Indonesia, many words that contains ‘ay’ sounds usually change to the ‘e’. Here are several examples.
- Sampai (arrive) -> sampe
- Capai (tired) -> cape/capek
- Kayaknya (probably) -> keknya
- Satay (satay) -> sate
In terms of pronunciation only, here are similar examples
- lantai (floor) -> lante
- rantai (chain) -> rante
- balai (hall) -> bale
‘au [aw’] to ‘o’
Here are several examples
- kalau (if) -> kalo
- kerbau (ox) -> kebo
- pulau (island) -> pulo
- limau (lime) -> limo
Learn Indonesian Diphtongs
Those are the examples of Indonesian Informal Letter. I hope you can make a great informal letter! Hopefully, you still have curiosity to explore Bahasa Indonesia more. If it so, these are some of very useful articles to help you master Bahasa Indonesia. Check it out!
- Indonesian High Context Culture
- Indonesian to English Grammar
- Forming Indonesian Words & Using Indonesian Affixes
Keep practice!