Indonesia is a country that consists of many different islands with many languages, however with all those differences, Bahasa Indonesia is chosen as the official language in this country. Bahasa Indonesia is a relatively easy language to learn if you are dedicated to work hard and practice a lot (check out how long it takes to learn Bahasa Indonesia), but first you need to be familiar with the Indonesian alphabet.
The alphabets used in Indonesian language is the 26 Latin alphabets which are also used in English, so you can be relieved because these alphabets are the same. Learn Indonesian alphabets easy and fast here. However, the way the alphabets are pronounced is different.
Here’s a table to help you pronounce each alphabet in Indonesian:
| A | ah | G | gé | M | em | S | es | Y | yé | |||||
| B | bé | H | ha | N | en | T | té | Z | set | |||||
| C | ché | I | ee | O | oh | U | oo | |||||||
| D | dé | J | jé | P | pé | V | fé | |||||||
| E | é | K | ka | Q | ki | W | wé | |||||||
| F | ef | L | el | R | air | X | iks | |||||||
Five vowels are included in these alphabets, as you can see above. Learn about Indonesian vowel chart in more detail too. Aside from vowels, there are also diphthongs, or a combination of two vowels that create a single sound. So, let’s learn about Indonesian words in alphabetical order.
Learn the sound of Indonesian vowels and diphthongs with the guide below:
Vowels
a
like ‘a’ in “father”
e
like ‘e’ in “vowel”
é
like ‘e’ in “bed”, usually the difference between a schwa and an e is not indicated in writing
i (ie, j)
like ‘i’ in “thin”
o
like ‘ow’ in “low”, in open positions or like ‘o’ in “top” in close positions
u (oe)
like ‘oo’ in “hoop”, in open positions or like ‘o’ in “hope” in close positions
Diphthongs
ai
like ‘ay’ in “say”
au
like ‘ow’ in “cow”
oi
like ‘oy’ in “boy”
Check out some of these Indonesian vocabularies and try to pronounce them with the proper sounds. You’re likely to use these words in day-to-day conversations so get familiar with them!
Category: household items
| English | Indonesian |
| clock | jam |
| cupboard | lemari |
| refrigerator | kulkas |
| cup | cangkir |
| fork | garpu |
| knife | pisau |
| spoon | sendok |
(Also learn about What is The Indonesian Alphabet)
Category: transportation
| English | Indonesian | |
| car | Mobil | |
| motorcycle | Sepeda motor | |
| bicycle | Sepeda | |
| train | Kereta api | |
| ship | Kapal | |
| boat | Perahu | |
(Also learn about How to Speak with An Indonesian Accent)
Category: weather
| English | Indonesian |
| Hot | Panas |
| Cold | Dingin |
| Rain | Hujan |
| Sunny | Cerah |
| Storm | Badai |
Hopefully, your Indonesian vocab bank will be updated with these new words. You can also learn colours in Indonesian language with examples here. Good luck to learn Indonesian words in alphabetical order!