Learning Bahasa Indonesian is important for those who travel to the country. Even though you cannot speak bahasa fluently, but at least you should know the basic words or phrase for tourist. Knowing simple Indonesian words for tourists will make your trip goes according to the plan. Here are some Indonesian words for tourists that you should learn. Learn more about a student’s guide to Indonesian grammar for beginner.
1. Indonesian Greetings
In Indonesia greeting forms is quite similar to English as you just need to add the word ‘selamat’ or ‘good’ and then followed by time marking. Here is Common Greetings In Indonesian for Beginner
- Good morning – selamat pagi
- Good afternoon – selamat sore
- Good evening – selamat malam
- Good bye – selamat tinggal, selamat jalan
- How are you? – apa kabar?
- I am great – saya baik-baik saja
- See you – sampai jumpa
Also learn how to introduce yourself in Indonesia.
2. Shopping and Restaurants
Here are more common Indonesian words for tourists:
- How much – berapa? (for asking price)
- How long – berapa lama (for asking time duration)
- How far – berapa jauh (for asking distance)
- How many – berapa banyak (for asking quantity of goods)
- Money – uang
- Money changer – penukaran uang
- Bargain – menawar
- Bill – nota
- Sightseeing – jalan-jalan (used when you just want to scroll around for fresh air)
- Street – jalan
- Expensive – mahal
- Cheap – murah
- Fixed price – harga pas
- People – orang-orang
- Person – orang (2 person means 2 orang)
- Can I have more – saya mau tambah
- Spicy – pedas
- Vegetables – sayur
- Meat – daging
- Manner
- Please (help me) – tolong
- Please, can you take the bike? – tolong, bisakah kamu membawa sepeda?
- Thank you – terima kasih, makasih (informal)
- You are welcome – sama-sama, terima kasih kembali (as reply to thank you)
- I am sorry – saya minta maaf
Learn more about shopping and bargaining words in Indonesia.
3. Indonesian Important Words
- Help! – Tolong!
- Stop! – berhenti, stop
- Fire! – Kebakaran!
- Thief – Maling
- Pickpocket – copet, pencopet
- Call the police – Panggil polisi
- Excuse me – permisi
- Sorry – maaf
- I do not want – saya tidak mau
- I want – saya mau
- Be careful – hati-hati
- Hurry – cepat
- Dangerous – bahaya
- Delicious – enak, lezat
Learn more about Indonesian root words.
4. How to Call People
- Father, daddy – bapak, ayah (for family)
- Mother, mommy – ibu, bunda (for family)
- Mrs – ibu, bu (older women but non family)
- Mr, Sir– bapak, pak (older men but non family)
- Ms – nona, mbak (the same age or slightly older women but non family)
- Brother – abang, mas (the same age or slightly older men but non family)
- Brother/sister – kakak (slightly older men/women but non family)
- Younger brother/sister – adik, dik (can be used for both family and non family)
5. Directions in Indonesian
- Right – kanan
- Left – kiri
- Straight – lurus
- Behind – belakang
- In front of – di depan
- Across – diseberang
- T-junction – Pertigaan
- Intersection, crossroad – perempatan
- Sidewalk – trotoar
- Bus stop – halte
- Train – kereta api
- Turn – belok
- Motorcycle – sepeda motor
- Car – mobil
- Petrol station – pom bensin
- Reserve, orders, book – pesan
- I want to book a ticket – saya mau pesan tiket
6. Words in Indonesian for Places
Here are more Indonesian words for tourists:
- Office – kantor
- Post office – kantor pos
- Tourist office – kantor pariwisata
- Embassy – kedutaan besar
- Phone credit – pulsa telepon
- Pharmacy – apotik, farmasi
Learn more about Indonesian words for beginner.
Indonesian words are pretty easy to learn as the language is spelled the way it is written, just like Latin and Spanish. Bahasa Indonesia also uses Latin alphabets with some slightly different pronunciation as English. For tourists, it is better to understand some simple phrase during your stay in Indonesia for communication with local people.