Indonesia is a unique language with characteristics of Indonesian language. With how many languages are there in Indonesia languages existing in the Indonesian archipelago, Indonesian is the official language chosen for this nation.
You might have read or learned that Indonesia used to be under Dutch colonization. During those times, the Latin alphabet which was already used throughout Europe was introduced to Indonesia. Up until today, Indonesian language is still written in Latin alphabet.
The spelling of Indonesian words are the same as how they are pronounced, this makes Indonesian a relatively simple language to learn for non-Indonesians. So, before anything else, it is necessary to get familiar with the alphabets used in Indonesia as well as their pronunciation so it is easier for you to pick up on this language.
What is The Indonesian Alphabet? Here’s a table with the Indonesian alphabets as well as how they sound like for your guide.
| Indonesian Alphabet | English Sound | Pronunciation Example |
| a | [a] | as in father |
| b | [b] | as in bay |
| c | [ʨ] | ch as in chay |
| d | [d] | as in day |
| e | [ɛ] | as in elephant |
| f | [f] | as in fine |
| g | [ɡ] | as in gold |
| h | [h] | as in house |
| i | [i] | ‘ee’ as in meat |
| j | [ʥ] | as in job |
| k | [k] | as in kitchen |
| l | [l] | as in life |
| m | [m] | as in man |
| n | [n] | as in nice |
| o | [o] | as in olive |
| p | [p] | as in pool |
| q | [k] | as in Qatar |
| r | [r] | as in rice |
| s | [s] | as in smile |
| t | [t] | as in time |
| u | [u] | ‘oo’ as in mood |
| v | [f] | f as in free |
| w | [w] | as in wind |
| x | [ks] | as in wax |
| y | [j] | as in year |
| z | [z] | as in Zulu |
Once you understand about the Indonesian alphabet, it will be easier for you to start understanding Indonesian sentences and their structures. And don’t forget to practice Indonesian conversation for beginners so that you improve your speaking skills too!
Here are more ways in learning Indonesian Alphabets