Indonesia is an attractive country whether it is for traveling, holidays, or even working and settling for a job. As Indonesia is a promising place for many tourists, Indonesian language is surely an important language to learn. You might want to check out Indonesian A-Z words and their alphabets before we continue further to this lesson.
Useful Indonesian Words and Phrases
In this lesson, we’ll equip you with useful Indonesian words and phrases that can help you get anywhere in Indonesia!
| English | Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian) |
| Welcome | Selamat datang |
| Hello (General greeting) | Hi |
| Apa kabar? | |
| Salam sejahtera (frm) | |
| Hello (on phone) | Halo |
| How are you? | Apa kabar? (What news?) |
| Reply to ‘How are you?’ | Baik (Fine) |
| Baik baik saja (All fine) | |
| Sehat (Healthy) | |
| Baik-baik saja, terima kasih | |
| Bagaimana dengan Anda? | |
| (How about you? – frm) | |
| Bagaimana denganmu? | |
| (How about you? – inf) | |
| Long time no see | Lama tidak bertemu |
| Lama tidak berjumpa | |
| What’s your name? | Siapa nama anda? |
| Anda namanya siapa? | |
| Siapa namamu? (inf) | |
| Namamu siapa? (inf) | |
| My name is … | Nama saya … |
| Saya bernama … | |
| Where are you from? | Anda berasal dari mana? |
| I’m from … | Saya dari … |
| Pleased to meet you | Senang bertemu dengan Anda |
| Good morning | Selamat pagi (early morning) |
| (Morning greeting) | Selamat siang (late morning) |
| Good afternoon | Selamat siang (late morning) |
| (Afternoon greeting) | Selamat sore (late afternoon/evening) |
| Good evening | Selamat sore (late afternoon/evening) |
| (Evening greeting) | Selamat malam (late evening/night) |
| Good night | Selamat malam (late evening/night) |
| Selamat tidur (said before sleep) | |
| Goodbye | Selamat tinggal (when leaving) |
| (Parting phrases) | Selamat jalan (when staying) |
| Sampai jumpa lagi | |
| Good luck! | Semoga beruntung! |
| Semoga sukses! (Hope you success!) | |
| Cheers! Good Health! | Santi! |
| (Toasts used when drinking) |
You may also learn about:
| Have a nice day | Semoga harimu menyenangkan! (Wish you a fun day!) |
| Bon appetit / | Selamat makan |
| Have a nice meal | |
| Bon voyage / | Selamat jalan |
| Have a good journey | Semoga selamat sampai tujuan |
| I understand | Saya mengerti |
| I don’t understand | Saya tidak mengerti |
| Please speak more slowly | Tolong bicara pelan sedikit |
| Tolong bicara pelan-pelan | |
| Please say that again | Bisa tolong diulangi? |
| Please write it down | Tolong ditulis |
| Tolong tuliskan | |
| Do you speak English? | Anda bisa bicara bahasa inggris? |
| Do you speak Indonesian? | Anda bisa bicara bahasa indonesia? |
| Yes, a little | Ya, sedikit |
| (reply to ‘Do you speak …?’) | |
| How do you say … in Indonesian? | Bagaimana cara mengatakan … dalam bahasa Indonesia? |
| Excuse me | Maaf |
| Permisi (to get past) | |
| How much is this? | Berapa harganya? |
| Sorry | Maafkan saya |
| Maaf | |
| Please | Tolong |
| Mohon | |
| Thank you | Terima kasih |
| Terima kasih banyak | |
| Makasih (vinf) | |
| Reply to thank you | Terima kasih kembali |
| Sama-sama | |
| Dengan senang hati | |
| Where’s the toilet / bathroom? | Di manakah toilet? |
| Di manakah kamar mandi? | |
| Di manakah WC? | |
| This gentleman will pay for everything | Bapak ini akan membayar semuanya |
| This lady will pay for everything | Ibu ini akan membayar semuanya |
| Would you like to dance with me? | Bersediakah Anda berdansa dengan saya? |
More Useful Indonesian Words and Phrases
| Do you come here often? | Kamu sering kemari? |
| I miss you | Saya rindu kamu |
| Saya kangen kamu | |
| Aku rindu kamu | |
| Aku kangen kamu | |
| I love you | Aku cinta kamu |
| Saya cinta kamu | |
| Saya mencintaimu | |
| Get well soon | Semoga lekas sembuh |
| Semoga cepat sembuh | |
| Go away! | Pergi sana! |
| Leave me alone! | Biarkan saya sendiri! |
| Tinggalkan saya sendiri! | |
| Help! | Tolong! |
| Fire! | Kebakaran! |
| Stop! | Berhenti! |
| Stop! | |
| Call the police! | Panggil polisi! |
Let’s look at even more Indonesian useful words and phrases.
- Saya: I
- Kamu: You (familiar) often shortened to “Kau”
- Anda: You (formal or respectful)
- Dia: He/She
- Kita: Us (including the person spoken to)
- Kami: Us (not including the person spoken to)
- Kalian: You (plural)
- Mereka: They
2. Directions in Indonesian
- Saya mau ke Bali: I want to go to Bali
- Saya dari: I am from… Perancis (French) – Ingrris (English) – Spanyol (Spanish) – America – Australia – Singapura
- Kiri: Left
- Kanan: Right
- Lurus: Straight
- Belakang: Behind
- Makan: To eat
- Pedas: Spicy (if you cant handle spicy, remember to say Tidak pedas!)
- Saya suka pedas: I like spicy
- Minyak: Oil
- Gula: Sugar
- Minum: Drink
- Nasi: rice
- Mie: noodle
- Sayur saja: if you are vegetarian you might want to ask for “Sayur saja” (Vegetables only)
- Enak : Delicious!
4. Indonesian Words for Number
- 1 – Satu ; 2 – Dua ; 3 – Tiga ; 4 – Empat ; 5 -Lima ; 6 -Enam ; 7 – Tujuh ; 8 – Delapan ; 9 – Sembilan ; 10 – Sepuluh.
- 11 Sebelas
- 12 Dua belas
- 13 Tiga belas
- 14 Empat belas
- 20 – Dua puluh ; 30 – Tiga puluh, etc …
- 100 – Seratus ; 200 – Dua ratus etc…
- 1, 000 : Seribu – 10,000 Sepuluh Ribu
- 1 million : Satu juta
- Harga: Price
- Berapa harganya?: How much does it cost?
- Harga nya mahal: Price is expensive
- Lebih murah bisa?: “Cheaper possible?”
- Saya tidak ada cukup: I don’t have enough
- Mahal sakali: Very expensive!
Learn more about how to shop in Indonesia using shopping phrases. Also check out how to say thank you in Bahasa Indonesia here. Happy learning!