These are: a, e, i, o, u.
The vowel a is always the short sound of ha!—never like ay, or the a of cat.
The vowel e is mostly the short sound of the e of open or broken; but in a minority of cases it is different, like the e of egg. Normally there is no way of telling these two sounds apart, but in this book the second type of e is marked with an acute accent, é.
The vowel i is short and sharp, like the sound in fit.
The vowel o is like the o in sock.
The vowel u is as in pull, or the oo of foot, but never the long sound of food.
It is helpful to divide words into syllables, and to give each its full value, e.g. ha-us “thirsty;” da-é-rah “area.”
Consonants
As in English, but with the following exceptions:
c is always as ch in English child, never as in cat.
g is always “hard,” as in gate, never the “soft” j sound as in germ.
h is always sounded, e.g. sudah “already,” or Tuhan “God.”
r is also always sounded—give it a light roll.
The Alphabet
As you know, the names of letters and their sounds aren’t exactly the same. And the names of the letters of the Indonesian alphabet are not the same as in English—they come from Dutch. It’s quite important to know how to pronounce them, for example if you have to spell your name. Here is a rough guide on how to say them:
| A | ah |
| B | bé |
| C | ché |
| D | dé |
| E | é |
| F | éf |
| G | gé – hard! |
| H | ha |
| I | ee |
| J | jé |
| K | ka |
| L | el |
| M | ém |
| N | én |
| O | oh |
| P | pé |
| Q | ki |
| R | air |
| S | és |
| T | té |
| U | oo |
| V | fé |
| W | wé |
| X | iks |
| Y | yé |
| Z | sét |
The most important letters to watch are A (ah) and R (air— sound the r!), E (é) and I (ee), because they can get confused; and also H (ha) and K (ka).
Some letters, like Q, V, X and Z, are very rare in Indonesian, and are only found in loanwords.
Instant Indonesian
Words 1 to 100
PART 1 Words 1–10
| 1 | SELAMAT(a word used in greetings) Literally, safe, good, well |
Selamat pagi! Good morning! (until around 10.30 a.m.)
Selamat siang! Good day! Good afternoon!
This applies to any time in the middle of the day, between 10.30 in the morning and late afternoon.
Selamat soré! Good afternoon!
This applies to a time from late afternoon till sunset. Note the pronunciation: soré. The é is pronounced like the e in the English word “pet.”
Selamat malam! Good evening!
Selamat makan! Enjoy your meal!
Selamat jalan! Have a safe journey!
Selamat tidur! Have a good sleep!
From the range of expressions, you can see that selamat is a general word for well-wishing. Make use of it any time, and people will be happy.
| 2 | APA? what? |
Apa? What (did you say)?
Apa kabar? How are you?
Literally, “What news?”
Mau minum apa, Bu? What would you like to drink? (to a woman)
You will find that where English puts the “what” at the beginning of a question such as this one, in Indonesian the apa comes after the verb concerned.
Mau makan apa, Pak? What would you like to eat? (to a man)
Ada apa, Bu/Pak? What’s up?; What’s wrong?
Apa (Bahasa) Indonesianya “stomach-ache?” What’s the Indonesian for “stomach-ache?”
You can put any word in place of “stomach-ache” in order to ask for its Indonesian equivalent.
| 3 | INI this |
Ini apa?/Apa ini? What’s this?
The meaning is the same, but the stress is different: the first word in the sentence gets more stress.
Ini durian. This is a durian.
You will frequently meet the simple sentence structure illustrated by the preceding example. Note that Indonesian does not need a word such as the English “is”—the sentence is quite clear without it.
Ini kamar anda. This is your room.
Durian ini mahal. This durian is expensive.
Hari ini. Today.
Literally, “this day.”
| 4 | ITU that |
Itu apa? / Apa itu? What’s that?
The meaning is the same, but the stress is different: the first word in the sentence gets more stress.
Itu siapa? Who’s that?
In Indonesian we say: “That is who?”
Itu isteri saya. That’s my wife.
Literally, “wife of me”; in Indonesian, the thing possessed comes first, and the possessor second. This mere positioning is all that is required to express possession.
Itu mahal. That is expensive.
Itu murah. That is cheap.
| 5 | ADA there is/are |
Ada kamar? Is there a room?
In Indonesian, you will quickly find that questions are indicated not by grammatical features, but by intonation. In this example, the question would be indicated by a raised, questioning tone at the end of the sentence. The same sentence, with different intonation, would be a statement.
Ada kamar. There is a room.
Pak Tirto ada? Is Mr Tirto there?
So
