Essential Indonesian Phrasebook & Dictionary. Iskandar Nugraha
Ada hotel disini? (“is there a hotel here?”) the response would either be Ada. (literally, “There is.”), or Tidak ada. (literally, “There is not.”) rather than simply ya or tidak.
In everyday speech the word tidak “not” is often shortened to nggak or gak, or tak. to
8 Terms of Address
Much value is placed on politeness in Indonesia, and it always is best to stick to the formal versions of “I” and “you” (saya and anda) when addressing someone until you hear the person you’re speaking to start to use the more informal versions (aku and kamu).
Several different terms of address are used in Indonesian, but use the most standard ones. The commonest ones are bapak for men (shortened to pak; literally, “father” but equivalent to “sir” or “Mr.” in English) and ibu for women (shortened to bu; literally, “mother” but equivalent to “madam” or “Mrs.”). You can use these in place of personal pronouns, for example, Bapak mau yang ini? (“Would you like this one, sir?”) Bapak and ibu are followed by the person’s first name, for example: Pak Bill (“Mr. Bill”), or Ibu Janet (“Mrs. Janet”) which seems strange in English but is normal in Indonesian. Most Indonesians rarely use surnames and address everyone by their first name only, preceded by Pak or Ibu.
9 Tenses
The same phrase can refer to an event or action occurring in the past, the present and the future. In situations where you need to clarify when something happened, you can add specific time words. Thus, “I buy bananas” or Saya beli pisang in the future tense becomes “I will buy bananas tomorrow” or Saya akan beli pisang besok. And to say you’ve already bought bananas would be Saya sudah beli pisang.
| will akan | already sudah |
| to have ever pernah | not yet belum |
| in the middle of sedang |
1. Greetings and Requests
Indonesians are very friendly and courteous. A handshake is the commonest form of greeting amongst both men and women, though occasionally some conservative women may avoid shaking hands with a man. A smile is a sign of goodwill, and calmness and good manners are greatly admired. Displays of aggression are frowned upon, and gestures such as standing with your hands on your hips or crossing your arms over your chest should be avoided.
The left hand is considered unclean so do not give or receive things with it. Only use your right hand. Pointing with the fingers or feet is considered rude. Use your thumb to point and don’t cross your legs when sitting with someone. It is also advisable not to touch anyone (including children) on the head as that is seen as sacred. If you visit an Indonesian home, a mosque or a temple, remove your shoes before entering.
Indonesians love small talk (obrolan), so expect to be asked all sorts of personal questions about your age, religion and marital status by virtual strangers. Dress, particularly for women, should always be modest. Above-the-knee shorts and revealing tops are inappropriate.
1.1 Greetings
| Morning. | Pagi. |
| Good morning, sir. | Selamat pagi, Pak. |
| Good morning, madam. | Selamat pagi, Ibu. |
| Good morning, Sri. | [formal] Selamat pagi, Ibu Sri. |
| Good morning, Peter. | [formal] Selamat pagi, Pak Peter. |
| Hello, Peter. | Halo, Peter. |
| Hi, Sri. | Hai, Sri. |
| midday | siang |
| Good day, madam. | Selamat siang, Ibu. |
| Good day, sir. | Selamat siang, Pak. |
| Good afternoon. | Selamat siang./Selamat sore. |
| late afternoon | sore |
| night | malam |
| Good evening. | Selamat malam. |
| How are you? | Apa kabar? |
| How are things?/How have you been? | Bagaimana kabarnya? |
| Fine, thank you, and you? | Baik, terima kasih, dan Anda? |
| Very well, and you? | Baik-baik saja, dan Anda? |
| So-so. | Lumayan. |
| Not very well. | Kurang baik. |
| The usual. | Biasa saja. |
| I’m going. | Saya akan pergi. |
| I have to leave now. | Saya harus berangkat sekarang. |
| I have to be going. | Saya harus pergi. |
| Someone’s waiting for me. | Ada yang menunggu saya. |
| Goodbye.(to the person leaving) | Selamat jalan. |
| Goodbye.(to the person staying) | Selamat tinggal. |
| See you again. | Sampai bertemu lagi. |
| Until we meet again. | Sampai jumpa lagi. |
| See you later (today). | Sampai nanti. |
| Sweet dreams | Mimpi manis. |
| Sleep well. | Selamat tidur. |
| All the best | Sukses! |
| Have a nice vacation. | Selamat berlibur. |
| Bon voyage/Have agood trip. | Selamat jalan. |
| Give my regards to…. | Titip salam untuk…. |
| Say hello to…. | Salam buat…. |
1.2 Asking a question
| Who? Siapa? | Who’s that? Siapa itu? |
| Who’s this? Siapa ini? | Who’s there? Siapa di sana? |
| What? | Apa? |
| What is there [to see]? | Ada apa di sana? |
| What is inside? | Ada apa di dalam? |
| What is this? | Apa ini? |
| What is that? | Apa itu? |
| How many stars does this hotel have? | Hotel ini bintang berapa? |
| Where? (location) | Di mana? |
| Where’s the bathroom? | Kamar kecil di mana? |
| Where? (direction) | Ke mana? |
| Where are you going? | Anda akan pergi ke mana? |
| Where are you from? | Anda dari mana? |
| How far is that? | Berapa jauh itu? |
| How big? [time] | Berapa lama? |
| How long does it take [to go there]? | Berapa lama ke sana? |
| How long is the trip? | Berapa lama perjalanan ini? |
| How many hours? | Berapa jam? |
| How much? (price) | Berapa? |
| How much is this? | Berapa harga barang ini? |
| What time is it? | Jam berapa? |
| Which one(s)? | Yang mana? |
| Which glass is mine? | Gelas saya yang mana? |
| When? | Kapan? |
| When are you going? | Kapan anda pergi? |
| Why? | Kenapa? |
| Could you…?/Can you…? | Bisakah anda? |
| Could you help me, please? | Boleh saya minta tolong? |
| Could |