Mini language course.

Introduction

It is always nice to be able to talk a minimum of the local language when visiting a country. This section helps you to learn a minimum of the national Indonesian language, called Bahasa Indonesia. Print this web page, and follow the 7 day course that has the following sections:

Day 1. Being Polite 
Day 2. The Taxi 
Day 3. More Politeness 
Day 4. Numbers 
Day 5. Simple Sentences 
Day 6. Asking Questions 
Day 7. Leftovers 

Day 1. Being Polite.

The first priority in Indonesia, believe it or not, is being polite. Not getting the job done, getting to where you are going or getting the correct change. The general wisdom that even a few polite words will return much appreciation is usually true. On the other hand, unkind or loud words in any language will instantly turn you into an invisible being. 

Any conversation beyond the vocabulary here assumes that you know more about the language than you actually do. This may put you on the receiving end of a long monologue to which you are expected to nod and make the occasional non-committal response.

Day 2. The Taxi

 

Ke [kiri | kanan].	To the [left | right].
[terus | lurus]	straight ahead.
[Rumah | Gedung | Jalan] [ini | itu].	[This | That] [house | building | street].
Ke mana?	Where are you going? (Also a common polite greeting.)
Saya mau ke ...	I am going to ... (pick a place)
Saya tidak tahu.	I don't know. (This will likely be obvious to the driver but may encourage him to find directions elsewhere.)
Di [sini | sana].	[Here | There]. (Not really useful, but it's something to say while you're pointing at the house.)
Kiri, kanan?	Left or right? (Drivers often ask this when approaching a street they assured you they grew up on.)
[Berhenti! | Stop!]	Stop! (Often necessary)
Salah.	Wrong.
Saya mau pulang.	I want to go home.

Day 3. More Politeness

 

Dari mana?	Where are you from? (For some reason, Indonesians are very good at spotting foreigners.)
Saya dari Kanada.	I am from Canada.
Sudah lama di [Indonesia | sini]?	Have you been [in Indonesia | here] very long? (Again, a polite question, but you are really being asked how long you have been here.)
Saya sudah dua [hari | minggu] di [Indonesia | sini].	I have been [in Indonesia | here] for two [days | months] already.
Sudah kawin?	Are you already married? (Another polite question, not often a pick-up line.)
Sudah punya anak?	Do you have any children? (a popular topic)
[Sudah | Belum].	[Already | Not yet].
Di mana ...?	Where is ...? (fill in a place name)
Berapa umurnya?	How old are you? (Another common, polite question.)
Tinggal dimana?	Where do you live?

Day 4. Numbers

 

[nol | kosong]	zero
satu	one
dua	two
tiga	three
empat	four
lima	five
enam	six
tujuh	seven
delapan	eight
sembilan	nine
sepuluh	ten
sebelas, duabelas tigabelas, ...	eleven, twelve, thirteen, ...
dua puluh, tiga puluh, ...	twenty, thirty, ...
dua puluh lima	twenty five
seratus, dua ratus, ...	one hundred, two hundred, ...
seribu, dua ribu, ...	one thousand, two thousand...
sejuta, dua juta, ...	one million, two million, ...
... setengah	... and a half

Day 5. Simple Sentences

 

Saya mau ...(insert noun or verb, for example:Saya mau bir. Saya mau minum.)	I want ... (noun | "to" verb) for example, I want coffee. I want to drink.
Saya minta ...(insert noun or verb)	I would like ... (noun | "to" verb)
Ada ...?(insert noun)	Do you have any ... (noun)?
Di mana saya bisa beli ...?(insert noun)	Where can I buy ... (noun)?
Saya suka ...(insert noun or verb)	I like ... (noun or verb).
Saya mau beli ...(insert noun)	I want to buy ... (noun)
Berapa [ini | itu]?	How much is [this | that]?
Berapa?	How [much | many]?

Day 6. Asking Questions

 

Apa [ini | itu]?	What is [this | that]?
Apa ... dalam bahasa Indonesia?(substitute English word, which is handy only if the person to whom you are speaking knows more English than you know Indonesian.)	What is ... in Indonesian?
Inggeris	[English | England]

The words in the following table are similar in both English and bahasa Indonesia. They may not be the most precise pronunciation and spelling but they will be understood by most people.

 

airport	apple	athlete	baby	baggage	bank	bar	beer
bell	bottle	bus	camera	cashier	cassette	cherry	chocolate
Coca-cola	coffee	coin	computer	consultant	deoderant	diskette	doctor
donut	dry cleaning	electricity	film	football	glass	guitar	hamburger
hello	ice	ice cream	kilometer	kiosk	mall	massage	meter
monument	museum	music	number	office	OK	oven	paper clip
pen	pencil	pension	photo	photocopy	pizza	police	radio
restaurant	roast beef	salad	same	school	sex	shopping	staple
steak	stop	stop	strawberry	supermarket	taxi	tea	telephone
tennis	ticket	to park	toilet	TV	university	video

Day 7. Leftovers

 

Vocabulary Day 7
Tidak apa-apa.	It doesn't matter. (Literally means "nothing". Handy when someone is apologizing profusely.)
Maaf.	I am sorry. (If you want to apologize profusely.)
Permisi.	Excuse me. (To get someone to move out of the way or to get someone's attention.)
Hati-hati!	Careful
Awas!	Watch out!
[Jam | pukul] berapa?	[What time is it? | At what time?]
[Jam | Pukul] ...	[At ... o'clock. | It is ... o'clock] (insert number)
Tolong, bawa ...	Please bring me the ... (insert noun).
Satu lagi.	One more. (works well for beers.)
Tambah lagi?	Do you want more?
Habis.	Finished.
Minta bon.	Bill, please.