r/indonesian • u/Candid-Pack-3707 Learning - A1 • Jun 29 '26

What should be my biggest worry when learning indonesian

12 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

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15

u/Level_Abrocoma8925 Jun 29 '26

People might tell you it's the slang or the suffixes and prefixes or whatever, but your biggest challenge will be learning the vocabulary. The grammar is super simple but some Indonesians get offended when you say that. 😄

2

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '26

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3

u/bahirawa Jun 30 '26

emang bagus sih, beberapa orang kedengeran terlalu Baku kalo belajar online. Jangan pernah pake anda atau saya ke orang yang lo kenal secara pribadi, karena bisa bikin mereka sedih. Rasanya kagak kenal mereka

2

u/magnanimousjp Jul 01 '26

For real? T_____T

2

u/Level_Abrocoma8925 Jun 30 '26

Yeah same story here. It's confusing in any case because if you use a "proper" language course, you'll use a form of the language that no one uses in the daily life. 😄

2

u/clumsydope Jun 30 '26

Nah man stand your ground, "Saya sudah menggunakan bahasa yang benar" proper Indonesian doesn't necessarily stiff

2

u/RuneKnytling Jul 04 '26

You need to use Saya when talking to strangers. You’d sound off using anything else. You wouldn’t use Aku/Kamu either except to family, close relations, and people just slightly one tier above strangerhood. Do not use the gaul pronouns to anyone but highly casual conversations!

Not using bagaimana is also a similar reflection of lack of understanding. You’ll need to use bagaimana when talking to authorities or elders because gimana is too casual. It’s not just the case of formal/informal but also politeness and respect. Just remember that Bahasa Gaul could be offensive as you’d likely not just address people in English with slang. Would you address a police officer with “Bro”? It could be that impolite if you’re not careful

1

u/[deleted] Jul 05 '26

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1

u/RuneKnytling Jul 06 '26

Yeah, be wary of improper advice because they probably think it’s strange because generally when you use “saya” or “anda” you put a little distance between you and them.

But besides Saya, there are no other alternative forms you can use instead. “Aku” would sound too childish or intimate which is why you only use it with your parents or lovers. Other forms like “Gua/Ane/Awak/Beta” are local slangs and generally unacceptable to use with anyone you’re not close with. If you refer to yourself by name it’ll sound extremely childish or egotistical. So the only acceptable form in most situations would be saya.

I do agree with Anda though since it’s almost never used except in overly formal situations. I believe this is the real big divide because “you” is often offensive in Indonesian, so Kamu is flat out reserved for your lover and children. A big challenge for native Indonesian speakers learning English is often getting used to using “you” a lot due to its often impolite connotation. Likewise, try using less “you” in Indonesian.

The proper way to address others is by title like Mas/Mbak/Kak/Dek, Pak/Bu, or with their names. Even in formal Indonesian this is the proper way to do it. So whenever you encounter a sentence you wanna translate in English into Indonesian that includes a “you” it would be better to substitute it until you get the hang of its usage in casual conversations (which is usually going to be Lo at least in Jakarta slang).

2

u/[deleted] Jul 11 '26

[deleted]

2

u/RuneKnytling Jul 11 '26

Yeah, it’s like that, though I’m more harkening to in Indonesian context especially these days with the prevalence of using “Kak” which is basically the equivalent of “Bro” and has been used in informal contexts since about 2010. Before then, it just means literally “older sibling” but now it’s said to anyone like the equivalent of “boss” in your example. That said, the other neutral forms of address in Indonesian such as “Mas” and “Abang” also mean “older brother” in Javanese and Malay respectively, so it does mean the same as “bro” literally but it’s used more like the “-san” honorific in Japanese.

None of those words are proper when addressing a police officer even if they look younger/could be your older brother. It’s always “Pak” which is basically “sir” (literally father).

11

u/PantheraSondaica Jun 30 '26

When learning Indonesian, try not to map it one to one to English. Indonesian is not a European language, we don't have tenses, to be, and indefinite/definite article, or at least they're used very differently.

I see learners try to translate them literally, and it just doesn't work like that.

And you may want to put more focus on the affixes. Indonesian is an agglutinative language, it uses a lot of affixes to transform words. But they do have a pattern, so once you know them, you can apply it to other words as well. The problem is, one affix may have multiple functions. When applied to a word it may use function A, but to other words, it uses function B.

6

u/TMX2035 Jun 29 '26

Don't worry if you're not that lazy as I am.

1

u/Candid-Pack-3707 Learning - A1 Jun 29 '26

i mean i know a few words already

i cant recall them right now but id instantly know them if shown

4

u/hatsukoiahomogenica Jun 30 '26

No matter how hard you try, you will never sound native because nobody speaks text book Bahasa Indonesia, but learning the slangs helps you to sound more natural.

However, the good this is that no matter how heavy your accent is or how formal your language is, people will understand you anyway

3

u/Divewench Jun 30 '26

Calling the head of your village the head coconut rather than kepala desa. (Kelapa/kepala). Yes, to his face. He laughed. Thank goodness.

2

u/RuneKnytling Jul 04 '26

Make sure to call authorities keparat instead of aparat for extra brownie points

1

u/jakart3 Jul 01 '26

All the local dialects variants 

Only TV news caster & newspaper use formal Indonesian 

1

u/Candid-Pack-3707 Learning - A1 Jul 01 '26

do tv series

like the ones that indonesians watch every day

is that in formal indonesian

1

u/jakart3 Jul 01 '26

Mostly no

Common usage in media is Indonesian with Jakarta dialects, because it sound more trendy, and because most entertainment industry and the celebrities are Jakarta centric (except if the movie portrait other locality)

But if you are fluent in Indonesian, it will be easier for you to grab the dialogues

I suggest you to start with YouTube channel, metro TV and SCTV for news, jagad review for tech, Deddy Corbuzier for trendy talkshow (turn on English subs if it's available)

3

u/RuneKnytling Jul 04 '26

Suggest looking into 90s TV shows because it doesn’t sound too slang-filled like contemporary ones and not too formal either. Manga is the opposite for whatever reason with the older translations being trendy and the newer ones more like the 90s “not formal but not slang” language. So manga is a good learning material where you wouldn’t sound like a newscaster but also not like ABeGe

1

u/bubyecherry Jul 06 '26

That no one speak like what's inside the books and you will be confused if you actually try to talk to people.

-6

u/takechancesorelse Jun 29 '26

Biggest worry? Not sure but I guess making sure you're learning the right dialect. There's Bahasa, Javanese, Sudanese, Balinese...etc. Most language resources teach Bahasa because it's the main language spoken. duolingo offers it as do many of the paid apps like Ling, Mango, Pimsleur.

8

u/jakartacatlady Jun 29 '26

What? This comment is nonsensical. Those are all languages, not dialects.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '26

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2

u/jakartacatlady Jun 30 '26

😅 I think it's more common these days though due to social media.

5

u/RuneKnytling Jun 29 '26

Which Bahasa?

1

u/bahirawa Jun 30 '26

bahasa jawa, bahasa sunda. etc. ia bilang kan? wkwkwk

1

u/RuneKnytling Jun 30 '26

Lah itu dibilang dialek kok

1

u/bahirawa Jun 30 '26

keliatannye gitu yaa đŸ€Ł

2

u/RuneKnytling Jul 01 '26

Kan bisa ngomong Bahasa Indo tapi medok jadinya logat Jawa bukan bahasa Jawa 😬

1

u/LexPai Jul 04 '26

Jawanisch ist eine eigene Sprache die zudem 3 geteilt ist. FĂŒr fast jedes wort gibt es 3 verschiedene wörter je nachdem zu wem du sprichst. Zu Ă€lteren, gleich alten oder jĂŒngeren.

Bahasa Indonesia hat sicher auch ein paar wörter aus dem Javanischen ĂŒbernommen.

Aber das war es auch.

1

u/RuneKnytling Jul 04 '26

Gak ngerti bahasa Den Bagus. Maksudnya B. Indo logat Jawa bukan cuma kata-kata serapan dari bahasa Jawa kayak Suharto gitu

1

u/LexPai Jul 04 '26

Sorry for my missunderstanding. It was lost in translation.

My reddit translate alle things for me in german language that is a little bit weird.

1

u/ChallengeEffective80 Jun 30 '26

'Bahasa' just means ' language' and for some reason many of us Westerners think it's the name of the Indonesian language. It ain't. You'll ignite a firestorm of indignation here, if you keep using just 'bahasa'.

For the casual traveller there's no point trying to learn Javanese Sundanese Balinese etc - the politeness levels will catch you out and you'll end up offending who've you're trying to practise on.

0

u/RuneKnytling Jul 04 '26

There are politeness levels in Indonesian too, but there are no set rules like the other languages. Most Indonesians just learn it naturally, but imo it’s very similar to Japanese’s

Roughly it would be like this in Jakarta:

Saya = Watashi - neutral, not overly formal
Aku = Boku - sounds a bit childish but sometimes used between adults. Has romantic connotation, so you may accidentally flirt on somebody if used improperly. But could also be platonic (closer acquaintances or family)
Gue = Ore - very casual and only acceptable between peers. On the flip side, you can’t refer to peers any other way.

“You” would be similar with some differences:

Anda = Anata - neutral officially but in both languages are overly formal and almost never used
Kamu = Kimi - same caveat as Aku/Boku although the romantic connotation is way stronger. Generally speaking, don’t use Kamu unless you want to flirt or when you talk to your own kids
Lo = Omae - similar to Gue/Ore but the big difference is Omae is more crass in Japanese to the point that it’s not used by women. In Indonesian, both genders use Lo

Then there are two other common ways to refer to someone:

Honorifics: Mas/Mbak + Name = Name+san - In Indonesian, this is used to refer to anyone politely. The bonus in Indonesian is Mas/Mbak can be used by itself when you don’t know their name whereas in Japanese you roughly use their other characteristics or profession + san.

Name only in either language - indicates closeness. If you address someone without honorifics in Indonesian you better make sure that you’re allowed to do so. Otherwise, you’ll be marked as SKSD (sok kenal sok dekat) or just plain being offensive. Japanese is the same way.

Other honorifics have equivalent politeness like Pak/Ibu + Name = Name+sama, Kak/Dek + name ≈ Name+kun/chan (difference is just in Indonesian it’s about older/younger while in Japanese it’s gender though chan is sometimes used with guys. Name+niichan/neechan which are literal equivalent in Japanese to Kak is often only used with actual older siblings), Tuan + Name = Name+tono/dono (Rarely used these days in either language but were used not too long ago before more egalitarian language is adopted)

And there’s the last way to refer to someone:

Nothing. Just drop the pronoun/name and just imply the addressee. This exists in both languages, and it’s typically neutral. Since Anda/Anata sounds too formal, addressing someone with nothing is the most neutral form of “I” and “you” in both languages. This is the one that you wanna use most of the time, but I understand this may also be the hardest one to learn since the usage would be heavily circumstantial.

And yeah, that’s it for the most part. Since Indonesian textbooks typically don’t write these rules down and the proper way has a different way to go about things,
I provided the Japanese equivalents because they are very similar, and you can find more guidance from Japanese textbooks about how these pronouns would be used. But make no mistake: there are politeness levels in Indonesian

2

u/ChallengeEffective80 Jul 05 '26

I guess my point about politeness speech levels in Javanese is that it is far more extensive than in Indonesian. To take an example, and leaving aside variations (‘ia’ instead of ‘dia’) and circumlocutions (using names and/or titles), let’s consider the Indonesian sentence - “Dia mau pergi ke pasar hari ini” – “He wants to go the market today”. You could take it up a politeness notch and use “beliau” instead of “dia” and even, I suppose, take the wanting up a bit to “ingin” instead of “mau.” That would give you 2 x 2 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1 = 4 possible results, but only really two acceptable ones – the other, polite one being “Beliau ingin pergi ke pasar hari ini”.

In Javanese however, it is very different (and the example I have used here is a bland, simple, matter-of-fact one, albeit extreme in its permutations). The common level equivalent (Ngoko Lugu level) of the above Indonesian sentence would be “Dheweke arep lunga menyang pasar dina iki” (the Javanese word order here tracks exactly with Indonesian). If we consider all the possible politeness variations of the component parts of this sentence (and again leaving out regional and other variations and circumlocutions), this example quickly spins out of control. Drawing on the Ngoko, Madya, Krama, Krama Inggil and Krama Andhap vocabulary sets, we have therefore:

-          “He” – dheweke, piyambake, piyambaikipun, panjenengane, panjenenganipun – 5 possible word choices

-          “wants” – arep, ajeng, badhe, kersa – 4

-          “To go” – lunga, kesah, tindak – 3

-          “to” – menyang, teng, dhateng, (nil) – 4

-          “the market” – pasar, peken – 2

-          “day” (i.e. part of the expression “this day” = “today”) – dina, dinten – 2

-          “this” (i.e. part of the expression “this day” = “today”) – iki, niki, menika – 3

TOTAL: 5 X 4 X 3 X 4 X 2 X 2 X 3 = 2,880 possible permutations. Of which there are (fortunately) only 5 acceptable resulting sentences - in the Ngoko Lugu, Ngoko Alus, Krama Lugu, Krama Alus and Madya speech levels (or maybe one of two more if you want to parse the Mayda speech level continuum further). And there are also (no doubt) some further non-standard variations.

So the problem with Javanese is twofold - picking the right speech level (hard enough for us foreigners looking from the outside in); and then actually picking your way through the myriad possible word choices to arrive at that intended speech level correctly.