1. About Indonesian
Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) is the national language of Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country, and a lingua franca for over 270 million people. It is an Austronesian language, standardised from Malay, and is widely considered one of the most approachable languages for an English speaker to begin.1
The good news is substantial. Indonesian is written in the Latin alphabet with almost perfectly phonetic spelling; it has no tones, no grammatical gender, no articles (a/the), and — remarkably — no verb conjugation. Verbs never change for person or tense: 'I eat', 'he eats' and 'they ate' all use the same word, with small particles showing time when needed.1 The genuinely new skills are a system of word-building prefixes and suffixes (affixation), reduplication for plurals, and choosing the right level of formality.
Key features to know from day one
- Basic word order is Subject–Verb–Object, like English: Saya makan nasi = 'I eat rice.'1
- Modifiers follow the noun. Adjectives come after: rumah besar = 'house big' = 'a big house'; and the possessor follows too: buku saya = 'book my' = 'my book.'4
- No gender, no articles, no obligatory plural. Plurality, when needed, is often shown by reduplication: buku = 'book', buku-buku = 'books.'1
- No verb conjugation or tense. Time is shown by context or by pre-verbal particles such as sudah (already), sedang (now), akan (will) and belum (not yet).3
- Two negators: tidak negates verbs and adjectives; bukan negates nouns.2
- Word-building uses affixes (e.g. ber-, meN-, di-, -kan, -an) stacked on a root — powerful, and introduced gradually.
2. Pronunciation & spelling
Indonesian spelling is consistent: letters are pronounced much as written, with five clear vowels (a, i, u, e, o) and no tones. A few letters differ from English habits.
| Letter | Approximate sound | Example |
|---|---|---|
| c | "ch" as in church | cinta (love) |
| j | "j" as in jam | jalan (street / to walk) |
| g | always hard "g" as in go | guru (teacher) |
| ng | "ng" as in singer | bangun (to wake) |
| ny | "ny" as in canyon | nyamuk (mosquito) |
| r | a tapped/trilled r | rumah (house) |
| e | often a schwa "uh"; sometimes "e" as in bed | empat (four) / sore (afternoon) |
Stress is light and even, falling usually on the second-to-last syllable; vowels keep a clear, pure quality and are not reduced the way unstressed English vowels are.
3. Greetings & essential words
| Indonesian | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Halo | Hello |
| Selamat pagi | Good morning |
| Selamat siang | Good day (midday) |
| Selamat sore | Good afternoon |
| Selamat malam | Good evening / night |
| Apa kabar? | How are you? |
| Terima kasih | Thank you |
| Sama-sama | You're welcome |
| Ya | Yes |
| Tidak | No / not |
| Permisi | Excuse me |
| Maaf | Sorry |
Pronouns
| Indonesian | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| saya | I / me | neutral, polite |
| aku | I / me | casual, with friends |
| Anda | you | formal, capitalised |
| kamu | you | casual |
| dia | he / she | no gender distinction |
| kami | we | excludes the listener |
| kita | we | includes the listener |
| mereka | they |
Numbers 1–10
| Value | Indonesian | Value | Indonesian |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | satu | 6 | enam |
| 2 | dua | 7 | tujuh |
| 3 | tiga | 8 | delapan |
| 4 | empat | 9 | sembilan |
| 5 | lima | 10 | sepuluh |
Practice: greetings & numbers
Practice: Core greetings, yes/no, and the first numbers. Indonesian is written in the Latin alphabet with phonetic spelling, so type the word as it is spelled.. Type the missing word — accents are optional.
- 1.Hello:
Hint: the everyday all-purpose greeting
- 2.Thank you:
Hint: a two-word phrase, literally 'receive love'
- 3.Yes:
Hint: the one-syllable affirmative
- 4.No / not:
Hint: the basic negative, also used to negate verbs
- 5.Good morning:
Hint: 'safe/blessed' + the word for morning
- 6.Sorry:
Hint: the word for an apology / pardon
- 7.the number 'one':
Hint: the first counting number
- 8.the number 'two':
Hint: the number after satu
- 9.the number 'three':
Hint: the number after dua
- 10.the number 'five':
Hint: the number of fingers on one hand
10 questions
Grammar reference: Greetings and numerals per Sneddon, Indonesian: A Comprehensive Grammar (Routledge, 1996) and standard usage. All prompts original to LinguaCommons. CEFR A1.. Sentences are original to LinguaCommons.
4. Negation, time particles & possession
Two ways to say 'no'
Indonesian splits negation by what is being negated. Use tidak before a verb or an adjective (Saya tidak makan = 'I do not eat'; Ini tidak besar = 'This is not big'), and bukan before a noun (Itu bukan buku = 'That is not a book').2
Showing time without tense
Because verbs never change form, time is carried by short particles placed before the verb: sudah (already / done), sedang (in the middle of), akan (will), and belum ('not yet'). Saya sudah makan = 'I have already eaten'; Saya belum makan = 'I haven't eaten yet.'3
Possession and modifiers
To show possession, simply place the owner after the thing: buku saya = 'my book', rumah teman = 'a friend's house'. Adjectives work the same way, following the noun: mobil merah = 'red car.'4
Practice: negation, time particles & function words
Practice: Choose the right word. Negation: tidak (before verbs/adjectives) vs bukan (before nouns). Time particles before the verb: sudah (already), sedang (in progress), akan (will), belum (not yet). Plus: a possessive pronoun after the noun, the formal 'you', the conjunction 'and', and the question word 'what'.. Type the missing word — accents are optional.
- 1.Saya makan nasi. (I do not eat rice.) → ___
Hint: the negator placed before a verb or an adjective
- 2.Itu buku, itu majalah. (That is not a book, it's a magazine.) → ___
Hint: the negator placed before a noun
- 3.Saya makan. (I have already eaten.) → ___
Hint: the particle marking a completed action ('already')
- 4.Saya makan sekarang. (I am eating right now.) → ___
Hint: the particle marking an action in progress
- 5.Saya makan nanti. (I will eat later.) → ___
Hint: the particle marking future intention ('will')
- 6.Saya makan. (I haven't eaten yet.) → ___
Hint: the particle meaning 'not yet'
- 7.Ini buku . (This is my book.) → ___
Hint: the neutral word for 'I', placed after the noun to show possession
- 8.Apa kabar, ? (How are you? — addressing someone politely) → ___
Hint: the polite, capitalised word for 'you'
- 9.saya kamu (me and you) → ___
Hint: the conjunction 'and'
- 10. ini? (What is this?) → ___
Hint: the question word 'what'
10 questions
Grammar reference: Negation, aspect particles and possessive order per Sneddon, Indonesian: A Comprehensive Grammar (Routledge, 1996). All sentences original to LinguaCommons. CEFR A2.. Sentences are original to LinguaCommons.
5. Beyond the basics
🚧 In development. This section will cover the verb-building prefixes ber- and meN- (and how meN- changes shape: mem-, men-, meng-, meny-), the passive di- prefix, and yes/no questions with apakah and tag questions with kan. Content here is being expanded in a later run and is not yet complete.
🚧 In development. A strategy for the affix system — how roots combine with prefixes and suffixes (-kan, -i, -an, ke-…-an) to build families of related words — will be added here.
🚧 In development. This section will treat formal (baku) vs colloquial Jakarta Indonesian (e.g. nggak for tidak, the -in suffix), and the relationship between Indonesian and Malaysian Malay. Not yet complete.
🚧 In development. Planned: politeness and indirectness, address terms (Bapak/Ibu, Mas/Mbak), and the rich set of discourse particles (lah, kok, sih, deh). Not yet complete.
🚧 In development. Planned: literary and news register, fluent use of the full affix system, and a media-immersion plan. Not yet complete.
- Indonesian language — overview — background, phonology and grammar summary
- Indonesian grammar — reference — affixation, negation and aspect