New Words
| alamat |
address |
| arah |
direction |
| bagaimana? |
how? |
| bantu |
to help, to assist |
| baru |
new |
| belok |
to turn |
| berhenti |
to stop |
| bisa |
to be able to, to know (a language) |
| boleh |
to be allowed |
| bon |
bill (in a restaurant) |
| buku |
book |
| dan |
and |
| dong / donk |
intensifier to stress a statement or sentence (informal) |
| harga |
price |
| jawab |
to answer |
| jawaban |
the answer |
| juga |
also |
| kanan |
right (right-hand) |
| karena |
because |
| kiri |
left |
| lewat |
(to go) past |
| lurus |
straight (ahead) |
| Mengapa |
why (formal) |
| menolong |
help |
| minta |
to ask for, to beg |
| naik |
to mount or to get onto (a horse, bus, bicycle, car), to climb |
| nanti |
later |
| nya |
suffix to indicate a possession in the third person |
| permisi |
excuse me, may I? |
| pertanyaan |
question |
| sekarang |
now |
| tahu |
to know |
| tanya |
to ask |
| tolong |
please help, help, help! |
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Getting around in Indonesia means almost constantly asking what's going on. The good thing is that people are always happy to answer, especially if you speak the language a little. The bad thing is that often nobody knows what is going on anyway.
Simple yes/no question
Indicative sentences can be transformed into a questions by simply changing the intonation of the sentence.
David orang Australia. - David person Australia - David is Australian.
David orang Australia? - David person Australia? - Is David Australian?
Question with ada
Ada orang? - There is people? - Is there anybody there?
Tani ada di rumah? - Tani is in house? - Is Tani at home? Another way to indicate a question is to use the word apa or apakah at the beginning:
Q: Apa Lisa ada di rumah? - What Lisa is present at house - Is Lisa at home?
A: Ada - is - yes she is Atau means or and is plced at the same position in a sentence as in English.
Q: Kamu ada di Jakarta atau Bandung? - You are in Jakarta or in Bandung? - Are you in Jakarta or in Bandung?
Q: Di Bandung - In Bandung - In Bandung
Positive answer: Answering yes without saying yes
ya means 'yes' but is not very often used. Let's take the question:
Q: Mau ke rumah? - Want to house? - Do you want to go home? Don't answer a single ya. You would be understood, but a better way to answer is to repeat the sentence's predicate:
A: Mau - want
or: Ya, mau Another example:
Q: Sudah ada bis ke Jakarta? - already available bus to Jakarta? - Is there already a bus to Jakarta?
A: Sudah ada - already available - Yes, there already is.
Use apa to ask for a specific object or subject:
Put apa behind the object that you are asking to be specified.
Kamu orang apa? - you person what? - What nationality are you? or What kind of a person are you?
Itu mobil apa? - this car what? - What kind of car is this?
Who and how much: Question with berapa, siapa:
Like with apa, you can place these interrogatives after the object to question it or at the beginning of the sentence.
Q: Umur kamu berapa? - age you how much? - How old are you?
Q: Berapa umur kamu? - how much age you? - How old are you?
A: Saya dua puluh tiga - I twenty three - I am twenty three Q: Berapa harganya? - how much price of it? - How much does this cost?
A: Harga ini dua ratus lima puluh ribu lima ratus rupiah - price this 250500 Rupiah - This costs 250500 Rupiah Q: Itu mobil siapa? - this car who? - Whose car is this?
A: Itu mobil kamu - this car you - This is your car. Q: Siapa orang itu? - who person that? - Who is that person?
A: Itu Nita, teman saya - this Nita, friend my - This is Nita, my friend Q: Nama anda siapa? - name you (formal) who? - What is your name?
A: Nama saya Peter, dan nama anda siapa? - name my Peter, and name you (formal) who? - My name is Peter, and what is your name? As a general rule member: If siapa stands after the sentence's object it is asking for the proprietor of that object (exeption nama siapa, meaning what name).
Example: Ini rumah siapa? - This house who? - Whose house is this? If siapa leads a sentence then it means who.
Example: Siapa ada di rumah? - who is in house? - Who is in the house?
Why-Questions
To form a why-question put kenapa or the more formal mengapa in front of an indicative sentence:
Q: Kenapa suka saya? - why like me? - Why do you like me?
A: Karena kamu pintar - because you intelligent - Because you are intelligent Q: Mengapa harga ini dua puluh satu ribu? - why price this 21000 - Why does this cost 21000?
A: Karena baru - because new - Because it new.
When-Question
Q: Kapan mau ke hotel? - when want to hotel? - When do you want to go to hotel?
You may also say: Mau ke hotel kapan?
A: Saya mau sekarang - I want now - I want to go now.
Bagimana: Asking how things are
Q: Bagaimana buku itu? - how book this? - How is this book?
A: Buku ini bagus - book this good - This book is good Bagimana alone often means how are you?
Q: Bagaimana? - how? - How do you do?
A: Baik - good If you don't know what's going on or you don't know what to do next, you can also simply say: bagimana? - how - now what next? or: How do I get out of this?
Asking for locations and directions
Mana means where. In conjunction with di it means where something presently is: Kamu dimana? - you in where? - Where are you? Together with ke, mana asks for a destination: Mobil ke mana? - car to where? - Where is the car going to? Other examples:
Q: mau ke mana? - want to where? - Where do you want to go?
A: Mau ke rumah - want to house - I want to go home
Q: Teman saya dimana? - friend my is in where? - Where is my friend?
A: Teman kamu di bus - friend your in bus - Your friend is in the bus. Q: Dimana ada mobil saya? - where is car my? - Where is my car?
A: mobil kamu disana - car your there - Your car is there.
A Note
Even in big cities almost nobody uses a map. Consequently
people are not used to using them. Don't waste time asking
somebody to show you a place on your map. |
For most towns and cities you won't be able to buy a map. Asking for directions is therefore important to know.Q: Dimana ada hotel Manise? - where is hotel Manise? - Where is the Manise Hotel?
A: Ada di jalan Setiabudi - is in street Setiabudi - It is in Setiabudi Street
Q: Jalan Setibudi arah ke mana? - street Setiabudi direction to where? - Which way is the Setiabudi Street?
A: Di sini lurus, nanti belok kiri dan nanti kanan - in here straight ahead, later turn left then later right - Go stright first, then turn left and then right
Q: Alamatnya di mana? - address in where? - Which address is it?
A: Alamatnya Jalan Setiabudi nomor 30 - its address Street Setiabudi number 30 - The address is 30 Setiabudi Street To ask a taxi to stop here: Berhenti di sini - stop here
Asking for something
If you want to ask for a certain item simply put minta in front of it. Compared to our 'excuse me, could I have.. 'this may appear a little short and rude, but it is perfectly acceptable. Minta alamatmu - demand address-yours - Can I have your address? Minta is slightly formal. A less formal way to ask for something is by using boleh:
Boleh tahu alamatmu? - may know address-yours - May I know your address?
Asking permission
Q: Boleh tanya berapa umur anda? - may ask how much age you (formal)? - May I ask how old are you?
A: Boleh. Tetapi saya tidak mau bilang - may. But I not want tell - You may. But I don't want to tell you Q: Boleh lewat? - may past? - May I go past?
A: Boleh - may - You may
Note that the positive answer here is not a simply ya, but the repetition of the predicate. Q: Boleh ikut? - may come along? - May I come with you?
A: Tidak bisa - not can - Sorry you can't Q: Boleh juga? - may also? - May also (have something)?
A: Boleh - may - You may If you want to go past somebody say permisi.
A Note
Walking between two people who are talking to each other
is always a bit rude in Indonesia. If you can't avoid it bow your
body slightly, hold your right hand in front of you, go past and
say permisi |
Asking for and offering help
Tolong bantu saya - please help me - Please help me Bisa bantu? - can help? - Can you help me? Minta bantuan - ask for help - Please help me Among friend you can also use:
Bantu dong! - Help - So please , help me!
Dong is a very popular intensifier put at the end of indicative sentences:
Mau dong! - Want! - I want this!
Use this sentence only if you are a spoiled child or among good friends. If you want to ask very politely for information do it like this:
Maaf tanya, ini bus ke Ubud? - excuse me ask, this bus to Ubud? - Excuse me, is this the bus to Ubud? Test1. Which is the best answer to the question
"Mau keluar malam sama saya?" a) ya
b) mau
c) mengapa 2. Somebody asks "bisa bantu saya?" You want to help, so you say? a) bisa
b) tidak
c) ya 3. You want to ask somebody when he/she has time for you: a) mengapa ada waktu?
b) kapan
c) kenapa
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Asking and answering Questions 
