Basic Indonesian Pronunciation and Grammar

Posted by admin on 2/02/09 • Categorized as Indonesia Language, travel southeast Asia

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Indonesian is a fairly phonetic language. One way to learn Indonesian pronunciation is to listen to local people when they speak. After listening carefully, imitate their pronunciation as accurately as possible and practice speaking out loud. Most Indonesians are happy to help you learn.

Travelers also can learn a great deal by watching local news and programs on Indonesian television. Watching movies also can help you learn words because they often are in English with Indonesian subtitles. It makes for an interesting language lesson when you compare the words that your hear with the words that you can read.

Consonants

Most consonants are pronounced the same in Indonesian and English. The most distinct exceptions are:

c is pronounced like the “ch” in champion

Example: cinta (CHEEN-tah) love

g is always hard, as in girl

Example: gigi (GEE-gee) tooth/teeth

h is very soft like in the word hush

Example: habis (HAH-bees) finished

k and kh are always hard like the k in in keep

Example: khabar/kabar (KAH-bahr) news

r is always stressed and rolled, as in Italian and Spanish

Example: baru (BAHR-roo) new

y is one of the tricky letters in the Indonesian alphabet. Technically, it always is pronounced like the y in yellow. However, personal and regional interpretations sometimes pronounce it like a j. In some cases, such as Yogyakarta (JOHG-jah-KAHR-tah) Indonesians pronounce the y like a j. The proper and traditional pronunciation is YOHG-yah-KAHR-tah.

Vowels

Indonesian has five vowels and two diphthongs:

a is pronounced “ah” as in the word father

Example: babi (BAH-bee) pig

e is usually hard “eh” as in the name Ed

Example: empat (EHM-paht) four

However, when placed at the end of a word, the e usually sounds

like “ay” in today.

Example: sate (SAH-tay) sate

i is pronounced “ee” as in the word bee

Example: tiga (TEE-gah) three

o is pronounced “oh” as in show

Example: bodoh (BOH-doh) stupid

u is pronounced “oo” as in boot

Example: Juni (JOO-nee) June

au is sometimes pronounced with two syllables, like the final two syllables of the Hawaiian island Oahu.

Example: mau (MAH-oo) want

au can also be pronounced with only one syllable “ah,” which sounds more like the vowel in now.

Example: pulau (POO-low) island

ai is smooth and long like the y in the word apply

Example: pantai (PAHN-tye) beach

As mentioned earlier, there are several regional variations to pronunciation and spelling. In addition to regional variations, some words are spelled differently today than they were prior to 1972 (when Indonesia eliminated some of the Dutch influence from the language). For instance, Jakarta and many other words that start with the letter J were once spelled with Dj at the beginning. Therefore, be prepared to see some variations when reading words that are printed or posted.

Verbs and Verb Forms

The verb is the key element in Indonesian sentence structure. While verbs are not conjugated for people and numbers as they are in many languages, there are a number of verbal prefixes and suffixes that alter or reinforce the meaning. The most common

is the prefix me, which makes a verb active in the present tense. However, since most verbs are assumed present tense, this prefix usually is omitted. For instance:

I want to see Borobudur. Saya mau melihat Borobudur.

I want to see Borobudur. Saya mau lihat Borobudur.

As mentioned earlier, the prefix di makes a verb more passive. The passive form often implies an imperative or necessity. For instance:

This rice must be cooked. Nasi ini dimasak.

These shoes may be tried on. Sepatu ini boleh dicoba.

Essential Words and Phrases

Greetings

Hello. Halo. (HAH-loh)

How are you? Apa kabar? (AH-pah KAH-bahr)

(I’m) fine/good. Baik/bagus. (BYE-eek, BAH-goos)

Good morning. Selamat pagi. (SEH-lah-MAHT PAH-gee)

Good day. (Use this from 11 am until 3 pm) Selamat siang. (SEH-lah-MAHT SEE-ahng)