Helpful Indonesian Phrases

Photo credit - William Cho

The main language in Indonesia is the Bahasa Indonesia, but this is made a little bit more confusing by the fact that the majority of locals will also speak their own local language. For example, in the island of Java, there are locals that speak Sundanese, Javanese and other local dialects, each of which are different from Bahasa Indonesia! Fortunately, the majority of people will be able to speak basic Indonesian. Here are a few Indonesian phrases that can be useful for tourists

Greetings
Welcome                       Selamat Datang
Good Morning             Selamat Pagi
Good Afternoon           Selamat Sore
Good Night                   Selamat Malam
Bon Appetit                  Selamat Makan
Bon Voyage                   Selamat Jalan
Pleased to meet you    Senang bertemu Anda

In Indonesia, it also common to shorten the greetings as in the English Language. For example, in the morning you may simply greet another person “Morning!” and likewise in Indonesia, you can simply greet them “Pagi!” and so on and so on. However, this does not hold true for Welcome, and you can’t simply greet “Datang!”

Responses
Thank You                       Terima Kasih
Thank You So Much!     Terima Kasih Banyak!
Sorry                                 Maaf
Excuse Me                       Maafkan Saya (to apologize for something)
Permisi (to get pass someone who is blocking the way)

Emergencies
Help!                                Tolong!
Fire!                                  Api! or Kebakaran!
Stop!                                 Berhenti!
Call the police!                Panggil Polisi!
I Don’t Understand        Saya Tidak Mengerti

Directions / Lost
Can You Help Me? I am Lost
Bisa tolong bantu saya? Saya tersesat

Can You Help Give Me Directions to ______?
Bisa tolong bantu saya, saya mau ke ______, bagaimana cara jalannya?

Where’s the toilet?
Di mana kamar mandinya?

Shopping
How Much Is This?
Berapa harganya barang ini?

That’s Too Expensive!
Harganya terlalu mahal!

I am going to buy more, so can you give me a better discount?
Saya mau beli lebih banyak, jadi bisa minta diskon yang bagus?

Thanks, I’ll Think About It
Ok, terima kasih, saya coba pikirkan dulu ya