Indonesian Phrases

Here are a few Indonesian words and phrases.

1. Salutation/Greetings

Halo, apa kabar?	=	Hi, how are you?
Selamat pagi	=	Good morning (until about 11 am)
Selamat siang	=	Good (early) afternoon (until about 3 pm)
Selamat sore/petang	=	Good (late) afternoon Good (early) evening
Selamat malam	=	Good evening Good night
Selamat datang	=	Welcome
Mari (formal) Ayo (informal)	=	Good bye*
Sampai nanti	=	See you later
Sampai jumpa	=	See you next time

Notes

• 'Good bye' for long trips or when people will not see each other for a long time:
  1) Selamat tinggal ('good bye' by the one departing)
  2) Selamat jalan ('good bye' by the one staying)

2. Holidays

Selamat Tahun Baru	=	Happy New Year
Selamat Hari Raya Idul Fitri Selamat Lebaran	=	Happy Eid Al Fitr (Muslim holiday)
Selamat Hari Natal	=	Merry Christmas

3. Common Expressions

Terima kasih	=	Thank you
Kembali, sama-sama	=	You're welcome
Selamat	=	Congratulations
Mau ke mana?	=	Where are you going? *
Dari mana?	=	Where are you coming from? *
Ya	=	Yes
Tidak	=	No*
Bukan	=	No*

Notes

• Indonesians who know each other will commonly greet each other with "Where are you going?" or "Where are you coming from?" Only when they have not seen each other for a long time they will use apa kabar (how are you)?
• Tidak 'no' is used to negate adjective, verbal and prepositional phrases whereas bukan is used to negate noun phrases.

Source: George Quinn, The Indonesian Way. 2001

Published: Friday, July 23, 2010

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