Free

Indonesian pronunciation is relatively straightforward, with just six vowels (compared to English’s 12) and 18 consonants. However, depending on your native language, certain aspects of Indonesian may be challenging. For example, Japanese speakers may find the /l/ sound difficult, Germans may struggle with the /j/, and native English speakers often have trouble rolling the /r/. English speakers also frequently mispronounce the /a/ sound, saying orang as if it rhymes with “slang” or pronouncing the “a” in Bali as in “ball.” However, the only correct pronunciation of “a” in Indonesian is like the “a” in “father.”

I can often identify someone’s origin based on their pronunciation or “accent.” This is completely normal, since achieving native-like pronunciation in a language learned as an adult is nearly impossible. So, if your pronunciation isn’t perfect, that’s okay. However, it’s important to aim for accurate pronunciation. To help you improve, we’ve developed a short, free course called “Mastering Indonesian Pronunciation”, which hopefully will assist you in achieving that goal.

The prefix ter- forms passive verbs that are either a) stative, b) accidental, or c) abilitative. It is also used to form the superlative (terbaru – yang paling baru, the newest). Here we will not discuss the superlative, but focus on the verb forming prefix ter-.

a) stative verbs

These verbs refer to a state of affairs. As there is no action involved there cannot be an actor.

Kecepatan terbatas.
Speed is limited. | Limited speed.

In this sentence emphasis is not on who or what limits the speed. This contrasts with:

Kecepatan dibatasi.
Speed was limited.

where the act was done deliberately or intentionally.

b) accidental verbs

The prefix -ter often expresses that an action occurs unintentionally. The accidental quality of these words is sometimes an additional quality as most accidental verbs are also stative and as such there is no focus on the actor. Often only the context determines whether a ter- verb is solely stative or also accidental.

Rumah itu terbakar.
The house burnt down.

This sentence can simply refer to the fact that the house burnt down (stative), but it can also imply that the fire was caused by an accident or by a natural cause such as struck by a lightening. As there is no emphasis on the actor arson can be ruled out.

This contrasts sharply with di- verbs where the action is usually performed intentionally:

Rumah itu dibakar.
The house was set ablaze.

c) abilitative verbs

Abilitative ter- verbs differ from stative ter- verbs in that they can have an actor. It is more common to encounter abilitative verbs in the negative, either with tidak, or, preferably, with tak. Also, while stative and accidental ter- verbs loose suffixes -kan and -i, abilitative ter- verbs don’t.

Sherlock Holmes: Misteri yang tak terpecahkan.
Unsolvable mystery. (Indonesian title of A Slight Trick of the Mind.)

Here, terpecahkan is based on memecahkan (to solve). Suffix -kan is retained.

Abilitative ter- verbs are more frequently found in formal Indonesian. In informal speech, a di- verb preceded by bisa or dapat (can) is very frequently used, and tidak is favoured over tak.

Misteri yang tidak dapat dipecahkan.
Unsolvable mystery.

In many cases the context decides wether a ter- verb is stative, accidental or abilitative. In the first sentence below terbawa is abilitative, in the second it is accidental. Note that in both cases the actor is indicated by oleh. With the di- passive oleh (by) is always optional. With abilitative ter- verbs oleh is always required when the actor is included.

Apa paket-paket itu terbawa oleh kamu sendiri ?
Were you able to carry those parcels by yourself

Maaf, paket Anda terbawa oleh saya.
Sorry , I took your parcels by mistake.

The word bahasa is derived from Sanskrit bhāṣā and it has the same meaning as language, Sprache, taal, langue, la lengua etc.

In most Indian languages the word bhāṣā still has the same meaning. In Hindi, हिन्दी भाषा (Hindi bhāṣā) means ‘Hindi language’, but in English we typically simply call it ‘Hindi’, just as we call bahasa Indonesia ‘Indonesian’.

From the first milenium onwards, Southeast Asia underwent a strong Indian influence. Today, about 5% of all Indonesian words are of Sanskrit origin, and a few more are from Tamil and other Indian languages.

One of the words that were imported into Southeast Asian languages was the word bhāṣā. In some languages the word was pronounced and then also written as bhasa, basa, or phasa. In the Malay language (Indonesian and Malaysian), it became bahasa.

If you want to say ‘Dutch’, and you refer to the language, in Indonesian it must be preceded by bahasa: So Dutch is bahasa Belanda, Italian is bahasa Italia etc.

Many regional languages have there own word for ‘language’. The Batak language, for instance, is called hata Batak, the language of the Karo in North Sumatra is called cakap Karo. But there are also many languages that use the word bahasa or its variant basa:

Bahasa Melayu (Malay, widely spoken on Sumatra, Kalimantan, and the Malay peninsula)
Basa Jawa (Javanese, spoken in Central and East Java)
Basa Sunda (Sundanese, spoken in West Jawa)
Basa Bali (Balinese)
Bahasa Betawi (Jakarta Malay, also known as Omong Betawi)
Bahasa Papua (Papuan Malay, spoken along the coast of Indonesian-Papua)
Bahasa Manado (Manado Malay, spoken in North Sulawesi)
Bahasa Ciacia (Cia-Cia language, Sulawesi)

It is also used in other Southeast Asian countries:

Bahasa Sūg (Tausug, spoken in Sulu, Philippines)
Bahasa Malaysia (Malaysian)
Phiesa Khmae  (Khmer or Cambodian)
Phasa Lao (Lao or Laotian)
Phasa Thai  (Thai)
Myanma bhasa (Burmese)

Have you ever heard someone asking: “How do you say that in Bahasa?” A proper reply to this question would be “What bahasa?” And did you notice that they wrote bahasa with a capital B as if it was the name of the language. No, it’s not, and that’s why bahasa is never capitalised:

Many Uses of ‘bahasa’

Saya kira Anda tahu bahasa Jepang.
I thought you knew Japanese.

Mengapa bahasa Inggris sulit untuk dipelajari?
Why is English hard to learn?

Kamu tahu berapa bahasa?
How many languages do you speak?

Penutur bahasa Indonesia sudah mencapai 300 juta.
There are already 300 million speakers of Indonesian.

Di Indonesia ada dua bahasa isyarat.
There are two sign languages in Indonesian.

Anto pintar sekali. Dia tahu banyak bahasa komputer.
Anto is very smart. He knows many computer languages.

Dewi, bahasa ibunya bahasa Jawa.
Dewi’s mother tongue is Javanese.

Di Indonesia ada banyak ragam bahasa seperti bahasa pers dan bahasa percakapan.
In Indonesia, there are many varieties of language such as media language and conversational language.

Aku nggak suka kalau orang pakai bahasa gado-gado.
I don’t like it when people use mixed language.

Gado-gado is a salad made with a mix of various vegetables. In Malaysia, mixing languages such as English and

Malaysian is known as bahasa rojak. Rojak, in Indonesian called rujak, is a sweet and spicy salad made with unripe fruits.

Bahasa Tarzan

And then, there is, of course bahasa Tarzan:

Waktu di Mesir, terpaksa saya memakai bahasa Tarzan karena tidak tahu bahasa Arab.
When I was in Egypt, I had to resort to Tarzan language because I didn’t know Arabic.

“Bahasa Tarzan” is a colloquial term used to describe a simplified or broken form of language, often used when someone is unable to speak a particular language fluently. It refers to a basic or rudimentary form of communication, akin to how the fictional character Tarzan communicates in simplified terms in movies and books. It implies a lack of proficiency in the language being spoken.

Remember what George Quinn, the original author of The Indonesian Way said about using the word bahasa:

“In 1928 the Indonesian nationalist movement chose Malay as the future nation’s national language. Its name was changed to bahasa Indonesia, literally: the language (bahasa) of Indonesia. In English we call the language Indonesian: it is not correct to call it simply Bahasa.”

Dodol is a sweet, toffee-like treat made from sticky rice flour (tepung ketan), coconut milk (santan), and palm sugar (gula merah) derived from the sap of the Arenga pinnata sugar palm known as aren or enau.

Dodol is sometimes enhanced with durian flavor. This rich and sweet snack is highly popular in Indonesia, where it originated. Historically, dodol has been enjoyed for over a thousand years, as evidenced by its mention in the Masahar inscription from East Java dating back to 930 CE.

Nowadays, dodol is closely associated with the city of Garut in West Java, which serves as a major production hub for dodol, known and sold as Dodol Garut.

The term dodol is occasionally used in a slightly derogatory manner due to its phonetic similarity to tolol (stupid, dumb). However, it is not considered as rude and impolite, as words such as bodoh, bego, goblok, dungu, tolol, and other words that have largely the same meaning.

Despite its negative connotations, there are certain circumstances in which dodol can be used relatively safely. For instance, when discussing a third person, one might ask, “Lho, kok bisa dodol begitu?” (How can he be so foolish?).

Additionally, in the presence of children, it is possible to playfully tease by asking, “Mana yang dodol garut tadi?” (who was that dodol garut guy again?). By adding Garut to dodol, the term is further distanced from tolol, making it clear that the intention is lighthearted.

Furthermore, in response to a friend’s question of “kenapa?” (why?), one might humorously reply, “Pura-pura dodol, ya?” (Pretending to be clueless, huh?).

So enjoy your newly-learned word, but be careful in applying it!