Of course you have heard the greeting Selamat Pagi, which simply means “Good Morning”. And you may also have heard Selamat Tidur which is ‘Good Night; Sleep Well’.
Yet, it does not mean ‘good’!
Do you know what ‘Happy Birthday’ or ‘Happy Anniversary’ is in Indonesian?
It is Selamat Ulang Tahun
There is also Selamat Tahun Baru or ‘Happy New Year.’
But it also does not mean ‘happy’!
And how do you say ‘good bye’?
Most textbooks will teach you that selamat tinggal and selamat jalan are used for ‘good bye’ where you say selamat tinggal when you leave, and selamat jalan when the other person leaves. That’s correct, but they are only used when someone embarks on as longer trip. To just casually say ‘bye’ simply use mari.
You also use selamat to congratulate someone.
You can use selamat or selamat, ya to say ‘congratulation’!
So, what then is the meaning of selamat?
Selamat simply means ‘safe’ or ‘unharmed’. It is also used to say ‘survive’.
Selamat is a loan word from Arabic سَلَامَة salāma meaning ‘good health’ ‘well-being’ and ‘safety’. It is not only used in Indonesian and Malay, but in a number of other languages as well.
Learn the Indonesian Language (Bahasa Indonesia) with Indonesian Online
About Indonesian Online
Learn Bahasa Indonesia with Indonesian Online. «The Indonesian Way» is our beginner textbook. But we do not only offer courses for the beginner level. We have two intermediate level textbooks, «BacaYuk», and «Aneka Baca». We also have four e-learning interactive textbooks for the advanced level: «Serba Serbi Nusantara», «Anak Jalanan», «Ada apa dengan Cinta», and «Pak Bei». Altogether we offer learning materials for over 600 hours.
«The Indonesian Way» (TIW) is an electronic textbook for beginners. With over 100 lessons, it is by far he most comprehensive textbook to learn beginning Indonesian. «The Indonesian Way» will elevate your Indonesian language skills from the novice up to the intermediate level.
«The Indonesian Way» consists of 113 lessons. Each lesson takes 60 to 90 minutes to complete. The lessons are truly interactive and exciting. There are more than thousand interactive exercises, hundreds sound files, about 2000 digital vocabulary flash cards, hundreds of pictures and videos, and 35 tests. Each lesson includes a word list, digital vocabulary flash cards. Of course we also offer detailed grammar explanations and cultural notes. For more effective vocabulary learning we use the spaced repetition software Anki. Our own IndoLingo application serves as a tool to assist you actively practice speaking bahasa Indonesia! The language we teach is both formal and informal Indonesian.
I’d buy this except not available in AUD.
It is! You can pay by credit card or Paypal in AUD.