Bahasa Indonesia
Indonesian
Austronesian
Also known as: Indonesian, Bahasa Indonesia
Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) is the national language of Indonesia, with ~200M total speakers — primarily as L2 lingua franca across the archipelago's 700+ regional languages, with ~25-40M L1. It is a standardized form of Malay (Malayic Austronesian), sister to Standard Malay (ms) used in Malaysia/Brunei/Singapore. Adopted as the language of unification at the 1928 Sumpah Pemuda (Youth Pledge), it grew from the Riau-based market-Malay register rather than Javanese (the largest L1 community) — a deliberate political choice for ethnic neutrality. Latin orthography evolved through three reforms: van Ophuijsen 1901, Soewandi 1947, Ejaan Yang Disempurnakan 1972, the latter harmonized with Malaysian Rumi. SVO with extensive verbal affix system (meN-/di-/ber-/ter-/ke...an).
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Indonesian
Water
air
/ˈa.ir/
Fire
api
/api/
Sun
matahari
/matahari/
Moon
bulan
/bulan/
Star
bintang
/bintaŋ/
Mother
ibu
/ibu/
Father
ayah
/ajah/
I
saya
/saja/
You
kamu
/kamu/
Name
nama
/nama/
Eye
mata
/mata/
Hand
tangan
/taŋan/
Heart
hati
/hati/
Love
cinta
/tʃinta/
Tree
pohon
/pohon/
House
rumah
/rumah/
Dog
anjing
/andʒiŋ/
Cat
kucing
/kutʃiŋ/
Eat
makan
/makan/
Drink
minum
/minum/
One
satu
/satu/
Two
dua
/dua/
Hello
halo
/ˈhalo/
Thank you
terima kasih
/tərima kasih/
Good
baik
/baiʔ/
Cuckoo
kangkok
/ˈkaŋkɔʔ/
Woof
guk guk
/ɡuk ɡuk/
Computer
komputer
/kɔmˈputər/
Sushi
susyi
/su.ʃi/
Dopamine
dopamin
/dopaˈmin/
At sign (@)
et
/ɛt/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Austronesian languages
| Meaning | Indonesian | Malay | North Moluccan Malay | Ambon Malay | Musi | Old Malay | Papuan Malay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | air /ˈa.ir/ | air /ˈa.ir/ | aer /aer/ | aer /aer/ | ayek /ajek/ | ayar /ajar/ | air /aer/ |
| Fire | api /api/ | api /api/ | api /api/ | api /api/ | api /api/ | api /api/ | api /ˈapi/ |
| Sun | matahari /matahari/ | matahari /matahari/ | matahari /matahari/ | mata hari /mata hari/ | matahari /matahari/ | matari /matari/ | matahari /mataˈhari/ |
| Moon | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /ˈbulan/ |
| Star | bintang /bintaŋ/ | bintang /bintaŋ/ | bintang /bintaŋ/ | bintang /bintaŋ/ | bintang /bintaŋ/ | bintang /bintaŋ/ | bintang /bintaŋ/ |
| Mother | ibu /ibu/ | ibu /ibu/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | mak /mak/ | ibu /ibu/ | mama /ˈmama/ |
| Father | ayah /ajah/ | ayah /ajah/ | papa /papa/ | papa /papa/ | bapak /bapak/ | bapa /bapa/ | bapa /ˈbapa/ |
| I | saya /saja/ | saya /saja/ | kita /kita/ | beta /beta/ | aku /aku/ | aku /aku/ | sa /sa/ |
| You | kamu /kamu/ | awak /awaʔ/ | ngana /ŋana/ | ose /ose/ | kau /kau/ | kamu /kamu/ | ko /ko/ |
| Name | nama /nama/ | nama /nama/ | nama /nama/ | nama /nama/ | namo /namo/ | ngaran /ŋaran/ | nama /nama/ |
| Eye | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mato /mato/ | mata /mata/ | mata /ˈmata/ |
| Hand | tangan /taŋan/ | tangan /taŋan/ | tangang /taŋaŋ/ | tangang /taŋaŋ/ | tangan /taŋan/ | tangan /taŋan/ | tangan /ˈtaŋan/ |
| Heart | hati /hati/ | hati /hati/ | hati /hati/ | hati /hati/ | hati /hati/ | hati /hati/ | hati /ˈhati/ |
| Love | cinta /tʃinta/ | cinta /tʃinta/ | cinta /tʃinta/ | sayang /sajaŋ/ | sayang /sajaŋ/ | sayang /sajaŋ/ | sayang /ˈsajaŋ/ |
| Tree | pohon /pohon/ | pokok /pokoʔ/ | pohong /pohoŋ/ | pohon /pohon/ | kayu /kaju/ | kayu /kaju/ | pohon /ˈpohon/ |
| House | rumah /rumah/ | rumah /rumah/ | ruma /ruma/ | ruma /ruma/ | rumah /rumah/ | rumah /rumah/ | rumah /ˈrumah/ |
| Dog | anjing /andʒiŋ/ | anjing /andʒiŋ/ | anjing /andʒiŋ/ | anjing /andʒiŋ/ | anjing /andʒiŋ/ | anjing /andʒiŋ/ | anjing /ˈandʒiŋ/ |
| Cat | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ | ikung /ikuŋ/ | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ | kucing /ˈkutʃiŋ/ |
| Eat | makan /makan/ | makan /makan/ | makang /makaŋ/ | makang /makaŋ/ | makan /makan/ | makan /makan/ | makan /ˈmakan/ |
| Drink | minum /minum/ | minum /minum/ | minong /minoŋ/ | minong /minoŋ/ | minum /minum/ | minum /minum/ | minum /ˈminum/ |
| One | satu /satu/ | satu /satu/ | satu /satu/ | satu /satu/ | siko /siko/ | sa /sa/ | satu /ˈsatu/ |
| Two | dua /dua/ | dua /dua/ | dua /dua/ | dua /dua/ | duo /duo/ | dua /dua/ | dua /dua/ |
| Hello | halo /ˈhalo/ | hai /hai/ | cerang /tʃeraŋ/ | hela /hela/ | halo /halo/ | — /—/ | halo /ˈhalo/ |
| Thank you | terima kasih /tərima kasih/ | terima kasih /tərima kasih/ | tarima kase /tarima kase/ | tarima kase /tarima kase/ | terimo kasih /terimo kasih/ | — /—/ | terima kasih /təˈrima ˈkasih/ |
| Good | baik /baiʔ/ | baik /baiʔ/ | bae /bae/ | bagus /baɡus/ | bagus /baɡus/ | baik /baik/ | bae /ˈbae/ |
| Cuckoo | kangkok /ˈkaŋkɔʔ/ | sewah /ˈsewah/ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Woof | guk guk /ɡuk ɡuk/ | gonggong /ɡɔŋɡɔŋ/ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Computer | komputer /kɔmˈputər/ | komputer /kɔmˈpu.tə(r)/ | komputer /komˈputər/ | komputer /komˈputər/ | komputer /komˈputər/ | — | komputer /komˈputer/ |
| Sushi | susyi /su.ʃi/ | susyi /suʃi/ | sushi /ˈsuʃi/ | sushi /ˈsuʃi/ | sushi /ˈsuʃi/ | pekasam /pəkasam/ | sushi /ˈsuʃi/ |
| Dopamine | dopamin /dopaˈmin/ | dopamin /dopaˈmin/ | — | — | — | — | — |
| At sign (@) | et /ɛt/ | di /di/ | — | — | — | — | — |
Word order compared
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