Bahasa Indonesia

Indonesian

Austronesian

FamilyAustronesian Speakers~200M (~30M L1 + ~170M L2/national) ScriptLatin CountriesIndonesia Official inIndonesia Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3ind Glottocodeindo1316

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 IndonesianMalayNorth Moluccan MalayAmbon MalayMusiOld MalayPapuan 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/
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Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Indonesian
Saya ingin mencoba setelan yang saya lihat di toko seberang hotel
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 看到的 那套西装
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with closely-related languages

Gusto nako sulayan ang suit nga nakita nako sa tindahan atbang sa hotel
Au via vakatovolei e dua na ivakatagedegede ka au raica e na sitoa e na otela
Makemake au e hoʻāʻo i kahi kamaʻa aʻu i ʻike ai ma kahi hale kūʻai ma mua o ka hōkele
Kayatko a padasan ti suit a nakitak iti tiendaan sangbay ti hotel
Indonesian
Saya ingin mencoba setelan yang saya lihat di toko seberang hotel

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