GRAMMAR

ARTICLES
There are no definite or indefinite articles (a, the) in Indonesian. So, for example, restoran can mean either 'a restaurant' or 'the restaurant' depending on the context.

NOUNS
GENDER: There is no gender in Indonesian as there is in such languages as Spanish or French. So, for example, anak (child) is used to refer to a girl or a boy. To specify gender, you can say anak laki (male child) or anak perempuan (female child).

NUMBER: Nouns have the same fixed form for both singular and plural. Taksi, for example, means 'taxi' or 'taxis' depending on the context. The context of the rest of the sentence will normally clarify whether the word refers to one item or more than one of the item.

Semua orang - lit. all-person - everyone
Banyak turis - lit. many-tourist - many tourists

PLURAL: There are several ways to specify a plural noun.

Doubling: Countable nouns can be doubled to specify a plural.
anak-anak - lit. child-child - children
orang-orang - lit. person-person - people
mobil-mobil - lit. car-car - cars

Number or quantity word:
Countable nouns can also be made plural by preceeding them with numbers or quantity words.
tiga anak - lit. three-child - three children
banyak mobil - lit. many-car - many cars
beberapa orang - lit. several-person - several people

To make uncountable nouns plural, just preceed them with banyak (much; a lot of) or sedikit (little; some). No doubling is necessary.
banyak uang - lit. many-money - a lot of money
sedikit air - lit. little-water - some water

PRONOUNS
Indonesian pronouns are as follows.
NOTE: The corresponding pronoun is also used for the possessive adjective.

saya		I; me; my
dia		he; him; his she; her; hers
kami		we; us; our excludes listener
kita		we; us; our includes listener
mereka		they; them; their

'You' and 'Your'
Indonesian does not have a general word for 'you' or 'your' that can be used to address anyone. The word used for 'you' depends on the age, gender, and social position of the person you are addressing and the situation. When in doubt, it is better to be more formal than too casual.

saudara		formal (lit. brother/sister) used in more formal situations to address an adult male or female who is about one's own age
anda		polite intended to mean 'you' in a neutral way
kamu		informal, familiar used in informal situations to address close friends or much younger people
engkau		synonymous with kamu
Bapak		polite (lit. father) to older man; more senior position
Pak		synonymous with Bapak
Ibu		polite (lit. mother) to older woman; more senior position
Bu		synonymous with Ibu
Abang		polite (lit. older brother) to slightly older man in similar age bracket
Bang		synonymous with Abang
Mas		polite (lit. older brother) to slightly older man in similar age bracket in Java
Kakak		polite (lit. older sister) to slightly older woman in similar age bracket
Kak		synonymous with Kakak
Mbak		polite (lit. older sister) to slightly older woman in similar age bracket in Java
Adik		polite (lit. younger sibling) to much younger person
Dik		synonymous with Adik

DEMONSTRATIVES
Demonstrative adjectives are placed after the noun to which they refer. Demonstrative adjectives and pronouns are:

ini		this	saya mau ini - I want this
itu		that	saya mau itu - I want that

NEGATIVES
There are two words used in Indonesian to express the negative ('no' or 'not'):

bukan		noun	used bukan when the object referred to is a noun ini bukan bagasi saya lit. this-not-luggage-my this is not my luggage
tidak		other	to form other negatives, place the word tidak before the adjective, preposition, or verb hotel itu tidak mahal lit. hotel-that-not-expensive that hotel is not expensive saya tidak mau pergi lit. I-not-want-to go I don't want to go

ADJECTIVES
Adjectives, with the exception of numerals, are generally placed after the noun to which they refer.

hotel mahal - lit. hotel-expensive - expensive hotel
masakan pedas - lit. cooking-spicy - spicy food
orang Amerika - lit. person-America - American

Doubling: Adjectives can be doubled to emphasize the quality:

hotel mahal mahal - lit. hotel-expensive-expensive - extremely expensive hotel

Possessive Adjective
The possessive adjective is formed by placing the corresponding pronoun or the person's name after the object possessed.

bagasi saya - lit. baggage-my - my luggage
mobil mereka - lit. car-their - their car
ini visa dia - lit. this-visa-his/her - this is his/her visa

An alternative to dia (his/her) is the suffix -nya

ini visanya - lit. this-visa-his/her - this is his/her visa

You can also use a noun or proper noun to be more specific.

ini visa Ane - lit. this-visa-Ane - this is Ane's visa
ini visa isteri saya - lit. this-visa-wife-my - this is my wife's visa

Comparitives and Superlatives
To form the comparative (bigger, better) or the superlative (the most), use the following:

			ini mahal lit. this-expensive this is expensive
lebih ...		-er more ...	ini lebih mahal this is more expensive
lebih ... dari		-er than more ... than	ini lebih mahal dari itu this is more expensive than that
se-		as ... as	ini semahal itu this is as expensive as that
tidak se-		not as ... as	ini tidak semahal itu this is not as expensive as that
yang paling ...		-est the most ...	ini yang paling mahal this is the most expensive

ADVERBS
Adverbs can be placed almost anywhere in the sentence: before or after the verb, or at the beginning or end of the sentence. The most common way to form an adverb is by placing an adjective after the verb itself. The word dengan (with) is often inserted between the verb and the adjective to balance the sentence.

verb+adjective:
mobil itu berlari cepat
lit. car-that-runs-quick
that car goes quickly

dengan+adjective:
tolong bawa rekening dengan segera
lit. help-bring-bill-with-immediate
please bring the bill immediately

Intensifiers
As far as adverbs are concerned, there are only two intensifiers, both mean 'very.'

sangat		very placed before adjective
sekali		very placed after adjective

saya makan banyak sekali
lit. i-eat-many-very
I ate a lot

kita belajar sangat lama
lit. we-learn-very-long time
we study a long time

_________________

PRONUNCIATION
GRAMMAR
VERBS
NUMBERS
DATE & TIME
_________________

LANGUAGE NOUNS

The following list of nouns may be useful in getting help with the language.

ADJECTIVES TO KNOW

bagus good	jelek bad, ugly
baik good
dekat near	jauh far
kecil small	besar big
murah cheap	mahal expensive
cepat fast	pelan slow
baru new	lama old (thing)
muda young	tua old (person)
tinggi tall	pendek short
panjang long	lebar wide
penuh full	kosong empty
sama same	lain different
ringan light	berat heavy
mudah easy	susah difficult

COLORS

QUIZ:
TRANSLATE THIS!

Select the correct Indonesian translation of the English phrases.