Your Indonesian Learning Partner
‘Bisa’, ‘Boleh’ or ‘Dapat’ Using the word can in Indonesian can be a bit tricky especially if you have tried to explore ways to order food in Indonesian. There are 3 words that are commonly used in Indonesian that mean
‘Tua’ or ‘Lama’ The word old in English is one of the most used words when describing a thing or a person. Indonesian has two words that mean old: ‘tua’ and ‘lama’. Do you know the difference? ‘Tua’ is an
Listening Tip #3: Telling time casually In the last post we went through different ways to say ‘when’ in Indonesian (click here if you haven’t read it yet). Since we’re still in the topic of time, I thought it will be
‘Kapan’, ‘Ketika’ or ‘Waktu’ The word when is arguably one of the most used words in any language. Sooner or later you will find yourself wanting to ask a question about time or to tell stories about the time when you
Listening Tip #2: Notice the Honorifics Respect and formality are very important in the Indonesian culture and is conveyed strongly in the language. If you have learnt Indonesian for a while, I’m sure you have heard these words before: Bapak (Pak),
‘Lebih’ or ‘Lagi’? Do you love Indonesian food? If you do, you must have heard the words ‘lebih’ and ‘lagi’. ‘Lebih’ and ‘lagi’ both mean more. However, have you used them correctly? ‘Lebih’ is an adjective and verb modifier that
‘Hal’, ‘Barang’ or ‘Benda’ ‘Hal’, ‘Barang’ and ‘Benda’ mean (a) thing in Indonesian but they are substantially different to one another. Do you know the difference? ‘Hal’ is a noun that is used to refer to intangible things. Intangible things that are often referred with
For the past couple of months I have gone through differences between some essential words in Indonesian and I hope you find them useful. In this post I would like to take a bit of a break and discuss fundamental listening skills. We’ll
‘Tahu’ or ‘Kenal’ ‘Tahu’ and ‘kenal’ both mean to know in Indonesian. They are root words that are commonly used in the language. You might have some knowledge about these two words but do you know how to use them
‘Jahat’, ‘Buruk’ or ‘Jelek’ In the earlier post I have explained the difference between ‘Baik’ and ‘Bagus’ which both mean good. Now I am going to explain the words that Indonesian use to say bad. Yes, there are at least three