It’s easy to recognize English loanwords in Indonesian, and they pop up at all levels of language use. If you were to open up Wikipedia, a Jakarta newspaper, or even a YouTube comment section in Indonesian right now, chances are a couple of words would jump out at you.  In this article, we’ll introduce you to some key characteristics of English words in Indonesian, and before long, you’ll be using them perfectly yourself! Table of Contents Introduction to Indonesian English Examples of English Used in Indonesian Loanwords vs. Indonesian English What an Indonesian Accent Sounds Like in English English Words Derived from Indonesian Conclusion Introduction to Indonesian English The thing about Indonesian is... Show more

Anybody who’s visited Indonesia knows that the country is big on culture. From traditional handicrafts and performances to pariwisata budaya ("cultural tourism"), Indonesians enjoy sharing their culture with a world that’s usually all too eager to overlook its multicolored facets. How well do you know Indonesian culture? If your answer is "not at all," this lesson is for you. Table of Contents Values and Beliefs Philosophies and Religions The Indonesian Family Indonesian Art Indonesian Food Traditional Holidays Conclusion 1. Values and Beliefs "Unity in Diversity." That’s the English translation of the old Javanese phrase Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, the official motto of the Republic of... Show more

https://www.youtube.com/embed/k8eZKTbn8CQ Around the globe, the 18th-20th centuries saw much initial progress toward women’s rights and gender equality. In the United States and Europe, names such as Sojourner Truth, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton often come to mind when discussing these topics. But in Indonesia, the most commended name in this regard is R.A. Kartini.  In this article, you’ll learn more about this incredible woman and her namesake holiday, Kartini Day. 1. What is Kartini Day? Kartini Day is an Indonesian holiday first officially celebrated in 1964, established by the first Indonesian president Sukarno. It takes place each year on April 21, the birthdate of Raden Adjeng Kartini... Show more

When you travel to a foreign country for the first time, one of the main attractions is the restaurants. Even if you start with something familiar like a fast-food chain, foreign restaurants always have something intangibly different about them. That makes them excellent places to practice your language skills. Besides satisfying your cravings, ordering food in a foreign language is the perfect hurdle to clear on your way toward proficiency. It’s authentic language usage, but in a small and controlled environment where you can be forgiven for making mistakes. In this article, you’ll learn about the many tasty Indonesian foods on offer, as well as some practical restaurant phrases to help you get by. Table of Contents What... Show more

When you start learning Indonesian, being able to read popular books or watch famous speeches might seem a lifetime away.  All those words you have to learn! All that new grammar to wrap your head around!  Fortunately, there’s a shortcut.  By studying interesting Indonesian quotes with English translations and equivalents, you’ll start to see the connections between the two languages. (Not to mention that you’ll also start to sound very well-read!) Table of Contents Quotes About Success Quotes About Life Quotes About Time Quotes About Love Quotes About Family Quotes About Friendship Quotes About Food Quotes About Health Quotes About Language Learning Conclusion 1.... Show more

Many aspiring learners wonder whether the Indonesian language is easy to learn, and if so, why more people don’t speak it. You see, Indonesian is not a very commonly learned language for most of the world.  Sure, there are people in Southeast Asia that pick some of it up, it’s a growing subject in Chinese and Japanese universities, and it’s long been one of the most popular foreign languages for Australians—but you hardly see it on lists of languages people want to learn.  That’s a shame, really, because learning the language opens you up to so many wonderful things. Visiting the country when you can speak the language is much, much more freeing than being limited to an interpreter or dealing with whoever can speak some English. ... Show more

There’s a certain face that people make when they can’t understand what you’re saying. For many people, it’s a screwed-up grimace of concentration. For Indonesians, it’s more of a quiet smile and a slow drift of attention. Indonesians are polite folks, to be sure. They’re not going to tell you very much about your mistakes in Indonesian when you’re speaking with them. That’s up to you. If you want to hold up your end of the Indonesian conversation, you’ve got to make sure you’re speaking Indonesian that’s beyond just "comprehensible." It must be pleasant to listen to, and with as few mistakes as possible. But what types of mistakes tend to be the worst for Indonesian-learners, and how can you get around them? Table of... Show more

Would you describe yourself as a curious person? If you’re learning Indonesian, we imagine that you probably do!  You can make that curiosity work for your Indonesian skills, too! When you talk to people, they’ll be interested in who you are and what’s driven you to learn their language. And the bread and butter of that is questions. Statistically, questions make up a big part of conversation in any language. By preparing yourself with the most common Indonesian questions and answers, you’ll become familiar and comfortable with these conversational keystones and come off as a skilled conversationalist. Table of Contents Your Name Your Origin Story Language Matters Traveling Around A Personal Question A Taste of... Show more

You may be surprised at how fast you can start speaking Indonesian. Once you get a good stock of vocabulary, all you need to memorize is a handful of customizable Indonesian sentences. Then, you can easily make people think you’re good at the language. In Indonesian, there are some fascinating grammatical aspects concerning verbs, but for communication purposes, you can leave them out entirely—plenty of Indonesians do this, too!  So picking up Indonesian through patterns is pretty easy. In this article, we’ll outline ten different sentence patterns ready for your plug-and-play use. By the time you get to the end, you’ll probably start noticing these patterns (and more) all over the place in your studies! Table of Contents ... Show more

Nobody really sets out to memorize a bunch of adverbs. It might even be the least exciting part of speech – but there must be a reason we learn them! The reason is, if you ever want to describe something with any kind of detail, you’re going to need adverbs. Indonesian adverbs are easy, and for every one you memorize, you’ll open up a world of language possibilities. Table of Contents How Do You Do It? Numbers and Amounts Why Did You Do It? How Often And When? Showing Tense A Lot Or A Little? Like This or Like That? Where Did You Put it? How Likely Is It? Conclusion 1. How Do You Do It? This is the classic adverb format – you modify a verb to explain how you’re doing... Show more