Learn how to use some common Indonesian greetings
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| Halo semuanya! Nama saya Fira. Hi everybody! I’m Fira. |
| Welcome to IndonesianPod101.com’s “Bahasa Indonesia dalam 3 menit”. The fastest, easiest, and most fun way to learn Indonesian. |
| In the last lesson, we learned how to show gratitude to people by saying terima kasih. In this lesson we’ll learn some of the most common greetings used in Indonesia. |
| Sudah siap? Are you ready? Mari kita mulai! so let’s start! |
| The most used informal greeting is: |
| Halo! |
| [slowly] Halo. |
| Halo means “hi,” or “hello.” We use it when we meet. It is very casual, so we should only use this greeting with friends or relatives. |
| If you need to greet someone in a formal situation, say: |
| Selamat Siang! |
| [slowly] Selamat Siang. |
| Literally, Selamat Siang means "good day"; As a rule of thumb we can use Selamat Siang only during the daytime—from 11am until about 3pm. |
| During the afternoon we say: |
| Selamat Sore! |
| [slowly] Selamat Sore. |
| Sore is Indonesian for “afternoon,” so Selamat Sore means good afternoon. This is used from about 3pm to 6pm. |
| During the night we say: |
| Selamat Malam |
| [slowly] Selamat Malam |
| Malam is Indonesian for “night.” This used from 6pm to midnight. |
| And finally, during the morning we say: |
| Selamat Pagi |
| [slowly] Selamat Pagi |
| Pagi is Indonesian for “morning. This used in the morning until 11am. |
| Those four greetings are used when we meet someone, but when we leave, we don’t say them again. |
| When we part in Indonesia, we say: |
| Selamat tinggal! |
| [slowly] Selamat tinggal. |
| Selamat tinggal means “good-bye,” and it is a formal expression. |
| Finally, in Indonesian we have an expression meaning “see you” that can be considered both formal and informal. Sampai Jumpa! |
| [slowly] Sampai jumpa. |
| Now you can greet people in many different ways in Indonesian! |
| Let’s review them all again. |
| When meeting in informal situation, we say: |
| Halo! |
| When meeting older people or someone we don’t know, we say: Selamat Pagi in the morning, Selamat Siang in the early afternoon, Selamat Sore in the evening, or Selamat Malam at night! |
| When leaving in a formal situation, we say: |
| Selamat tinggal! |
| When leaving, no matter whether it's a formal or informal situation: |
| Sampai jumpa! |
| It’s easy, isn’t it? |
| Now it’s time for Fira’s Insights. |
| In formal situations, Indonesian people commonly greet each other by shaking hands and bowing the head slightly. On the other hand, if we meet someone we are very friendly with, we can just wave! |
| During the next lesson we’ll learn the meaning of the phrase apakah kamu bisa bahasa Inggris? Do you already know it? We'll be waiting to talk about it with you in our next Bahasa Indonesia dalam 3 menit lesson. |
| Sampai jumpa! |
Comments
HideHi Luciana!
Wah, hebat sekali! (Wow, that's great!) 🎉 You're doing an excellent job learning the greetings in Bahasa Indonesia. It's fantastic that you can remember them by heart! Just a small note: "Sampai jumpa" is indeed a versatile phrase for saying "Goodbye" or "See you," and it's wonderful that you've got it down.
Keep practicing, and you'll be speaking like a native in no time! If you have any questions, please let us know.
Terima kasih! (Thank you!)
Team IndonesianPod101.com
Today, I learnt the main greetings in bahasa indonesia. Selamat pagi (good morning), use in the morning till 10:59; Selamat siang (good day), use from 11 am. to 3 pm.; Selamat sore, used from 3 pm. to 6 pm.; then selamat malam, good evening, used from 6.00 pm. to midnight. On the other hand, we have Sampai Jumpa (informal and formal) means Goodbye or see you. Interesting the greetings that now I remember by heart.
Hello Sneha
A big thank you for your post and kind feedback!❤️
We're glad to have you here!
If you have any questions or need assistance with anything, feel free to ask. Remember, learning is a journey, and every step is progress, no matter how small.
Sincerely,
Ali
Team IndonesianPod101.com
Very nice. Learned many new works all together thankyou🤌🫶
Hi Jim,
Yes, in formal situation, 'Selamat tinggal' is usually said by the person who's leaving or going away, to the person who's staying. 'Selamat tinggal' literally means 'Have a safe stay'.
Cheers,
Fira
Team Indonesianpod101.com
tinggal = "to stay, to live" but also used in a goodbye? that's confusing...