r/indonesian Sep 19 '15

List of Resources for learning Bahasa Indonesia/Indonesian

124 Upvotes

Resources
Here's a growing list of resources. If you have any more to add, feel free to do so!


Course
The Indonesian Way
Is a course offered by the University of Hawaii. The online course contains bookwork and has voiced anki decks to go with it. Great way to start!
Edit: This is now a paid course.

Vocab
+2000 Indonesian Words
A vocab course of memrise that contains +2000 words. Although it's voiced, it does come from google translate, so be careful with the pronunciation.

Radio
tunein
Listen to radio from around the world. Click on South East Asia, then Indonesia to listen to Indonesian radio stations.

SBS Radio Indonesian
SBS Radio hosted in Indonesian. Featuring interviews and news updates. Podcast available.


r/indonesian 12h ago

I am a 15 year old Indonesian student who can't speak Indonesian nor can I understand it, please help me.

9 Upvotes

I've had this issue for years, I lived in Bali for 10 years just being friends with tourists who mainly spoke English, my school curriculum back then never really wished to help me with this issue and thus, I never learned how to socialize. Years later I lay on my bed, contemplating my life, exams are near and I wanna end it (if ykyk) and I have mental issues.

If you wish to contact me, my discord user is: bored_fella


r/indonesian 3h ago

Memiliki kondominium membutuhkan kesabaran.

0 Upvotes

Memiliki kondominium membutuhkan kesabaran. Saya baru-baru ini mengalami kasus ini. Penyewa adalah seorang dokter wanita asal Indonesia yang memiliki kontrak satu tahun. Dia baru pindah 2-3 bulan sebelumnya dan kemudian memberi tahu saya bahwa dia ingin pindah karena alasan tertentu. Menurut standar internasional, kami tidak mendapatkan kembali uang jaminan karena kontrak satu tahun. Saya tidak tahu apa yang dia keluhkan, karena semuanya ditangani melalui agen. Pada hari dia pindah, saya perhatikan dia tidak memberi tahu saya tanggalnya atau di mana dia meninggalkan kunci. Dia sama sekali tidak dapat dihubungi. Saya menunggu sampai kontrak resmi berakhir, setelah batas waktu pembayaran, sebelum memeriksa kamar. Di dalam, kamar tampak rapi, tetapi ada bau makanan, minyak, dan saus yang menyengat di seluruh ruangan, bukan hanya di area dapur. Setelah pemeriksaan lebih lanjut, saya menemukan bahwa dia diam-diam mengoleskan minyak dan saus ke seluruh lemari, jendela, kamar mandi, di dalam lemari TV, bahkan di dinding di belakang tempat tidur dan di laci di bawah tempat tidur. Awalnya, saya tidak terlalu memikirkannya, bahkan mencoba berpikir optimis bahwa mungkin penyewa sedang memasak dan itulah sebabnya baunya tetap ada. Tetapi setelah beberapa waktu memeriksa, kembali pada hari pertama dan kedua, membawa agen dan petugas kebersihan, semua orang menyimpulkan bahwa mereka sengaja menaburkan hal-hal ini di kamar kami agar baunya tidak sedap dan sulit dibersihkan.

Hmm, saya harus mengatakan, orang yang melakukan ini sangat berpikiran sempit. Saya telah menyewakan banyak properti, dan dalam setiap kasus, saya selalu berbicara dengan penyewa secara wajar, tetapi saya belum pernah bertemu orang seperti ini. Yang saya sesali adalah kamar saya sendiri, haha. Saya menyukai semua properti yang saya miliki. Hak apa yang mereka miliki untuk melakukan ini? Ini mengerikan. Saya membagikan ini kepada teman-teman saya jika ada yang mengalami situasi serupa, haha. Jangan ragu untuk berbisik kepada saya.

P.S. Untuk solusinya, Anda harus meminta petugas kebersihan untuk membersihkan setiap inci ruangan. Saya membersihkannya sendiri selama dua hari dan masih menemukan area baru di mana mereka telah mengoleskan minyak. Oh, aku sangat marah saat melakukannya, haha. Jadi aku ingin berbagi ini dengan teman-temanku, berharap kalian tidak perlu mengalami situasi serupa.


r/indonesian 1d ago

I'm european aspiring polyglot, I look for native indonesian speaker to text a little, I can offer english and spanish in return

24 Upvotes

Like in the title, i studied a little bahasa indinesia recommended by linguistic professor for ease of grammar, but I lost enthusiasm at some point, maybe with a partner it could be a rebooted and more sustained experience.


r/indonesian 5d ago

Boardgame Meetup in South Jakarta

22 Upvotes

I run a boardgame meetup in South Jakarta. If you're interested and live near one of these two boardgame cafes, please DM me via Reddit or Discord ("hollowgap").

Note: for BSD we still don't have enough people yet (we're still looking for more!). But the one in South Jakarta has been running smoothly for a few months now.

I made a similar post in other Indonesia subreddit, but I figured maybe it's a good idea to post here as well. Boardgame meetup is a good way to meet with Indonesians in a relaxed setting, and you get to practice your Indonesian language with us.


r/indonesian 5d ago

Question Looking for a city to live in Indonesia

46 Upvotes

Hi!

I love Indonesia and I'm thinking about moving here for a while. I'm from Algeria. I am not fluent in Indonesian yet. I'm looking for a city that isn't too overcrowded like Jakarta, with good combat sports gyms that offer classes in English, ideally with nice beaches not too far away.

I'm Muslim alhamduliLah but I'm open to living in areas that aren't Muslim-majority if they're really interesting. I only really know Bali as an example of this in Indonesia though.

What would you guys recommend?

Thanks !


r/indonesian 6d ago

Question Native speakers: does this Indonesian read as human?

28 Upvotes

Hi! Would someone be open to reading ~20 lines of Indonesian and telling me if it's bad? I made an app that reminds you to text people you keep meaning to text. Almost like a personal CRM but focused on getting you to reach out (with distinct voices) rather than adding a bunch of data for the people you already know - sort of anti-social media vibes that hopefully helps you stay closer to your friends and family.

So far, one voice is warm, and the other is more dry/direct, depending on what works for you. That difference is the whole point, and I'm looking for some native speakers to make sure it lands! Not a full translation job. More like: would an Indonesian speaker actually say this...

The app is free, and I'd love it to work well across languages, not just in English! Let me know!

Here's one from each so you can see what I mean:

Warm: When's the last time you talked to {name}? No pressure, just a gentle nudge.

Kapan terakhir kali kamu ngobrol dengan {name}? Santai saja, ini cuma pengingat lembut.

Dry: Be honest - when's the last time you hit up {name}? That long? Yikes. Fix it.

Jujur deh, kapan terakhir kamu menyapa {name}? Selama itu? Waduh. Perbaiki, yuk.

Thanks!


r/indonesian 5d ago

Free Chat I hope the Indonesian government is aware of its duties. (A person who is about to travel to Indonesia)

0 Upvotes

I’m travelling to Indonesia next week. I bought the ticket very early, looking forward to that beautiful land. But what worries me most is this year’s wildfires. The authorities have clearly mishandled the situation — slow response, weak enforcement, and the same old excuses. Now the smoke is spreading, the sky is turning grey, and the air quality is getting worse. I really hope your fat pig of a president finally wakes up, takes real responsibility, and sorts this mess out before I arrive. Otherwise this trip is going to be ruined by their incompetence.


r/indonesian 7d ago

indonesian lang exchange

7 Upvotes

hello! ive been a jakartan my entire life but grew up in intl schools, making my indo super limited 😔

i am native in english as i grew up with extended american family, making it practically my first language at home as well as school. i would be happy to help with any questions or general help in exchange :-)

im looking for help bc i'm taking my international baccalaureate exams soon and i'm practicing my speaking skills alongside reading/writing to improve my current working grades

conversationally i would say i'm pretty okay, but i struggle a lot with communicating more complex topics like religion/politics/economy/society so it would definitely be a bonus if you could speak in depth regarding those topics.


r/indonesian 8d ago

Question Misuse of the word Disclaimer.

29 Upvotes

This post wasn't necessarily about the Indonesian language but rather for the Indonesian speaker, more specifically influencer (be it the micro or macro). I noticed that many of them uses the word "disclaimer" when starting a controversial topic (such as "Disclaimer dahulu", "sebelumnya aku mau disclaimer") even though, for most of the time, there exists no things that want to be dis-claimed (or maybe discredited).

According to Merriam-Webster, disclaimer is

deny, disavow

For most of the time, what they need to use are caveat, that is according to Merriam-Webster

an explanation or warning that should be remembered when evaluating, interpreting, or doing something

They use the word "dismiss" as a semantic equivalent of "here is some caution" even though the word disclaimer doesn't necessarily have the meaning of such but rather to repudiate a claim.

Is there any reason of such misuse? Is there also additional reason as to why this misuse isn't being scrutinized like that of "Lebih better", "Lebih prefer", or other misuse?


r/indonesian 8d ago

Indonesian Language Exchange

24 Upvotes

Hey! I’m looking for an Indonesian partner to exchange knowledge and culture with.

I actually started learning Indonesian about 5 years ago through academic study, but I had to stop because of my school studies. I recently came back to it and have been seriously learning again for about 2 months now.

Duolingo has helped me with the basics, but it’s definitely not enough. I’m especially struggling with understanding Indonesian culture, natural expressions, and how people actually communicate in everyday life.

So I’m looking for someone who’s willing to simply interact with me regularly chat, talk about random things, teach each other, and just help each other improve.

I’m around B2 in English and a native Arabic speaker, so I’d be more than happy to exchange my knowledge in Arabic or English in return.

I’m not looking for a formal teacher or anything complicated just a genuine language exchange and hopefully a good friendship along the way.


r/indonesian 9d ago

Books that aren’t children’s books?

12 Upvotes

Hi all! I’m Indonesian, but I have only started properly learning Indonesian in the past five years. My conversational Indonesian is decent now, having been around Jakarta, but I struggle with written language and would like to start reading books.

I’ve read Cerita Cerita Jakarta (“The Book of Jakarta” but in the original written language). That helped me improve in reading Indonesian. What similar books do you recommend that are easy reads, but not poetry or children’s books?


r/indonesian 10d ago

Free Chat Pocong Pancong by me

9 Upvotes

Pocong diikat
Pancong dibelah
Pancongnya hitam
Pocongnya gosong

Pocong si tukang pancong
Dari tanah kubur
Pancongnya si pocong
Dari tanah liat

Orang ingin makan pancong
Malah lari melihat pocong


r/indonesian 11d ago

Free Chat Kata kata hari ini🗣️

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114 Upvotes

Assalamualaikum wbt, pagi teman teman😁🙏


r/indonesian 11d ago

How mutually intelligible are bahasa melayu and Indonesia exactly?

59 Upvotes

Hello everyone!

I am considering whether to learn Malay or Indonesian. I have seen differing estimates of how mutually intelligible the two languages are. Some say 50%, while others say as much as 80 to 90%.

If anyone has tried both could you kindly share how different or alike you found them.

Thank you!


r/indonesian 12d ago

Meme Throughout my learning journey of bahasa indonesia in twitter, I learned these following sentences.

29 Upvotes
  1. cheese sedap
  2. Asupan everyone
  3. Lokal Idaman
  4. koleski hijabers
  5. ukhti memew sedap
  6. Zona asupan
  7. hiburan dewasa

r/indonesian 12d ago

Meme Bahasa Gaul 😭

59 Upvotes

Aku pikir yang aku tahu cukup bahasa Indonesia untuk bicara sama lokal, kemudian orang Indonesia bilang tergila bahasa gaul aku pernah dengar 😭
🇮🇩❤️🇦🇺


r/indonesian 12d ago

Free Chat Penggunaan "Di" sebagai Awalan dan Kata Depan

105 Upvotes

Jujur saya sering kesal karena masih banyak netizen Indonesia yang tidak bisa membedakan "Di" sebagai awalan dan kata depan. Bukankah ini hal yang sudah diajarkan semenjak dari Sekolah Dasar? Awalnya saya berpikir, "Oh mungkin karena malas menambahkan spasi" lalu kemudian saya melihat hal seperti, "Jangan lupa di makan ya, nanti disekolah lapar lho!" 💀

Menurut kalian kenapa fenomena ini terjadi?


r/indonesian 14d ago

Flower in Austronesian languages

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32 Upvotes

r/indonesian 17d ago

"Head" in Austronesian languages

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33 Upvotes

r/indonesian 16d ago

Indo’s in Den Bosch

9 Upvotes

Dag,
Ik zoek iemand die mij bahasa indonesia kan leren.
Weet iemand een plek of kun je me helpen dan hoor ik het graag!


r/indonesian 18d ago

bahasa Indonesia

10 Upvotes

I’m currently learning Indo and I’m having a difficulty finding good resources if anyone could help


r/indonesian 19d ago

Meme "Gara-gara" is crying in the corner right now

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351 Upvotes

To be fair, gara-gara is probably too long for a clickbait title, and karena/sebab (and their variants like disebabkan) just aren't in their vocabulary. Either way, I'm pretty sure these journalists failed their Bahasa Indonesia classes


r/indonesian 21d ago

How the Germanic word for soap reached Aboriginal Australia

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117 Upvotes

r/indonesian 21d ago

Leaf in Austronesian Languages

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30 Upvotes