Learning the local language

Before my travels began, I was told to try and pick up some Indonesian. It was supposedly one of the easier languages to learn, if not the easiest. And it’s almost the same as bahasa Malay as well, which as you might imagine, would come in handy when traveling in this region. Anyway, I’m not here to teach you the language, just introduce you to some words, which you will remember just by reading this one time.

The easiest words, for me, have been those ending in -si - either ISI, ASI or OSI. Examples include informasi, nutrisi, polisi, akomodasi,  masturbasi, promosi, and komposisi. No need for a translation, I hope.

The second easiest words to remember have been those that sound a lot like their English counterparts, but have a different spelling. Examples of those include telepon (telephone), televisi (television), teh (tea), es (ice), kopi (coffee), bas (bus), stesen (station), sama sama (same same), botol (bottle), bir (beer), tahu (tofu) and tempe (tempeh). Not surprisingly, many  of them are food and drinks.

The third easiest words to pick up and put away easily are those commonly used words you see and hear everywhere, such as selamat datang (welcome), terima kasih (thank you), masuk (enter), keluar (exit), masjid (mosque), nasi (rice), gula (sugar), wanita (woman), pria (man), jalan (street), jalan-jalan (walking or going for a stroll), buka (open) and tutup (closed) amongst many others.

My favorite words, because I know you care, are laki laki (another word for man), gila (crazy), orang (person) and toilet – perhaps the most globally-recognized word in existence – which comes in handy in those emergency situations.

Some key phrases to remember on your travels, which may come in handy:

Barapa harga?                                          What’s the price?

Saya suka kamu.                                       I like you.

Saya mau tirdur dengan kamu.               I want to sleep with you.

Satu bir yang besar.                                One big beer.

Nama kamu apa?                                      What’s your name?

Nomor telepon kamu apa?                      What’s your telephone number?

Saya mau pergi ke pantai indah.             I want to go to a beautiful beach.

Saya mau pergi ke masjid lokal.              I want to go to the local mosque.

Thanks for reading. Terima Kasih!