Meaning of Basa-Basi In Bahasa Indonesia

Halo semuanya. Apa kabar? Today, I wanna talk to you about the meaning of [basa-basi] in Bahasa Indonesia. We will also be going to watch a scene that I took from an Indonesian movie, Tetangga Masa Gitu.

If you want to ask me about a specific topic or have difficulties with something in the Indonesian language, you can just ask me. You can check it out on the About Me page how you can ask me.

So, let's talk about the meaning of this phrase.

Basa-Basi In Bahasa Indonesia

Basa-basi means doing small talk or chit chat. When you're told doing [basa-basi], it means you're not talking directly about something.

     Related Article: Basi Meaning In Bahasa Indonesia   

We will see about this in the scene from an Indonesian movie, Tetangga Masa Gitu and I will also explain so that you will understand more about this phrase.

How to Pronounce Basa-Basi

Let's hear from the audio below how to pronounce basa-basi.


Now, let's see the scene from an Indonesian movie, Tetangga Masa Gitu.

Basa-Basi In a Movie Scene

In this scene, there are 3 people talking. And then, the door is knocked and someone is showing up. Usually, Adi never knocks on the door if he wants to enter his neighbor's house.

Let's watch the scene below.

The conversation in this scene with English translation is as follows.

A and B: Itu siapa? Siapa tuh? (Who is that? Who is that?) 

C: Masuk! (Come in!) 

B: Silakan. (Please, come in.) 

C: Caelah, ha! Mas Adi? (OMG, is that you, Adi?) 

D: Halo semua. Boleh saya masuk? (Hello everyone, may I come in?) 

B: Tumben ngetok? (You don’t usually knock on the door before going inside.) 

C: Ya elah, basa-basi! Biasanya main nyelonong bae aja, sekarang pake ketok. Nanya boleh masuk apa ngga, lagi! (Oh, please! Too much small talk! Usually, you just came inside without knocking. Now, you knocked on the door? And you also asked, “May I come in?”) 

D: Masa sih? (Was I?)

I will explain a little bit about the conversation happens here. I think you will not find this kind of words in your textbooks.

Caelah here is an interjection, showing kind of surprised. Let's see this sentence,

Tumben ngetok?

If I change this sentence into a formal sentence, it will become like this.

Tidak biasanya Anda mengetuk pintu?

That's why I translated this sentence into,

You don't usually knock on the door before going inside.

Tumben means something that you don't usually do.

Let's see the next sentence, that is,

Biasanya main nyelonong bae aja, sekarang pake ketok.

If I change this sentence into formal sentence, it will become.

Biasanya Anda langsung masuk saja, sekarang Anda mengetuk pintu terlebih dahulu.

Pake is informal for [pakai]. Ketok also informal for [ketuk]. Bae has the same meaning as [aja]. Aja is short for [saja]. And I translated this sentence into,

Usually, you just came inside without knocking. Now, you knocked on the door?

And the last sentence is,

Nanya boleh masuk apa ngga, lagi!

If I change this sentence into a formal sentence then it will be like this.

Anda juga bertanya pula, apakah Anda boleh masuk ke dalam.

Nanya is informal for [bertanya]. Lagi here is the same as [pula] in that formal sentence. Ngga is informal for [tidak].

Example Sentences

Now, I will give you 3 example sentences using this phrase [basa-basi].

The first sentence.

Kalau ngomong sama dia langsung-langsung saja. Dia ngga suka basa-basi soalnya.

The English translation for this is.

If you want to talk to him just be direct. He doesn't like small talk.

The second sentence.

Kebanyakan basa-basi deh ini. Sebenarnya tujuan loe ke sini mau ngapain sih?

The English translation for these sentences are.

Too much small talk! Actually, what is your purpose for coming in here?

The third sentence.

Pentingnya basa-basi dilihat dari kacamata ilmiah.

The English translation for this sentence would be.

The importance of small talk from the scientific approach.

I think this is a wrap. I hope that you will understand my explanation about this phrase [basa-basi]. If you have any questions, just write down in the comment section. Thank you very much and I'll talk to you soon. Bubye now.


Update #1 (September 11, 2019)
I just found this phrase spoken in another Indonesian movie, so now I'm going to update this article and add the scene from this Indonesian movie, Bertepuk Sebelah Friendzone.

Let's watch the scene below.

The conversation in this scene with English translation is as follows.

Man: Konbanwa. (Good evening.) 

Woman: Rico? Gila! Kok loe bisa ada di sini, sih? Bentar! Loe kenapa.. kenapa loe bisa tahu gue ada di sini? (Oh my God! How come you're here? Wait! How do you know that I'm here?) 

Man: Eh, loe tuh ya! Gue udah jauh-jauh nyampe sini. Loe tanya kek, apa kabar? Cape, ngga? Mo makan, ngga? Apa gitu? Basa-basi. (Oh God, I've come all the way here. At least, you can ask me how I've been? Am I tired? Am I hungry? Anything? At least, you can do the small talk first!) 

Woman: Iya, iya, iya. Apa kabar, jelek? Sahabat gue yang paling jelek. (Okay, okay, okay. How are you, ugly? My ugliest best friend.) 

Man: Sahabat? Sahabat tuh ngga ngilang, tahu ngga? Huh? Ngga ada kabarnya! Nomor telpon gue juga udah ngga punya! Eh, Kim! Udah 6 bulan, lho. (Best friend? A best friend doesn't disappear just like that! Not a single word, no news, I don't even have your number. Hei, Kim! It's been 6 months.)

So, those two guys just met in Japan. Those two are best friends and one of them just disappeared without a single word.

[No telp] is short for [nomor telpon], which means phone number. I forgot not to shortened that out, because I usually shorten a word. In case you're wondering what is [no telp] in that scene, so I'm telling you right now.

I think this is all for the update. If I found another scene where this phrase is spoken then I will update this article again. Take care and bubye.


Update #2 (September 24, 2019)
I just found another scene from another movie, DOA: Cari Jodoh where this phrase is spoken. Let's watch the scene below.

The conversation with English translation is as follows.

Man1 : Inget kata-kata saya tadi! Sekarang, angkat kaki. Pergi! Itu pintu keluarnya. (Just remember what I just said to you! Now, take your leave! Go away from here! There is the exit.) 

Man 2: Sudahlah, pak. Ngga usah basa-basi! Saya sudah tahu. (Come on, sir. You don't need to make small talk. I have already known.) 

Man 1: Ha? Tahu opo? (Ha? What did you know?) 

Man 2: Saya tahu, pintu keluarnya di situ. (I know that the exit door is there.)

I think that's all for the update, if I find another scene then I will update this article again. Thank you and I'll talk to you soon. Bye now.