Gue Meaning In Indonesian

Halo semuanya. Apa kabar? Ketemu lagi sama saya, Iman Prabawa. In this article, we are going to be talking about the meaning of [gue] in Indonesian. As always, we are also going to be watching examples from movies and others where Indonesians use the word.

If you have any questions regarding the Indonesian language, you can ask me directly. About how to do that, you can see it on my About Me page.

So, let's get started!

Gue, Gw, Gua, Gwe In Indonesian

[Gue] is informal for [saya]. It means I. There are many writing variations for this word. You will see it written as [gue], [gua], [gw], [g], or [gwe]. They are all mean the same.

[Gue] is mostly spoken in Jakarta and its surrounding cities like Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi. [Gue] is usually used in pairs with [loe]. [Loe] means [you].

So, if you are in Jakarta or in those cities, you can use this word. But if you are not in those cities, for example, you are in Jogjakarta, don't use [gue]. They use [aku] instead.

You can use [gue] to your close friend or to your friend of the same age, but you better not use [gue] when you're talking to your boss, your parents, your teachers, or anyone older than you unless you really have a close relationship with them and it's okay for them if you use [gue] when talking to them.

And below is a good example of this. The clip we are about to watch is taken from a movie called Devil On Top (2021). Here, we will see a conversation between a woman and a man. The woman is the boss, and the man is the subordinate. 

Let's see how they communicate in the clip below.

Below is the conversation from the scene above with English translations.

Sarah: Istirahat dulu, yuk? (Let's rest for a while?)

Angga: Ah, iya. (Oh, okay.)

Sarah: Kita ngapain sekarang? (What are we doing now?)

Angga: Hmm, saya ada permainan sih, mba. (Um, I have a game, miss.)

Sarah: Sarah. Kan ini di luar jam kantor. (Just call me Sarah. This is not in-office hours.)

Angga: Iya. Sarah, gue ada permainan. "Gue Loe" aman kan, ya? (Okay. Sarah, I have a game. Is it okay if I'm using 'gue loe' when I speak to you?)

Sarah: He'eh. (It’s okay.)

Angga: Oke. (Okay then.)

In this scene, as you can see, at first, Angga uses formal language. He uses [saya] instead of [gue], and he calls his boss with an honorific title [mba]. Then his boss tells him to just call her Sarah without using the honorific title [mba] because it is not in-office hours.

Angga then asks her if it is okay to use [gue loe] instead of the more formal form [saya kamu], and then Sarah says it is okay with her.

So, as you can see, it is not common to use [gue loe] in the office or in a formal context, but if you are close enough to that person and you usually use [gue loe] when talking to them, then it is okay. You can also be like Angga, to ask them first whether it is okay to use [gue loe] or not with them.

How to Pronounce Gue

Here is how you pronounce [gue] in Bahasa Indonesia.

And here is how you pronounce [gua] in Bahasa Indonesia.

Some Indonesians say [gue], and some Indonesians say [gua]. I, myself, sometimes say it [gua], and sometimes say it [gue]. So, it is all the same, and it is okay to combine both when you are speaking.

Examples of Gue In Use

In this section, you will look at examples from movies, YouTube videos, comics, and whatnot where [gue] is used.

The first example is taken from a movie called Ada Apa Dengan Cinta 1 (2002). This was a popular movie in Indonesia.

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

Cinta: Eh iya, udah denger puisi yang mau gue kirimin ke lomba? (By the way, have you heard the poetry that I’m going to send to the contest?) 

Maura: Mana, mana, mana? (No, no, no.) 

Cinta: Gitar, gitar, gitar, gitar. (Guitar, please.) 

Karmen: Puisi loe yang baru? (Your new poetry?) 

Cinta: Iya. (Yup.) 

Milly: Nih. (Here you go.)

As you can see, Cinta is talking to her friends, so she is using [gue] to them, and this movie is made in Jakarta.

Vocabulary From the Scene

[Eh iya] is used when you suddenly remember something.

[Udah] is a common reduction for [sudah] = already.

[Kirimin] is the colloquial way of saying [kirimkan] = to send.

[Mana] = where.

[Nih] is informal for [ini]. For more about this, you can read my article here, Nih In Indonesian.

The second example is taken from a movie titled Perahu Kertas 1 (2012). Let's watch the clip below.

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

Eko: (Ada yang) perlu gue bantu ngga? (Need any help?) (*Eko said it very fast so you can't hardly hear (ada yang) in this sentence.)

Keenan: Ngga usah. (Nope.) 

Eko: Nah. Tu kamar loe situ tuh! Depan WC. (There. Your room is over there! In front of the toilet.) 

Keenan: Iya. (Okay.) 

Eko: Bentar ya. (Just a sec.)

Here is a conversation between brothers. They are close to each other, so they use [gue] and [loe] when talking to each other.

Vocabulary From the Scene

[Ada yang perlu gue bantu?] is used when you want to offer help to someone. For more about this, you can read my article here, Offering Help In Indonesian.

[Tu] and [tuh] are informal for [itu] = that. For more about this, you can read my article here, Tu In Indonesian.

[Situ] is used to point to a place far from the speaker.

[Bentar ya] is used when you ask someone to wait for you for a short time.


The third example is also from Perahu Kertas 1 (2012). Let's watch the clip below.

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

Noni: Muah. Yeah, teman gue pintar! (Muah. Yeah, my friend’s so smart!) 

Kugy: Eh.. dan, dan, dan.. Bentar! Dan siang ini juga, gue mau merayakan kebersamaan kita sebagai.. drum roll.. Pura-Pura Ninja. (And you know what.. Just a sec! This afternoon, I want to celebrate our friendship as.. drum roll, please.. pretending to be a ninja.)

In this scene, what you just saw is a conversation between friends. They are close friends, and they use [gue loe] when speaking.

Vocabulary From the Scene

[Pura-pura ninja] comes from the phrase [kura-kura ninja], which means Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This movie is famous in Indonesia, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles translated in Indonesian as [Kura-Kura Ninja]. [Kura-kura] is a turtle. Here, Kugy changes [kura-kura] into [pura-pura], and changing the letter also changes the meaning. [Pura-pura] in Bahasa Indonesia means pretending. So, [pura-pura ninja] means pretending to be a ninja.

[Pintar] = smart.

[Siang] = afternoon.

[Kita] = us.

[Kebersamaan] = togetherness.


The fourth example is taken from a YouTube web Series titled Usia Panik (2019). Let's watch it down below.

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

Tiara: Gin, loe fokus sama kerjaan itu boleh. Loe tapi jangan lupa fokus sama soal percintaan. (Gin, it’s okay if you focus on your work. But, please do not forget your love life.) 

Gina: Aduh! Apa sih? Cinta-cintaan mulu. Udah ah, udah ngga jaman ah. Gue tuh mendingan fokus ke bisnis gue deh. Udah. Nih, bisnis gue nih masih perlu sesuatu yang lebih wah lagi. (Oh my! What are you talking about? You always talk about love life. It’s not my thing. I better focus on my business. See this? My business still needs a lot because I want to make it bigger.)

Here is a conversation between a close friend, Gina, and Tiara. As you can see, they are using [gue] and [loe] when they talk to each other. This is very common if you are in Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi. But not very common if you are not in those cities. 

Vocabulary From the Scene

[Sama] = with.

[Kerjaan] is a common reduction for [pekerjaan] = jobs.

[Boleh] = allow, acceptable.

[Soal] = [tentang] = [mengenai] = about.

[Percintaan] = [cinta-cintaan] = romance.

[Udah ngga jaman] means something that is outdated.

[Sesuatu yang lebih wah] = [sesuatu yang jauh lebih baik] = something that is much better than this.


The fifth example is taken from a TV Serial called The East (2015). Let's watch the clip below.

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

Clarissa: Yaah! Tapi kalau misalnya gue taro di meja gue nanti gue batal lagi puasanya! Taro sini aja dulu deh! (Yaaah! But if I put this on my table, I will break my fast! I better put it right here then.)

Here, Clarissa is talking to herself. She works in a TV station in Jakarta, and she is also living in Jakarta. So, it's very common to hear [gue] and [loe] being spoken in Jakarta, even if you talk to yourself like Clarissa did in this movie scene.

Vocabulary From the Scene

[Yaah] in here used to express disappointment.

[Taro] is informal for [taruh] = put. For more about this, you can read my article here, Taro In Indonesian.

[Batal] in [batal lagi puasanya] means if she put the food in her cubicle, she could be tempted to eat it, and therefore it would her fast. In this scene, is in the month of Ramadhan, or a month where Indonesians use to do fasting.

[Aja] is a common reduction for [saja] = just.

The sixth example is a screenshot that I took from YouTube Channel @animasinopal. Let's take a look at the picture below.

As you can see, it is written as [gua] and below is also written as [gua].

It is taken from an Instagram post by @komikpolisi. You can follow and read their comics here.

The seventh example is a screenshot taken from YouTube Channel Neo Japan. Let's look at the picture below.

As you can see, it is written as [gw]. Below is also written as [gw].

And below is also written as [gw]. These are comics from @komikpolisi. Let's look at the picture below.

What she says in the picture with English translations is as follows.

Pokoknya gw bakal resign!! (Anyway, I will resign!!)

When you read comics like this, you will see informal Indonesian being used in those comics.

The seventh example is taken from an Instagram post by @megonokomik. You can read their comics here.

As you can see, it is written as [gwe]. What he says in the comics with English translations is,

Ngga ah! Males. Gwe mau tidur aja. (Nope! I don't want to. I just wanna go to sleep).

[Males] is used when you don't want to do something or are reluctant to do something.

     Read also: Gampang In the Indonesian Language

I think that's all for now. If I find another example, Insha Allah, I will update this article again. Thank you for reading my article, and I'll see you soon. Buh-bye.