Biasa Aja In the Indonesian Language

Halo semuanya. Apa kabar? Ketemu lagi dengan saya, Iman Prabawa. This time, I will explain the meaning of [biasa aja] in Indonesian. We will also watch scenes from Indonesian movies where this phrase is spoken.

If you have any questions regarding the Indonesian language, you can ask me directly, or you can join my group. You can see it on my About Me page.

So, let's dive in!

Meaning of Biasa Aja

[Biasa] means ordinary. [Aja] is short for [saja], and it means [just]. So, [biasa aja] in literal meaning means,

Something that is ordinary, and not special.

But, there is another meaning to this phrase [biasa aja]. Often times you will hear the phrase [biasa aja] collocates with the word [dong], [deh], and [kali].

You will hear these phrases said by Indonesians in the movie or on the street if you happen in Indonesia.

Biasa aja dong!

Or,

Biasa aja deh!

Or,

Biasa aja kali! 

[Biasa aja dong!], [biasa aja deh!], and [biasa aja kali!], all mean the same thing. It is used to say to people to not overreact to something.

You will also hear [biasa aja sih] being spoken by Indonesians. [Sih] in this phrase doesn't have any meaning. Its function is just to emphasize the phrase. [Biasa aja sih] means it is not exceptional, just ordinary.

How to Pronounce Biasa Aja

This is how you pronounce [biasa aja] in the Indonesian language.

And this is how you pronounce [biasa aja dong!].

And this is how you pronounce [biasa aja deh!].

And this is how you pronounce [biasa aja kali!]

Below, I give you 3 example sentences using the phrase [biasa aja].

Example Sentences Using Biasa Aja

Here are three example sentences using the phrase [biasa aja] with English translations.

Example Sentences	English Translation
1. A: Gimana tadi?     B: Biasa aja sih, ngga wah.	1. A: How was it?     B: Just ordinary, nothing special.
2. Kalau ngomong, biasa aja dong! Ngga usah marah-marah gitu juga, kali!	2. Could you please speak with ease? You don't need to speak with a rising tone like that!
3. Biasa aja deh! Gue cuma baik sama loe aja, bukan berarti gue suka sama loe.	3. Could you please don't overreact? I was trying to be nice to you. It doesn't mean that I like you.

I hope these three example sentences will make you understand more about the phrase [biasa aja]. Next, let's watch scenes from movies where the phrase [biasa aja] is used by Indonesians.

Examples of Biasa Aja In Movie Scenes

The first scene we are about to watch is from Cek Toko Sebelah The Series, Season 1, Episode 4 (2019). Let's watch the scene below.

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

Yohan: Buset! Ngga salah loe, Ming? (Oh my God! For real, Ming?)

Vincent: Ini mah bukan dituang! Ditimba! (You don’t pour this. You flushed it.)

Roy: Ini mah porsi dapur umum, Ming. (This is soup kitchen size, Ming.)

Aming: Apa yang salah sih sama mangkok ini? Mangkok peninggalan Papih. Banyak kenangan sama Papih dari mangkok ini. Loe ngga bakal ngerti, loe ye! (What the hell is wrong with this bowl? This was from my father. There are a lot of memories of him in this bowl. You will never understand!)

Roy: Biasa aja kali, Ming! Emang loe doang?! Bokap gue juga udah mati! (Stop overreacting, Ming! You think you’re the only one? My father’s also dead.)

Vincent: Yatim-yatim kok sombong? (Why are you orphans so proud?)

In this scene, Aming suddenly starts to cry because he remembers the memories he had with his father when he was still alive. He told Roy that he wouldn't understand how it felt to lose someone he loved.

Roy responded this by saying,

Biasa aja kali, Ming! 

In this case, he said this to stop Aming from overreacting or exaggerating things about the bowl.

Vocabulary From the Scene

[Buset] is used when you are surprised about something. For more about this, you can read my article here, Buset Meaning in Bahasa.

[Ngga salah?] or [ngga salah loe?] is usually used when you want to make sure something is correct or when you see something, and you are amazed by what you just saw. In this scene, Yohan is surprised by how big the bowl Aming has for eating.

[Dituang] = poured.

[Mangkok] = bowl.

[Papih] = [papi] = father.

[Mangkok peninggalan papih] means that the bowl belonged to his father, who used it a lot when he was still alive.

[Kenangan] = memory.

[Loe] is informal for [Anda] = you. For more about this, you can read my article here, Loe Meaning In Bahasa. 

[Gue] is informal for [saya] = I. For more about this, you can read my article here, Gue Meaning In Bahasa.

[Loe ngga bakal ngerti] = [Anda tidak akan mengerti] = you will never understand.

[Ngerti] is short for [mengerti]. In daily conversation, Indonesians tend to use [ngerti] instead of [mengerti]. [Mengerti] is more formal. [Mengerti] = understand.

[Loe ngga bakal ngerti, loe ye!] <--- [loe ye!] in this sentence has no meaning at all. Its function only emphasizes the phrase [loe ngga bakal ngerti].

[Emang] is short for [memang] = of course.

[Doang] = just.

[Bokap] is slang for [ayah] = father. For more about this, you can read my article here, Bokap Meaning In Bahasa.

[Emang loe doang?] comes from the full sentence [Emang loe doang yang bokapnya mati?] = You think you are the only whose father died? Roy drops [yang bokapnya mati] and just says [emang loe doang?]

[Yatim] = orphans.

[Sombong] = arrogant, proud, cocky.

     Read also: Males Banget In the Indonesian Language

The second scene is still taken from the same movie, Cek Toko Sebelah The Series, Season 1 Episode 4 (2019). Let's watch the scene below.

Below is the conversation from the scene with English translations.

Ojak: Bang, saya buburnya setengah. Kerupuknya banyakin, cakwenya banyakin, atinya disuwir. (Sir, make the portion of the porridge in half. Add more kerupuk and cakwe to it, and cut the chicken livers in small pieces.) 

Street Vendor: Siap. Siap. (Okay.) 

Yadi: Bang, sama. Pake sambel tapi jangan pedes. Terus kalo bisa, habis makan saya bisa pergi haji. (Mine's just like him. Use chilly but not spicy. Also, if possible, after eating, I can go hajj.) 

Street Vendor: Oh, siap siap. Saya doakan. (Okay. I will pray for you so that you will be able to go hajj.) 

Ramli: Saya biasa aja, Bang. Ngga usah pake ayam, ngga usah pake seledri, ama ngga usah pake nasi. (Mine is just the ordinary one. Do not use chicken, celery, also do not use rice.) 

Street Vendor: Siap siap siap. (Okay, got it.) 

Ojak: Heh, cepetan ya! Laper. (Please, be quick! I’m hungry.)

In this scene, Ramli asks for an ordinary portion of porridge, not a special one. So, as we can see in this scene, this phrase [biasa aja] in here means something ordinary and not special.

Vocabulary From the Scene

[Bang] is used to address a male person older than you. For more about this, you can read my article here, Bang Meaning In Bahasa.

[Bubur] = porridge.

[Setengah] = half.

[Buburnya] <--- [nya] here refers to the porridge that Ojak ordered. [Bang, saya buburnya setengah] <--- This is how Indonesian people speak in daily conversation. If I change this into a more proper sentence, it would be this [Bang, saya pesan bubur setengah] = Sir, I want to have half portion of porridge.

[Kerupuk] = crackers. Below is the image of kerupuk.

Kerupuk

[Banyakin] is the conversational way of saying [diperbanyak]. If you speak [banyakin dong (something)], It means you ask that something be given to you more. For example, Banyakin dong nasinya? = Could you give me more rice for this?

[Cakwe] is the food like in the picture below.

Cakwe

[Ati] is short for [hati]. In this case, what he means by [ati] is [ati ayam] or chicken's liver. Below is what [ati ayam] looks like, and he wants [ati ayam] to be added to his ordered porridge.

Ati Ayam

[Disuwir] comes from the base word [suwir]. [Suwir] means cut into small pieces, usually cut lengthwise, but in this context, it doesn't make any sense that [ati ayam] can be cut lengthwise, but because this is a comedy film, they just try to make a joke out of this.

[Siap] = ready, but in this context, it means okay. [Siap] can be used when you agree to do what somebody asks you to do; like in this scene, the buyer asks something from the street vendor, and the street vendor says [siap], which means that he will give what the buyer asks.

[Sama] = same.

[Pake] is the colloquial way of saying [pakai]. [Pakai] = [menggunakan] = [pake]. [Pake sambal] means he wanted [sambal = chili] to be added to his ordered porridge.

[Pedes] = [pedas] = spicy. When he asks this [pake sambal tapi jangan pedes], this doesn't make any sense at all. He asks the street vendor to add chili to his porridge, but he doesn't want his ordered porridge to be spicy. This is not possible, right? So, because this is a comedy movie, they just trying to make a joke.

[Terus], in this context, is like a linking word, connecting from the previous sentence to the next. [Terus] is like [and then] in this case.

[Ayam] = chicken.

[Ngga usah] has the same meaning as [jangan] in this case. [Ngga usah pake ayam] = [jangan pake ayam] = do not use chicken.

[Ama] is short for [sama] = with.

Ramli asks for [bubur ayam yang biasa aja], or ordinary chicken porridge, but the joke here is that he asks the street vendor not to add chicken to his chicken porridge. How would it be called [chicken porridge] if you don't use chicken in it? And he also asks the street vendor not to add rice to his chicken porridge, where usually in Indonesia, we never eat chicken porridge with rice!

[Cepetan] is a word you use when you want somebody to do something quickly. In this context, they say [cepetan] to the street vendor because they want their ordered porridge ready quickly. For more about this, you can read my article here, Meaning of Cepetan In Bahasa.

[Laper] = [lapar] = hungry.

The third scene is from Suami-suami Masa Kini, Season 2, Episode 1 (2023). Let's watch the scene below.

Below is the conversation from the scene with English translations.

Ical: Yuda!

Raka: Yud!

Ical: Yuud?

Raka: Mana sih? (Where is he?)

Ical: Yuda, Yuda, Yuda!

Toby: Yuuud! Yudaa!

Ical: Tadi Andi bilang ada. Ada kan dia orangnya? (Andi said Yuda was at home, right? He is in here somewhere, right?)

Raka: Ada! (Yeah.)

Toby: Adaa! (He's somewhere in this house.)

Yuda: Hei, hei, hei. Loe pagi-pagi pada berisik amat sih? (Hey, hey, hey. You guys are so noisy in this early morning!)

Ical: Kok jadi begini? (Hey, what happened to you?)

Toby: Loe kenapa jadi gondrong, jenggotan gini sih? Ha? (Since when you grew hair and a beard like this? Wow!)

Yuda: Sst! Heh! (Hey! Shut up!)

Toby: Gitu doang lagi respon loe! Loe ke mana aja? (And this is your response? Where have you been, man?)

Raka: Eh, loe tau ngga? Kita tu mikirnya loe mati, tau ngga? (You know what? We think that you are dead, you know that?)

Ical: (*inaudible)...loe udah ilang gitu aja. (*inaudible)...ngga ada... (*inaudible) ((*inaudible)...You disappeared just like that... (*inaudible) …there's no... (*inaudible))

Yuda: Hei, hei, heeeii!! Loe kenapa sih? Drama amat? Biasa aja, bisa ngga? Duduk, duduk, duduk. Duduk! Duduk! (Hey, hey, heeey! What's wrong with you guys? You guys are so dramatic! Can you just not overreact like that? Sit, sit, sit. Sit down! Have a seat!)

Ical: Gila ni orang ya? (Have you lost your mind?)

In this scene, Yuda is having a problem with his marriage. He is divorcing his wife, and then he has gone somewhere to heal himself. And the three of them are Yuda's close friends. They come to Yuda's house to see him, and when they see Yuda grows hair and a beard like that, and not being Yuda as they always known him, they overreact. So, [biasa aja] in here means to not overreact.

Vocabulary From the Scene

[Mana sih?] is usually used to ask where something or someone is. In this scene, [mana sih?] is used by Raka because he is looking for Yuda.

[Ada], in literal meaning, means to exist.

[Pagi-pagi] = early morning.

[Berisik] = noisy.

[Sih] is a phatic expression. It has no meaning. Its function is just to emphasize the word [berisik] in this context. For more about this, you can read my article, Meaning of Sih In Bahasa.

[Kok jadi begini?] in literal meaning would be translated as [why did you become like this?]. This phrase is used when you compare the before and the after. Before the process of divorce from his wife, Yuda didn't grow a beard, and now he has a beard. That's why Ical this phrase because he compares Yuda before and after the divorce.

[Gondrong] = long hair.

[Jenggotan] = grew a beard.

[Gitu doang] = [gitu aja] = just like that.

[Eh, loe tau ngga?] is used when you want to attract someone to listen to you.

[Tu] is short for [itu] = that.

[Tau] is the informal way of writing [tahu] = know. [Tahu] is the formal way of writing it down.

[Mikir] is the informal way of saying [berpikir] = to think.

[Kita tu mikirnya loe mati] <--- if I change this into a more formal sentence, it would become [Kita itu berpikirnya Anda mati].

[Udah] is a common reduction for [sudah] = already. In daily conversation, you will hear Indonesians say [udah] rather than [sudah].

[Ilang] is a common reduction for [hilang] = gone.

[Gila] = crazy.

The fourth scene is from Di Bulan Suci Ini..., Episode 6 (2023). Let's watch the scene below.

Below is the conversation from the scene with English translations.

Aaron: Kayanya, aku ngga ikut ke pemakaman deh, Jeng. Aku mo langsung balik ke Indramayu aja sih. Bapakku dah nungguin soalnya di mobil. (I think I'm not going with you to the funeral, Jeng. I just want to go back to Indramayu. Because right now, my father is waiting in the car for me.)

Ajeng: Trus, ngapain ke sini? (Then, why are you here?)

Aaron: Emangnya kamu ngga suka tah aku dah baikan sama bapakku? (You don't seem to like my making up with my dad?)

Ajeng: Biasa aja, sih. Emang baikan juga harus ngelapor ke sini? (Nope, I'm neither glad nor hate about that. You don't need to report it to me anyway.)

Aaron: Aku.. Aku mau pamit, Jeng. (I want to say goodbye to you, Jeng.)

In this scene, [biasa aja] means Ajeng's feeling is just ordinary. She doesn't seem to like nor don't like it.

Vocabulary From the Scene

[Kayanya] = [sepertinya] = Seems like.

[Aku] is informal for [saya] = I.

[Ngga] = not.

[Pemakaman] = funeral.

[Mo] is an informal way of saying [mau] = want. When you say [mau] fast enough, it will morph into [mo].

[Balik] in this context has the same meaning as [pulang] = to go home.

[Sih, deh, dong] is a phatic expression. It doesn't have any meaning. Its function is just to emphasize.

[Dah] is short for [sudah] = already. Sometimes you will hear Indonesians say [sudah] in a short way like this, sometimes they say [udah], and sometimes they say [Dah] like in this example.

[Nungguin] is the conversational way of saying [menunggu]. [Bapakku dah nungguin di mobil] <--- if I change this into a more formal sentence, it would become [bapak saya sudah menunggu di mobil (my father is waiting for me in the car)].

[Trus] = [terus] = then.

[Ngapain] is the conversational way of saying [mengapa]. [Trus, ngapain ke sini?] <--- if I change this into a more formal sentence, it would become [Lalu, mengapa ke sini?]

[Emangnya] is short for [memangnya], which is used when you want to ask about something.

[Tah] is a word used by the Cirebonese people or the people of Java. [Tah] has the same meaning as [kah] and is used to make a question. [Kamu ngga suka tah?] = [Kamu ngga suka kah?] = [Apakah kamu tidak suka?] = don't you like it.

[Baikan] is when you have a fight with someone, and then you make up with them.

[Ngelapor] is the conversational way of saying [melapor] = to report.

[Pamit] is when you say goodbye to someone.

     Read also: Meaning of Lebay In Bahasa

This is a wrap. If I find another scene in a movie where the phrase [biasa aja] is spoken, Insha Allah, I will update this article again. Thank you for reading my article, and I'll talk to you soon. Bye now.