Aku Meaning In Indonesian

Halo, semuanya? Apa kabar? This time, we are going to talk about the meaning of [aku] in Indonesian. As always, we are also going to be watching examples from movies, YouTube videos and whatnot where Indonesians use this word.

If you are a beginner in the Indonesian language, you can learn step by step with My Lesson Here.

Okay, without further ado, let's jump right in.

Aku In Bahasa Indonesia

[Aku] is informal for [saya] = I. You will hear [aku] used in informal settings, like, in daily conversations. You use [aku] with [kamu], whereas [kamu] is informal for [Anda] = you. 

When Do You Use Aku?

If you're close enough to someone, you can use this word. But if you're new with that person, I think it's safer if you're using [saya] instead of [aku]. If you feel that you're close enough to that person, you can switch from [saya] to [aku], as simple as that.

In Jakarta, another informal word that is used a lot is [gue]. It is more common to use [gue] than to use [aku] in Jakarta. In fact, from what I've seen in my daily lives in Jakarta, [aku] is used by women a lot more than by men. But only in Jakarta. 

Men in Jakarta usually use the word [gue] instead of [aku] for the informal word [saya]. But, once again, it's only in Jakarta. Outside of Jakarta, [aku] is used by men and women as the informal word [saya] in daily conversation.

Also, you will hear couples using the words [aku] and [kamu] when talking to each other. If they're not a couple, they usually use [gue] and [loe]. This happens in Jakarta and its surrounding cities like Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi, and Bogor.

How to Pronounce Aku

Here is how you pronounce [aku] in bahasa Indonesia.

Next, let's watch clips where the word [aku] is spoken by Indonesians.

Examples of Aku In-Use

The first clip we are about to watch is taken from Perahu Kertas 1 (2012). Let's watch the clip below.

In this scene, they are friends, so they use the informal words [aku] and [kamu] to speak to each other. To watch this short clip without the black screen, you can go to my Buy Me Coffee page, where I also explained the vocabulary used in this clip.

The second clip is taken from a movie on BRI's YouTube channel called Pakai Hati, Season 2, Episode 1 (2020). Let's watch the clip below.

In this clip, you hear the woman uses the word [aku] when speaking to the man. She says this:

Makanya aku apal banget tentang industry kayu.

Which can be translated into English as:

That's why I know a lot about the wood industry.

But first, before she begins to use the word [aku], she uses the word [saya] instead of [aku]. To watch this short clip without the black screen, you can go to my Buy Me Coffee page, where I also explained the vocabulary used in this clip.

The third clip is taken from a movie on Airwalk Indonesia's YouTube channel - Airwalk Indonesia Web Series, Episode 1 (2019). 

In this clip, the two of them don't know each other's names. They just met. Actually, the woman who happened to have a cafe watched the man outside her cafe. At that moment, he was drawing something. Then, the woman brought tea to him and gave him tea. And just like that, they knew each other, but they still didn't know each other's names.

 Let's watch the clip below.

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Below is the conversation from the clip with English translations.

Dira: Ya udah. Aku duluan ya. Aku ke arah sana. (Okay. I'm off. I'm headed this way.)

Adinata: Gue ke sana. (Me, that way.)

Dira: Dah. (Bye.)

Adinata: Aa, eit! Tunggu, tunggu, tunggu, tunggu. (Hey! Wait up.)

Dira: Ini kafe aku? (Is this my cafe?)

Adinata: Gue punya kebiasaan kalau kaya ada momen sama tempat yang menarik gue langsung fast sketch. Itu hasilnya. (I have a habit. When I found an interesting moment or a fascinating place, I would make a rough sketch. And here it is.)

Dira: Aku juga gitu sih biasanya. (So do I.)

As you can see, the woman uses [aku], while the man uses [gue] instead of [aku]. 

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Ya udah] is usually used when you are ending a conversation.

[Duluan ya] is used when you are about to part with someone that day. For more about this, you can read my article here: Duluan Ya In Indonesian.

[Tunggu] = wait.

[Kebiasaan] = habit.

[Ada] = there is. For more about this, you can read my article here: Ada In Indonesian.

     Read also: Halu Meaning In Indonesian

That's going to be it for today's article. If I find another example, Insha Allah, I will update this article again. Thank you and I'll see you soon. Bye now.