Where Are You Going In Bahasa

Halo semuanya, ketemu lagi dengan saya, Iman Prabawa. In this article, we will talk about how to say [where are you going?] in Indonesian. As always, we will watch examples from movies where the phrase is spoken by native Indonesians.

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.

Let's dive right in.

How to Say Where Are You Going In the Indonesian Language

We will learn how to ask [where are you going?] in the Indonesian language, from the very formal to how we say it in daily conversations.

Formally, we will say this.

Anda mau ke mana?

And here is how you pronounce it.

You can switch the order of the words, and it becomes this.

Mau ke mana Anda?

And here is how you pronounce it.

If you want to be more polite, you can change [Anda] with [bapak] if the person you are talking to is an older man and [ibu] if the person you are talking to is an older woman.

Bapak mau ke mana?

And here is how you pronounce it.

You can switch the order of the word [bapak] and put it at the back of the sentence.

Mau ke mana bapak?

And here is how you pronounce it.

Ibu mau ke mana?

And here is how you pronounce it.

And you can put the word [ibu] at the back of the sentence.

Mau ke mana ibu?

And here is how you pronounce it.

Now, let's talk about how you say [where are you going?] in daily conversations. Usually, we will say this.

Kamu mau ke mana?

And here is how you pronounce it.

And you can put the word [kamu] at the back of the sentence.

Mau ke mana kamu?

And here is how you pronounce it.

For a more informal, usually something that is used in Jakarta and its surrounding cities, you change [kamu] into [loe].

Loe mau ke mana?

And here is how you pronounce it.

And you can put [loe] at the back of the sentence.

Mau ke mana loe?

And here is how you pronounce it.

[Loe] can be written as [lu] or [elo], or [lo]. Those are varieties in how the Indonesian people write the word [loe], which means [you] in English. You only use [loe] when you are talking to your friends. Don't use [loe] when you are talking to your boss, your lecturer, your parents, your friend's parents, or people older than you unless you are really close with them, and they usually talk to you using [gue], and [loe].

Examples From Movies

The first scene we are about to watch is taken from a series called Wedding Agreement, Season 1, Episode 1 (2022). Let's watch the scene below.

Below is the conversation from the scene with English translations.

Bian: Sar! Sarah! Sar! Kamu mau ke mana, Sar? Sar, dengerin aku dulu. Kamu dengerin rencana aku dulu, dong! (Sar! Sarah! Sar! Where are you going, Sar? Sar, please listen to me. You need to listen to my plan first.)

Sarah: Apa? Rencana apa? Ha? Udah jelas-jelas kamu mau nikah sama dia, kan? (What? What plan? Huh? You will certainly marry her, right?)

Bian: Kamu tau aku terpaksa, Sar. Plis, dengerin aku dulu, Sar. Plis. Aku mohon. (You know that I have to, Sar. Would you listen to me, please? I'm begging you.)

Sarah: Buat aku, kamu udah ngga ada di dunia ini. Di pikiran aku, kamu udah mati. Tahu ngga? (For me, you no longer exist in this world. In my mind, you are already dead. You know that?)

In this scene, Bian asks where Sarah is going by saying this sentence.

Kamu mau ke mana, Sar?

They are lovers, so in Jakarta, they usually use [aku] and [kamu] when they talk to each other. They would use [gue] and [loe] if they were friends.

Vocabulary From the Scene

[Dengerin] is the colloquial way of saying [dengarkan]. When you want someone to listen to you, you say [dengarkan] or [dengerin].

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

[Dengerin aku dulu] is used when you want somebody to first listen to you because you have something to explain.

[Rencana] = plan.

[Tau] is informal for [tahu] = know. 

[Apa] = what.

[Udah jelas-jelas] is used when you know something that is very obvious. For example, you know that your boyfriend cheated on you, and you saw it with your own eyes, and then you can say, "Udah jelas-jelas kamu selingkuh (it is very obvious that you cheated on me)." In this scene, Bian is going to marry a person set up by his mom and not by his own will, and he can not do something about it. And Sarah, his girlfriend, knows about that. That's why she says, "Udah jelas-jelas kamu mau nikah sama dia, kan? (It is very obvious that you are going to marry her, right?)."

[Terpaksa] is a state where you have to do something, and you can not refuse it because someone who orders you to do that has a higher level than you. So, you can't do something about it. You just have to do it. In this case, Bian's mother sets him up to marry a woman who, in fact, he doesn't love, but his mother wants him to marry her. So, because it's his mother's will, he can not do something about it. He just has to obey her.

[Plis] comes from the English word [please], and usually, this is how Indonesian people write it and make it an Indonesian word.

[Aku mohon] is said when you are begging someone. In this scene, Bian begs Sarah to listen to his explanation.

[Buat aku] = for me.

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

[Ngga ada] = something that is not available but, in this case, no longer exists.

[Dunia] = world.

[Mati] = dead.

     Read also: How to Ask How Old Are You In Bahasa

The second example is from a movie called Garis Waktu (2022). Let's watch the scene below.

For the conversation from the scene with English translations and the explanation of the vocabulary used in the scene above, you can read my article, Apa-apaan Ini Meaning In Bahasa.

In this scene, April's father says,

Mau ke mana kamu?

Just like what I explained above in number 8 of the way to say 'Where are you?' in Bahasa.

     Read also: Bucin Meaning In Bahasa

The third example is from Kitab Kencan, Episode 1 (2023). Let's watch the scene below.

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

Rani: Eh, Gy! (Hey, Gy!)

Gya: Yes?

Rani: Mo ke mana lo? (Where are you going?)

Gya: Mo ketemu sama Nico. Bentar doang, kok. (I wanna see Nico. It won't take long.)

Rani: Lah? Ada Nico? (What? Nico's here?)

Gya: Ada. (Yup.)

Rani: Mantep! Ajak ke sini lah. (Great! Bring him in.)

Gya: Tumben loe senang ada Nico? (It's very unlikely you're fond of Nico being here.)

Rani: Yah, biasa. Kalo ada Nico, followers lo naik, yang belanja juga makin banyak. (Well, because whenever Nico is around, your followers go up, and we'll have more customers.)

In this scene, Rani says,

Mo ke mana lo?

to Gya. This phrase is like what I explained above in number 10. [Mo] = [mau]. When natives speak it in daily conversation, [mau] will turn into [mo] because she says it fast.

Vocabulary From the Scene

[Eh] is used when you want to get someone's attention. For more about this, you can read my article here, Eh Meaning In Indonesian.

[Lo] = [loe] = [lu] = you. For more about this, you can read my article, Lo Meaning In Indonesian.

[Mo] = [mau] = want.

[Ketemu] = meet.

[Bentar] is short for [sebentar] = for a short moment.

[Doang] = just.

[Kok] is a word that is used to emphasize that Gya won't take long to see Nico.

[Ada] in this context means that Nico physically exists there.

[Mantep] = [mantap] = great. In daily conversation, you will hear these two words [mantap] and [mantep] being used, and both mean the same thing.

[Ajak] = invite, so literally [ajak ke sini lah] would be translated as [invite him to here]. [Ajak ke sini lah] is usually used by Indonesian to bring or to invite someone to join them.

[Tumben] means that you are doing something that you don't usually do. For more about this, you can read my article, Tumben Meaning In Indonesian.

[Senang] = happy, like.

[Yah, biasa] is a phrase used in this scene to point out that it is obvious that Rani is fond of Nico being there because Nico brings something good for them. As you can see, after saying the phrase [yah, biasa], Rani then explains why she likes Nico being there.

[Belanja] = shopping.

     Read also: How to Say What Are You Doing In Indonesian

So, I guess this is 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. Bye now.