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Nemplok Meaning

[Nemplok] means to stick onto something or someone tightly. Synonym for [nemplok] is [nempel].

Example sentences:

1. Kalo cicak mah nemplok di dinding, petugas DISHUB nemplok di kap mobil. Beda tempat, sama-sama jago nemplok! (If the lizard sticks to the wall, the DISHUB officer sticks to the hood of the car. Different places, but both are good at sticking!)

2. Bapak ini kayak cicak-cicak di dinding yah. Tiba-tiba nemplok aja. (This man is like house geckos on the wall. Out of the blue, they stick.)

3. Udang nemplok di tahu. (The shrimp stick to the tofu.)

In the above picture, it is a fried tofu with shrimp stuck to it. That’s why she gave her dish such a title.

How to Pronounce Nemplok

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

Moving on, let’s watch short clips where the word [nemplok] is spoken by Indonesians.

Examples of Nemplok In Use

The first example we are about to watch is from Trans7’s Official YouTube channel. Let’s look at the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Edward Akbar: Masalahnya, kalo kita udah begitu walaupun itu profesi atau profesionalisme atau apa tapi tetep aja itu ada energi, gitu lho. Bo’ong! Mau ada teknisnya. Oh, ngga kok kita nanti bisa gini gini gini. Selama itu nemplok! (The problem is, if we do that, even though people say it’s a matter of professionalism or whatever it is, there’s still human lust there, you know. For sure! Even though some might say there is a procedure for that, we can do this, and this, and this. But as long as the lips are touching!)

Irfan Hakim: He’eh. Bener. Iya. (Yeah. Right, I agree with you.)

Edward Akbar: Pasti ada energi, gitu dan pasti rezekinya akan dihambat. Udah. Jelas. (There will be human lust there, and obviously, your sustenance will be hampered. It’s obvious.)

Edward Akbar is an Indonesian actor, and in this clip, the host is asking about whether he accepts movies where there are any kissing scenes. Edward Akbars says that he doesn’t want to be involved in movies where there is a kissing scene that he must do.

[Selama itu nemplok] in this clip roughly translates to the lips of a man sticking to the lip of a woman when they are kissing. So, the lips are touching, which is what it means in this context.

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Masalah] = problem.

[Kalo] is informal for [kalau] = if.

[Udah] is short for [sudah] = already.

[Bo’ong] = [bohong] = lie.

[He’eh] is when you agree with what someone says.

[Bener] is informal for [benar] = true.

[Jelas] = obvious.

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Meaning of Harga Miring

[Harga miring] means something that has a low price tag. [Miring] is just a euphemism for the word [murah], so in other words, [harga miring] has the same meaning as [harga murah].

Some people do not want to use the word [murah] because it doesn’t have any kind of prestige. For example, you want to buy a cheap item, and instead of using the word [cheap], you say to your friend that you want to buy a low-priced item.

When you buy expensive things, there is pride in it, but there isn’t with cheap things. That’s why [murah] is changed into [miring].

Here is one of the real examples of [harga miring] in use. Let’s take a look at the picture below.

In the picture above, you see these words.

Perabotan murah harga miring. (Cheap households items sold at cheap prices)

[Perabotan murah] here means household items that are usually cheap, but moreover, here, the seller sells those cheap household items at very low prices.

[Harga miring] can also mean something that is sold below the market price. Let’s look at the picture below.

It says this in the picture above.

Kami mengerti Anda pasti mau cari properti bagus dengan harga miring, oleh karena itu Tim Hargamiring selalu memburu properti dengan harga di bawah harga pasar. (We understand you want to look for a good property with low prices, so we always search for properties below the market price.)

[Tim Hargamiring] in this sentence is a name. That’s why I just translated that into we. If translated into English, it means [cheap prices team].

In this sentence, the sentence explains itself when it says:

Tim Hargamiring selalu memburu properti dengan harga di bawah harga pasar. (We always search for properties below the market price.)

After they say [harga miring], they say that they are searching for properties with a price tag under the market price.

So, to put it simply, [harga miring] = [harga murah], which means something that has low prices.

You might think, what is the difference between [harga murah] and [harga miring]? It’s the same. Don’t make it difficult for yourself. It is the same! You will see later that Indonesians use those 2, [harga murah] and [harga miring], interchangeably.

How to Pronounce Harga Miring

Here is how you pronounce [harga miring] in bahasa Indonesia.

Moving on, we will watch examples from videos and movies that I found where the phrase [harga miring] is used by Indonesians.

Examples of Harga Miring In Use

The first clip we are about to watch is taken from DK ID’s YouTube channel. Let’s watch the clip below.

Here’s what he says in the clip with English translations.

Handika: Saya Handika guys, di sini. Jadi, kalau saya lihat di kolom komentar banyak yang request itu untuk setup laptop dan juga monitor tapi yang harganya miring. Dan di video kali ini saya akan memberikan rekomendasi setup yang harganya cuma 400ribuan. Dan perkenalkan ini adalah desk arm for laptop and monitor. (Handika here. So, I noticed in the comment section that many of you made a video request of me to talk about the setup for laptops and monitors, but at a low price. And in this video, I want to give you a recommendation of a setup that costs you just 400thousand rupiahs. Meet this desk arm for laptops and monitors.)

So, in this clip, Handika is going to talk about a desk arm for laptops and monitors that don’t cost you a fortune.

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Jadi] = so.

[Saya] = I.

[Lihat] = look.

[Kolom komentar] = comment section.

[Harganya miring] <--- [nya] in this phrase refers to something. I can change this phrase into [Harga barang tersebut miring], so [nya] refers to [barang tersebut(that thing)].

[Perkenalkan] is usually used when you want to introduce yourself. This word can also be used when you introduce yourself. In this video, Handika is going to introduce something to the audience, and that’s why he is using the word [perkenalkan].

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That’s it for now. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments below. Thank you for reading my article, and I’ll see you soon.

As always, we’re going to look at examples where Indonesians say this word.

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Ibu In Bahasa Indonesia

Ibu means madam or Mrs. This is an honorific title when we address women in the Indonesian language. Ibu can also mean [mother]. Some people in Indonesia call their mother with [ibu] or [bu]. [Bu] is the short version of [ibu]. So, if you hear someone call [ibu] or [bu], it means the same thing.

To Whom Should You Address Ibu?

You should use this honorific title [ibu] for women who are older or young women who already have babies. Ibu is usually used in a formal situation.

Sometimes you will find that when you address someone with [ibu], she refuses to be called with that honorific title [ibu]. She will tell you if she doesn’t want to be called with that honorific title [ibu]. Maybe it’s because she still feels that she’s young enough to be called with the honorific title [ibu].

How to Pronounce Ibu

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

Next, I give you three example sentences using the word [ibu].

Example Sentences Using Ibu

Example sentences number 1:

1. Ibu, ayah pergi ke mana? (Mommy, where did Daddy go?)

Example sentences number 2:

2. Selamat malam bapak-bapak dan ibu-ibu yang saya hormati. (Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.)

Example sentences number 3:

3. Kami persilakan kepada Ibu Prapto untuk naik ke atas panggung. (We invite Mrs. Prapto to come on stage.)

Let’s hear the audio version of the three example sentences above.

Next, let’s watch examples, mostly from movies, where Indonesians use the word [ibu].

Examples of Ibu In Use

The first example we are about to watch is from a famous TV Program in Indonesia called Mata Najwa. Let’s watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Najwa: Selamat malam, Ibu Helga. (Good evening, Madam Helga.)

Helga: Selamat malam. (Good Evening.)

Najwa: Ibu Helga, selamat malam. (Madam Helga, good evening.)

Helga: Selamat malam. (Good evening.)

In the clip, Najwa called Helga with the honorific title [ibu] before her name, so she said Ibu Helga instead of just Helga.

The second example is taken from a TV Series called In the Kost (2020). Let’s watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Rina: Ini tuh Ibu.. Bu Tedjo, ya? (You are-- Mrs. Tedjo, right?)

Bu Prapto: Bukan! (Nope!)

Rina: Ibu siapa sih? (Who are you, ma’am?)

Bu Prapto: Aku ini tetangganya Bu Tedjo. (I’m Mrs. Tedjo’s neighbor.)

Rina: Bu.. (Mrs--)

Bu Prapto: Tahu Bu Broto? (You know Mrs. Broto?)

Rina: Ah, iye Bu Broto. (Ah, yes, I know Mrs. Broto.)

Bu Prapto: Saya sebelah rumahnya Bu Broto. (I live next to Mrs. Broto’s house.)

Rina: Jadi, Ibu Surti? (So, you are Mrs. Surti?)

Bu Prapto: Ah, itu! (You got it!)

Rina uses the honorific title [bu], which is short for [ibu] when addressing Mrs. Prapto. It is considered polite to use [bu] or [ibu] when addressing an older woman, and it is considered impolite if you just call her by her name and do not use the honorific title [ibu] when addressing her.

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Pak In Bahasa Indonesia

Pak is short for [Bapak], and this is an honorific title when we address men in the Indonesian language. It’s kind of like [sir] or [mister] in English.

Bapak can also mean [daddy]. A lot of Indonesian people call their dad this word [bapak]. Me included! I call my father [bapak].

You will hear this [bapak] thingy being spoken a lot in Indonesia in a formal situation. In a formal situation, you say Bapak, and then you say his name. For example, Bapak Jokowi, Bapak Gatot, Bapak Raffi, and so on and so on.

To Whom Should You Address Pak?

Certainly, men who are older or men who already have babies. Like, maybe 30-year-old-guy and above, you can call him [bapak], or 23-year-old-guy who is already married and has a baby.

The thing is, this [bapak] thingy is a polite way to address someone in the Indonesian language, and when you address him with [bapak], and then he refuses to be called with that honorific title [bapak], he will say that to you.

Maybe he doesn’t want to be called with the honorific title [bapak] because he still feels young enough to be called [bapak].

How to Pronounce Pak

Here is how you pronounce the word [pak] in bahasa Indonesia.

Next, let’s watch examples where Indonesians use the word.

Examples of Pak In Use

The first example we are about to watch is taken from the famous TV Program in Indonesia, Mata Najwa. Let’s watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Najwa: Selamat malam, Pak Luhut. Terima kasih waktu Anda untuk kami malam ini, Pak. (Good evening, Mister Luhut. Thank you for your time with us tonight, sir.)

Luhut: Selamat malam, Najwa. (Good evening, Najwa.)

As you can see, Najwa calls Mister Luhut with an honorific title [pak] before his name. Mister Luhut, in this video, actually said [selamat] so fast that we can barely hear [sela] in the word [selamat]. So, it's like we just heard him say [mat malam] instead.

The second example is from Cek Toko Sebelah (2016). Let’s watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Nandar: Martin!

Martin: Nandar! Ah, pak Nandar maksudnya. (Nandar! I mean Mr. Nandar.)

Nandar: Kamu Martin yang sodaranya kang Maman, kan? (You’re Martin, Kang Maman’s brother, right?)

Martin: Iya. (Yes, I am.)

In the scene, when Nandar calls his name, Martin replies by calling just his name, Nandar. But then he realized that Nandar is older than he is, and he is going to work at Nandar’s shop, so it is considered impolite if he doesn’t add an honorific before his name.

That’s why he says, “Pak Nandar maksudnya.” There, he adds the honorific title [pak] before his name, Nandar.

Vocabulary from the Clip

[Kamu] = you.

[Sodara] is informal for [saudara] = siblings.

[Kan] is used to emphasize. For more about this, you can watch my video here:

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To better understand this, as always, we will look at examples, mostly from movies, where Indonesians use this word.

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Mbak In Bahasa Indonesia

[Mbak] is an honorific title used to address women in Indonesia, especially those who are a bit older than you. In Indonesian culture, using the right honorific matters — it can feel impolite if you use the wrong one when talking to someone.

You might also see it written as mba (without the letter “k” at the end). I personally prefer writing in that way too. The word originally comes from Javanese, but it’s now commonly used all across Indonesia.

In English, [mbak] is closest to “older sister.” But it’s not only used for family — you’ll hear it in everyday conversation as well.

To help you understand how it’s actually used, we’ll look at a few scenes from Indonesian movies later in this article.

So, when do you use [mbak]?

Here are three common situations:

1. When talking to a woman who’s older than you.

She should be slightly older than you.

2. When speaking to a female stranger.

For example, if you meet a woman around your age on the street, you would still use [mbak] since you don’t know her.

3. When addressing your female boss.

Even if she’s younger than you, it’s still more polite to use [mbak], especially in a professional setting.

How to Pronounce Mbak

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

Next, let’s look at examples from movies where Indonesians use the word [mbak].

Examples Of Mbak In Use

The first example is from a movie called The East (2015). Let’s watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Dhewo: Maaf, mbak. Soal tayangan yang salah itu, begini, mbak. Ini.. (Sorry, ma’am. About the wrong broadcast—I can explain. It’s just that...)

Dian Sastro: Kalo mo ngomong tu duduk dulu! Bisa ngga, sih? (If you want to talk, sit down first. Can you do that?)

Dhewo: Soal tayangan yang salah itu, begini, mbak. Kita.. (About the wrong broadcast... I can explain. We...)

Dian Sastro: Siapa yang bilang lo udah bisa ngomong, sih? Dhewo! Jabatan lo tu apa sih? (Who said you could speak? Dhewo! What exactly is your position here?)

Dhewo: Kepala Departemen, mbak. (I’m a department head, ma’am.)

Dian Sastro: Suka sama jabatan lo? (And do you even like your position?)

Dhewo: Suka, mbak. (Yes, ma’am.)

In this scene, Dhewo makes a mistake—he airs the wrong broadcast. When Dian Sastro, his boss, finds out, she calls him into her office to talk about it.

Now, pay attention to how they address each other.

You’ll notice that Dhewo uses [mbak] when speaking to his boss. Even though Dian Sastro is actually much younger than him, she’s still his superior, so he uses this honorific to show respect.

Meanwhile, Dian simply calls him “Dhewo” without adding [mas] before his name. Since he’s her subordinate, this is completely normal—there’s no need for her to use an honorific when addressing him.

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Maaf] = sorry.

[Kalo] is informal for [kalau] = if.

[Mo] is informal for [mau] = want.

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

[Lo] is informal for [Anda] = you. For a more detailed explanation, you can read my article here:

[Sih] has no meaning; its function is just to emphasize. For more about this, you can read my article here:

[Udah] is short for [sudah] = already.

[Ngomong] is informal for [berbicara] = to talk.

[Suka] = like.

[Jabatan] = position.

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Mas In Bahasa Indonesia

[Mas] is a common honorific we use in Indonesia to address men, especially those who are older than us. In everyday situations, it can feel a bit impolite if you talk to an older man without using some kind of respectful title like [mas] before his name.

The word [mas] actually comes from Javanese, one of the local languages in Indonesia. But today, it’s used all over the country and has become part of daily conversation.

In English, [mas] is often translated as [brother] or [bro], but it’s not exactly the same. [Mas] sounds more polite and respectful. Later, we’ll look at some scenes from Indonesian movies to see how people really use it in conversations.

So, when do you use mas?

Here are three simple situations to remember:

1. For older men.

This is the most common use. If a man is older than you, you can call him [mas], or if you know his name, you can add [mas] before his name.

2. For strangers.

Even if a man is around your age, if you don’t know him, it’s polite to call him [mas] — for example, when talking to someone on the street.

3. For a male boss (especially if he’s unmarried)

Even if your boss is younger than you, using [mas] before his name sounds more polite and respectful in some situations.

How to Pronounce Mas

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

Moving on, let’s look at examples, mostly from movies, where Indonesians use the word [mas].

Example Of Mas In Use

The first example is from a movie called Tetangga Masa Gitu (2014). Let’s watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Bastian: Kalau mbak Angel sama mas Adi, kerja di mana ya? (So, where do you guys work?)

Angel: Kalau saya di law firm, kalau suami saya, guru gambar di SMA Matahari. (I work at a law firm, and my husband is an art teacher at Matahari High School.)

Bastian: Oh, guru gambar? Wah, keren banget tuh, mas! Keren ya? (Oh, an art teacher? Wow, that’s awesome, man! Pretty cool, right?)

Bintang: He’eh. (Yeah!)

Adi: Yah, bisa hiduplah. (Well… it pays the bills.)

Angel: Tapi pas-pasan. (Barely—we’re just getting by.)

In this scene, we’ve got two married couples: Adi and Angel, and Bastian and Bintang. Bastian and Bintang have just moved into the same neighborhood as Adi and Angel, so this is their first time meeting each other.

If you pay attention, Bastian calls Adi with an added word [mas] before his name. That’s because Adi is older than him. In Indonesian, using [mas] for men and [mbak] for women is a really common way to sound polite and respectful, especially when you’re talking to someone who’s a bit older.

So here, Bastian is being friendly, but also showing good manners by using [mas] and [mbak] when talking to his new neighbors.

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Kerja] = work.

[Suami] = husband.

[Guru gambar] = drawing teacher.

[Keren] = awesome, cool.

[He’eh] is informal for [iya], and it is used when you agree with someone.

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Meaning of Bang

[Bang] is short for [abang], and it is an honorific title to address:

1. An older brother.

2. A person who is older than you.

3. Your husband.

4. Your son, usually your oldest son.

5. Unknown guys that you meet on the street.

Usually, [bang] is used in Jakarta and some parts of Sumatra island, but it’s okay if you use [bang] to call someone other than in those places.

For example, if you are in Central Java and you address older people than you by saying [abang], they will be okay, and if they are not okay with that honorific title that you just called them with, they will just tell you.

How to Pronounce Bang

This is how you pronounce the word [bang] in bahasa Indonesia.

Next, let’s watch example scenes that I took from movies where the word [bang] is spoken.

Examples of Bang In Use

In this section, you will see many examples from movies where the word [bang] is spoken. I will try to gather as many examples as I can along the way.

The first clip we are about to watch is taken from a TV series, Suami-suami Masa Kini, Episode 1 (2022). Let’s watch the clip below.

Here’s what she says in the clip above with English translations.

Tania: Halo? Iya. Iya, bang. Saya udah di sini. Bang, tolong kasih tahulah ini anak buahnya. Ya bang, ya? Oke. Makasih, bang. Iya. (Hello? Yes. Yes, sir. I’m already here. Would you please tell your man to behave? Okay, sir? Okay. Thank you very much, sir. Yes.)

In this scene, she is talking to someone, and by seeing how she uses the word in this scene, you can see that she is talking to someone older than her or someone she respects. She uses [saya] instead of [aku] or [gue] in her sentences.

This scene took place in Jakarta, so as you can see, people in Jakarta usually use an honorific title [bang] to address men older than they are.

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Iya] = yes.

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

[Di sini] is a place physically close to the speaker.

[Anak buah] = subordinate.

[Makasih] is a common reduction for [terima kasih] = thank you. For more about this, you can read my article here:

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Thank you for reading my article. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments below. I’ll see you soon, and bye now.

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Meaning of Lebay

[Lebay] means to exaggerate something or to make something bigger, which, in fact, is not a big deal.

[Lebay] is used in daily Indonesian conversations and not in writing. [Lebay] came from the word [lebih], which means [more], and then you drop the letter [h] in there, and it becomes [lebi], and people in Indonesia like to pronounce it as in English to make it cooler, so it becomes [lebai]. That is where the word [lebay] came from.

I will give you an example. Someone is sick, and then the person is exaggerating that he’s about to die now, when, in fact, that person only got the flu.

A: Gue sakit nih! Kayanya gue sekarat dan mau mati deh. (I am sick. I think right now I’m dying!

B: Loe jangan lebay deh! Loe itu cuma flu doang kali! (Come on! You’re exaggerating! You only got a flu!)

So, as you can see, A is exaggerating his sickness, like he is going to die, which, in fact, is just the flu.

How to Pronounce Lebay

Here is how to pronounce the word [lebay] in bahasa Indonesia.

Let’s now watch examples from movies and whatnot where the word [lebay] is used by Indonesians.

Examples of Lebay In Use

The first example we are about to watch is from a movie called 3 Dara 2 (2018). Let’s watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Female: Oke. Pertanyaan pertama, apa pendapat kalian tentang wanita? (Okay. Here is the first question. What are your thoughts about women?)

Male 1: Kita harus menghormati wanita. Ha? (We have to respect women. Right?)

Male 2: Wanita itu adalah tonggak utama peradaban. (Women are the major milestone in civilization.)

Male 3: Tanpa wanita tidak akan ada kehidupan. (Without women, there would be no civilization.)

Male 1: Dan wanita merupakan mahkota berlian bagi.. (And women are diamond crowns for..)

Female: Lebay! (You guys are exaggerating!)

In the scene above, the woman asks 3 questions to the 3 men, and the woman thinks that the answers the men give him are somewhat exaggerated. That’s why she said to them [lebay].

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Pertanyaan] = question.

[Pertama] = first.

[Pendapat] opinion.

[Menghormati] comes from the base word [hormat], and then you add the prefix [me] and suffix [i] to it. [Menghormati] means to give respect.

[Wanita] = [perempuan] = women.

[Mahkota] = crown.

The second example is from a TV series called Tetangga Masa Gitu (2014). Let’s watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Angel: Jadi, ini.. (So, this..)

Adi: Aaaww!

Angel: Tunggu! (Wait!)

Adi: Apaan itu, Angel? Aku terkejut! (What’s that, Angel? I’m surprised!)

Bastian: Lebay banget sih, mas Adi! Telat kali. (Oh, please, Adi, you are exaggerating! Too late, you know.)

Adi: Ya kan biar istri senang, Bas. (I did that to make my wife happy, Bas.)

Angel: Ini yang bikin kamu pikir aku hamil? (This is what makes you think that I’m pregnant?)

Adi: Yes!

When Angel takes things from the box, Adi suddenly screams. He exaggerates his feeling of surprise, and that’s why Bastian said [lebay] to Adi.

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Apaan itu?] = [apa itu?] is the phrase when you want to know what something is.

[Terkejut] = feeling of surprise.

[Banget] has the same meaning as [sekali], which means [very]. [Banget] is usually used in daily Indonesian conversations, whereas [sekali] is used in a more formal setting. For more about this, you can read my article here:

[Telat] = late.

[Istri] = wife.

[Hamil] = [pregnant].

[Pikir] = think.

The third example is from Bukalapak's YouTube channel. Let's watch the clip below.

Here’s what he says in the clip above with English translations.

Kemudian juga, banyak orang bilang bahasa Indonesia itu lebih mudah dipelajari dibandingkan bahasa apa pun di dunia. Yah, ngga apa pun lah. Itu lebay. Relatif mudah dipelajari. (And also, many people said that the Indonesian language is easier to learn than any language in the world. Not any language because it’s somewhat exaggerated. It’s easier to learn.)

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Kemudian juga] is used to connect sentences.

[Orang] = people, because.

[Dipelajari] = to be studied.

[Dibandingkan] = compared to.

[Mudah] = easy.

The fourth example is from a web series, Menggapai Awan (2019), on Umay Shahab’s YouTube channel. Let’s watch the clip below.

Here’s what she says in the clip above with English translations.

Alina: Ini kisah 4 orang siswa yang hidupnya didedikasikan untuk pendidikan. Cie elah! Lebay amat gue! (This is the story of 4 students who dedicate their lives to education. Oh, my God, I’m so exaggerating this!)

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Kisah] = story.

[Gue] = [gw] = [w] = [gua] are informal for [saya] = I. For more about this, you can read my article here

[Amat] = [banget] = [sekali] = very.

[Cie elah!] actually has no meaning. It’s just an exclamation phrase to make what she says more dramatic.

The fifth example is taken from a movie called Garis Waktu (2022). Let's watch the clip below.

For the conversation with English translations, and also the explanation of the vocabulary from the clip above, you can read my article here:

The sixth example is from Hubungi Agen Gue, Season 1, Episode 1 (2023). Let's watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Surya: Lydia.

Lydia: Aduh. Apa lagi? (Oh, come on. What is it again now?)

Surya: Well.

Lydia: Apa? (What?)

Surya: Sejak ada ASA Plus kita selalu sama-sama, Lyd. (Since we started ASA Plus, we have always been together.)

Lydia: Iya. (Yes.)

Surya: Eh ni ya. Orang-orang itu sampe bilang kita tu udah kaya anak kembar. Ke mana-mana bareng. (Guys, people said we were like twins because we are always together everywhere we go.)

Lydia: Oke, oke, Sur. Udah, ya? Kamu pergi hanya satu minggu. Ngga usah lebay. Ini drama banget ni orang ni. Udah, yuk? Bye bye. (Okay, Sur. Enough, okay? You only go for one week. Stop exaggerating. He’s such a drama king. Bye bye.)

Surya: Oke, drama dikit? (Just a little? No?)

Lydia: Engga, ngga, ngga. Daah, daahh! (No, no, no. Bye, bye!)

Surya: Bye. Muach! (Bye. Mwah!)

Lydia: Muach! Salam buat Ghea. (Mwah! Tell Ghea I say hi.)

Surya: Aku sampaikan. Thanks. Bye. (I will. Thanks. Bye.)

In this scene, Surya is going on a week’s holiday to the Maldives. Here, Lydia says, “ngga usah lebay” to Surya because she knows Surya well enough that Surya is going to make this like it is the end of their togetherness, which, in fact, Surya is only going to leave them for a week, and then he will come back again.

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Aduh] is usually said when someone is in pain, but in this context, [aduh] means like, oh no, oh come on.

[Apa lagi?] in literal translation would be [what again?], and is usually asked by the seller to the buyer for something else that they need to buy.

[Selalu sama-sama] = [selalu bersama-sama] = always together.

[Eh ni ya] in this scene is used by Surya to attract people’s attention because Surya is going to tell them something. You can read my article: Eh Meaning in Indonesian.

[Orang-orang] = people.

[Sampe] is the conversational way of saying [sampai] = until.

[Bilang] = [ngomong] = to tell.

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

[Anak kembar] = twins.

[Udah, ya?] = [udah, yuk?] <-- It is a question used to end a conversation.

[Udah] is short for [sudah] = already.

[Engga] = [ngga] = [ga] = no.

[Salam buat (name of a person)] is used when you want to say hi to someone.

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That wraps up today’s article. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments below. Thank you for reading my article, and I’ll see you soon.

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Meaning Of Salah Tingkah

[Salah] means [wrong] and [tingkah] means [behavior]. If translated literally, it means wrong behavior. But that’s not the meaning of the phrase [salah tingkah].

[Salah tingkah] is a condition where you suddenly act funny or behave weirdly because of something. Usually, it is because you meet someone that you really, really like. For example, you meet the woman of your dreams. She is so perfect, and you somehow act funny in front of her because you don’t know what to do or say correctly. This condition is called [salah tingkah].

So, when you are acting funny because there is someone that you really, really like in front of you, this condition is called [salah tingkah], and Indonesian people usually smush them together into [salting], or SALah TINGkah.

How to Pronounce Salah Tingkah

Here is how you pronounce [salah tingkah] in bahasa Indonesia.

Next, let’s watch examples that I took mostly from movies where the phrase [salah tingkah] is spoken by Indonesians.

Examples of Salah Tingkah In Use

The first clip we are about to watch is taken from a movie called Garis Waktu (2022). Let’s watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Sanya: April, lo tu ke sini ngga bilang-bilang dulu deh, ah. (April, why didn’t you tell me first you’re gonna come here?)

April: Nya, nya, kelakuan lo ga berubah-berubah. (Your bad behavior really doesn’t change at all, nya.)

Sanya: Lo kenapa tiba-tiba ke sini? Oh, bentar. Coba gue tebak. Pasti lo pengen cerita tentang si Pangeran Pinggir Jalan itu, kan? (Why all of a sudden do you come here? Oh, wait. Let me guess. I bet you want to talk about The Roadside Prince, right?)

April: Apaan sih lo? Lebay! Gue ngga pernah panggil dia Pangeran, ya. (What are you talking about? You’re exaggerating. I never called him a prince for once.)

Sanya: Kok lo jadi salah tingkah gitu sih? (Why, all of a sudden, are you acting weird like this?)

In this scene, April has a flat tire, and then a guy comes to help her replace her tire. Somehow, she meets again with the guy who helped her replace her tire in another place, and then they spend some time together.

After that, April goes to Sanya’s apartment without telling her first. Sanya is April’s best friend. Sanya asks why she came here all of a sudden without telling her first that she was coming. When Sanya guesses that she knows April will talk to her about the person who helps her replace her tire on the street and names him Pangeran Pinggir Jalan (The Roadside Prince), April kind of acts funny.

That’s why Sanya says this:

Kok lo jadi salah tingkah gitu sih?

If April weren’t in a position of [salah tingkah], she shouldn’t have corrected the name ‘prince’ Sanya gave to him. She will just let it be. But here, April kind of defends herself for something unnecessary. In other words, she reacts too much.

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Lo] is informal for [Anda] = you. For a more detailed explanation, you can read my article here:

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

[Ngga bilang-bilang dulu] is said when you do something without telling someone first.

[Kelakuan] = behavior.

[Ga] = [ngga] = [engga] = [enggak] = no.

[Ngga berubah-berubah] = never changes.

[Kenapa] = why.

[Tiba-tiba] = all of a sudden.

[Bentar] is short for [sebentar] = a short while, hold on, wait a second.

[Pengen] is the colloquial way of saying [ingin] = want. In daily conversations, Indonesian people say [pengen] or [pingin] instead of [ingin].

[Cerita] = tell about something; story.

[Pangeran] = prince.

[Apaan sih?] can have many meanings, depending on the context.

[Lebay] is when you exaggerate something. In this context, Sanya calls the guy ‘prince,’ which is exaggerated because she can just say the guy instead of the prince.

[Ngga pernah] = never.

[Panggil] = call.

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Thank you for reading my article, and that’s gonna be it for now. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments below. Bye now.

As always, we’re going to watch scenes from Indonesian movies where this phrase [ya udah] is spoken so that you will understand it better.

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Meaning of Ya Udah

Ya udah is short for [ya sudah]. It can be translated as [okay then] in a neutral tone.

[Ya udah] is usually used when someone is going to end a conversation, but not always. You have to watch for the tone when this phrase is being spoken because if someone says it with a rising voice, it means that they are feeling kind of upset, want to end the conversation soon, and don’t want to continue the conversation. It means neutral if it’s spoken with a neutral tone, not high or low.

We will see this from the scene that I’ll give you to see for yourself, and I hope you can better understand the provided clips.

[Ya udah] can be followed by other words, such as [sih], [deh], [dong], [lah]. And different words collocate with this phrase [ya udah] can mean different things.

How to Pronounce Ya Udah

Here is how you pronounce [ya sudah] in bahasa Indonesia.

And here is how you pronounce [ya udah].

And here is how you pronounce [ya udah deh].

And here is how you pronounce [ya udah sih].

And here is how you pronounce [ya udah lah].

And here is how you pronounce [ya udah ah].

And here is how you pronounce [ya udah dong].

Examples of Ya Udah In Use

In this section, we will watch scenes from movies where the phrase [ya udah] is spoken to better understand how the Indonesian people use this phrase in their daily lives.

The first clip is taken from a movie called Milea: Suara Dari Dilan (2020). Let’s watch it below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Dilan: Masuk. Ada apa? (Come in. What is it?)

Bibi: Astaghfirullah hal adzim. Ih! Bikin kaget aja. Eh, tadi neng Lia telpon. (Oh, my God! You scared me! Lia just called.)

Dilan: Apa katanya? (What did she say?)

Bibi: Kurang tahu. Ngobrolnya sama Bunda. (I don’t know. She talked to your mother.)

Dilan: Ya udah, Bi. Makasih. (Okay, then, Auntie. Thank you.)

In this scene, Bibi told Dilan that he had a call from Milea, and when Bibi had finished telling Dilan about it, Dilan said:

Ya udah, Bi.

Dilan said this phrase to end the conversation and let Bibi know that he had received the message, and after saying [ya udah], Dilan said thank you to Bibi for letting him know the information.

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Masuk] is short for [silakan masuk] = please come in.

[Astagfirullah hal adzim] is actually coming from the Arabic language. The literal translation is “I seek forgiveness in God,” but in this situation, it can mean, like, “Oh, my God.”

[Bikin kaget aja] is usually used when someone gets scared by someone else. You can also use this phrase [ngagetin aja deh].

[Neng] is an honorific title to call a girl in the Sundanese language.

[Kurang tahu] has the same meaning as [tidak tahu] = I don’t know. [Kurang tahu] is considered more polite than [tidak tahu].

[Ngobrol] = [berbicara] = to talk. Berbicara is more formal than ngobrol. Ngobrol is usually used in conversation in Indonesian.

[Makasih] is short for [terima kasih] = thank you.

The second clip is still from the same movie, Milea: Suara Dari Dilan (2020). Let’s watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Milea: Dilan!

Dilan: Udah, kan? Tadi katanya mau pulang? (You’re done, right? You said you wanna go home?)

Milea: Ya udah, aku pergi! (Okay, I’m leaving.)

Dilan: Ti-ati. Daah. (Take care. Bye.)

In this scene, Milea says [ya udah] with a rising tone because she is kind of upset with Dilan, and you can see that after the phrase, the conversation is finished. You can see [ya udah] is being used to end a conversation here.

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Kan] is usually used to emphasize something. In this context, [kan] is used to emphasize the word [udah].

[Pulang] = go home.

[Pergi] = to go, to leave.

[Aku] is informal for [I]. For a more detailed explanation, you can read my article here:

[Ti-ati] is short for [hati-hati]. In daily conversation, we usually shorten words. This is one of the examples where [hati-hati] is shortened into [ti-ati].

The third clip is still from the same movie, Milea: Suara Dari Dilan (2020). Let’s watch the scene below.

Conversation from the clip with English translation.

Dilan: Aku ingin kuliah di sini, Put. (I want to study here, Put.)

Aput: Ini kampus seni, ya? (This is an art college, right?)

Dilan: Iya. (Yup.)

Aput: Ya udah. Aku doain. (Okay, then. I will pray for you.)

Dilan: Doain naon? (What will you pray for me?)

Aput: Doain biar kamu jadi orang besar. (I will pray so that you will be a big man.)

Dilan: Raksasa kitu? (You mean a giant?)

Aput: Yeee. Istirahat dulu ah. (Oh, come on. Let’s take a rest for a while.)

In this scene, the phrase [ya udah] is not used to end a conversation but to respond to what Dilan said. He said that he wanted to study in that college, so Aput responded to it by saying:

Ya udah.

So, [ya udah], as I said earlier, is usually used to end a conversation, but not always. In this scene, you can see that [ya udah] is not used to end a conversation but to respond to what someone says before.

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Ingin] = want.

[Kuliah] = lecture, course, school, but it means to study in this context.

[Doain] is a colloquial way of saying [doakan] = to pray for someone.

[Naon] comes from the Sundanese language. It means [what].

[Kamu] is informal for [you].

[Orang besar] literally means [a big man], but [orang besar] has a figurative meaning. The figurative meaning of [orang besar] is an important person. In this context, Aput uses the figurative meaning, but Dilan responds jokingly and takes the word [orang besar] in the literal meaning. Aput will pray that Dilan will become an important person someday, but Dilan jokingly responds to it, taking the meaning [orang besar] as its literal meaning [a big man].

[Raksasa] = giant.

[Istirahat] = take a rest.

The fourth clip is taken from a web series on BRI's YouTube channel (2020). Let's watch the scene below.

Conversation from the clip with English translation.

Indah: Terus ini kita gimana? (Now what? What do we do?)

Bagas: Ya elah, ya udah sih, tinggal telpon bengkel. Susah amat! (Hey, chill, just call the car repair shops. It’s not that difficult!)

Robert: Susah sinyal di sini. (There’s no signal here.)

Bagas: Kok ngga ada sinyal sih? (Why there’s no signal here?)

In the scene above, they got a flat tire, and then someone came along and offered help, but Bagas refused the help because the man was their competitor. Bagas didn’t want to get help from his competitor, but Indah and Robert didn’t mind that.

Indah asked Bagas what they should do then, in the middle of nowhere, and got a flat tire. Here, Bagas said this:

Ya elah, ya udah sih, tinggal telpon bengkel.

You can see Bagas said [ya udah sih]. As I mentioned earlier, [ya udah] can collocate with different words. One of them is [sih], like in this example.

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Terus] = continue, keep on, but in this context, it means so, and then.

[Kita] = we.

[Ya elah] is usually used when you underestimate something.

[Tinggal] = to stay, but in this context, it means just.

[Telpon] = telephone.

[Susah amat] is usually used to say that what other people are doing is wrong, and then you give suggestions. Example sentence: Itu loe susah amat sih ngerjainnya kaya gitu? Kaya gini aja kali, jauh lebih gampang. (Why are you doing it like that? If you’re doing like that, that’s hard. Here, this way, a lot easier.) In this scene, it is used when Bagas gives a solution, and then says, “Susah amat!” It was like he was trying to say that it was not that difficult to solve their problem.

[Susah] = hard. [Susah sinyal] means it is hard to get a signal in that area.

[Di sini] = over here.

In this context, [ya udah sih] means that Bagas felt the problem they were facing was just a piece of cake. Although they are in nowhere land, Bagas thought that he could just phone a car repair shop and then the problem would be easily solved. He didn’t know that the signal was bad in that place, and he couldn’t make a telephone call because of the bad signal.

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Coy Meaning

[Coy] is usually used as a substitute for the person’s name and is used between close friends, so it is an informal word. It’s like “bro” and “sis.” Let’s look at example sentences below:

1. Lo mo ke mana, coy? (Where are you going, bro?)

2. Kok cara makannya gitu, coy? (Why do you eat like that, dude?)

[Coy] can also be used when you want to emphasize something. Let’s look at example sentences below:

1. Gelap, coy! (It is dark!)

[Coy] in the sentence [gelap, coy!] is used to emphasize that it is dark. In Indonesian, [coy] has the same meaning and usage as [cuy].

2. Indomie terenak sedunia, coii! (This is the most delicious Indomie in the world!)

In the picture above, this person writes it [coii] instead of [coy], but actually, those two [coy] and [coii] are the same word. It is just a variation in the writings.

[Coii] in the sentence above is used to emphasize that this is the best Indomie he has ever tasted.

Indomie is a famous Indonesian noodle brand. It's very popular in Indonesia, and you can find it anywhere in Indonesia.

How to Pronounce Coy

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

Moving on, let’s look at examples where Indonesians use and speak the word [coy].

Examples of Coy In Use

The first example we are about to watch is from Nex Carlos’ YouTube channel. Let’s watch the clip below.

Here’s what he says in the clip with English translations.

Nex Carlos: Gila, ini sih udah lama banget, ya. 1890. 1890, coy! Gila! Jepang aja belum dateng. Jangan-jangan ini tebalik kali, ya? Yang ngedit.. Spanduknya tebalik kali, ya? 1980 mungkin, ya? 1890 lama banget. Masuk. (Damn, this is so ancient! 1890. 1890, man! Insane! Japan had yet to come to Indonesia. It may be in reverse. The one who edited this... I guess this banner is a typo, maybe? It should be 1980, I guess? If it were from 1890, it would be damn old. Let’s come in.)

He was surprised by the restaurant’s age. That’s why, after saying 1890, he says the word [coy] to emphasize. So, [coy] is used to emphasize in this short clip.

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Gila] = crazy.

[Sih] doesn’t have any meaning here. For a more detailed explanation, you can read my article here:

[Udah] is short for [sudah] = already.

[Lama] = long, old.

[Banget] = very. For a more detailed explanation, you can read my article here:

[Jangan] = don’t.

[Jangan-jangan] = perhaps, maybe.

[Jepang aja belum dateng] <--- By saying this, what he meant was that Japan came to Indonesia to colonize Indonesia in 1942. If this restaurant was established in 1890, it means Japan had yet to colonize Indonesia.

[Dateng] is informal for [datang] = come.

[Tebalik] = [terbalik] = [kebalik] roughly translates into [in reverse]. He drops the letter [r] there. It should be [terbalik], not [tebalik], but it’s common in conversational Indonesian for Indonesians to drop letters like this.

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Meaning of Banget

[Banget] is informal for [sekali], which means very much so. [Banget] can also be used to emphasize the exact identity of a particular person or thing.

Let’s look at these three sentences below to better understand the word [banget].

Example sentence number one.

1. Nasi goreng ini enak banget deh! (This nasi goreng is so delicious!)

If I turn this sentence into a formal one, it will become [nasi goreng ini enak sekali!]

Example sentence number two.

2. Cewe itu tinggi banget. (That woman is very tall.)

[Banget] in these two sentences means very.

Example sentence number three.

3. Harus hari ini banget ya kita perginya? (Do we have to go this very day?)

[Banget] in the third sentence is used to emphasize the word [hari ini (today)].

How to Pronounce Banget

This is how you pronounce the word [banget] in bahasa Indonesia.

Next, we will watch examples from movies to better understand how Indonesians use the word [banget] in their everyday lives.

Examples of Banget In Use

The first clip we are about to watch is from Surga Belok Kanan, Episode 11 (2023). Let’s watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Sakti: By the way, si Gagah mana ya? (By the way, where is Gagah?)

Abud: Gagah? Ngga tau. Gue dari tadi ngga ngeliatin nih dia. Gue kan fokus sama nasi gorengnya teh Siti doang. Enak banget ini! (Gagah? I don’t know. I have yet to see him around. My focus was just on this Siti’s nasi goreng that she made for me. So delicious!)

[Banget] in this scene means [very], and it is common to hear Indonesians say the word [banget] instead of [sekali] in conversational Indonesian.

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Gagah mana ya?] is a phrase used by Sakti because he was looking for his friend, Gagah. You can use this phrase if you are looking for someone in Indonesian. Gagah is the name of a person.

[Ngga tau] or [ngga tahu] means I don’t know.

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

[Gue dari tadi ngga ngeliatin nih dia] is the way Abud says it. For a more proper sentence, you can say, “Gue dari tadi ngga ngeliat dia,” and if I turn it into a more formal sentence, it will become, “Saya dari tadi tidak melihat dia.”

[Ngeliat] is the conversational way of saying [melihat] = to see.

[Ngeliatin] is the conversational way of saying [melihati] = to see something or someone repeatedly.

[Nasi goreng] is one of the Indonesian dishes.

[Teh Siti] <--- the word [teh] here is short for [teteh]. [Teteh] comes from the Sundanese language. It is an honorific title to address a female person older than you, or if you just want to be more polite to her. In this case, Abud says the name Siti with the honorific title [teh] is just to give respect to her.

The second clip we are about to watch is from Suami-suami Masa Kini, Season 2, Episode 6 (2023). Let’s watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Tania: Elu ciuman sama Tobi? (You kissed Tobi?)

Rumi: Ri, Tobi banget? (Ri, that very Tobi?)

Indri: Ya, iya, Tobi. (Yeah, Tobi.)

In this scene, Rumi says [Tobi banget?] to emphasize the exact identity of a particular person named Tobi that the three of them know. She is using [banget] after the name Tobi because she wants to ensure that Indri kisses Tobi, whom she knows.

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Ciuman] = kissing.

[Sama] = with.

[Iya] = yes.

The third clip we are about to watch is from Suami-suami Masa Kini, Season 2, Episode 7 (2023). Let's watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Rumi: Mas. Mas Bima. (Bima.)

Bima: Hmm? (Yeah?)

Rumi: Maaf ya ganggu meditasinya. Kita ke rumah sakit, yuk? Pagi ini. Dokter Rahmat udah masuk lagi katanya. (I’m sorry to interrupt your meditation session. Let’s go to the hospital. This morning. I heard that Doctor Rahmat is already back to work again.)

Bima: Harus pagi ini banget, Rumi? (Does it have to be this very morning, Rumi?)

Rumi: Iya. Kan waktu itu kita ngga jadi check up. Trus tadi aku dikabarin katanya ada yang cancel. Jadi, slotnya dikasih ke kita. Kamu bisa nganterin aku, kan? (Yes. Last time, we canceled our appointment, right? The hospital informed me just now that someone had canceled their appointment, so they gave the slot to us. You can take me there, right?)

[Banget] in this scene is used by Bima to emphasize the word [pagi ini]. [Pagi ini] means [this morning]. If you omit the word [banget], the sentence’s meaning doesn’t change, but the emphasis is gone. Bima wants to make sure that [pagi ini banget] or [this very morning] they must go to the hospital.

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Mas] is an honorific title to politely address a male person older than you. For more about this, you can read my article: Mas Meaning In Bahasa. In this scene, Rumi addresses her husband with [mas] because, culturally, in Indonesia, it is common to address your husband using an honorific title [mas].

[Ganggu] = interrupt.

[Rumah sakit] = hospital.

[Yuk] is used when you invite someone to do an activity with you.

[Pagi] = morning.

[Udah] is short for [sudah] = already.

[Harus] = must.

[Dikabarin] is the informal way of saying [dikabari] = [diberi kabar] = someone informs her.

[Nganterin] is the conversational way of saying [mengantarkan] = to take someone to someplace.

[Kan?] = right?

The fourth clip we are about to watch is from Hubungi Agen Gue, Season 1, Episode 1 (2023). Let's watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Luna: Buruan, Dhis! Gue lagi latian moge. Kenapa? Kenapa? (Can you make it quick, Dhis? I’m practicing riding the bike. What’s going on?)

Yudhis: Lo lupa, ya? Hari ini ada interview dan photo session sama Woman’s World. (Aren’t you forgetting something? Today, we have an interview and photo session with Woman’s World.)

Luna: Hah?! Hari ini banget? Haaahh! (What?! “Today,” as in today? Damn!)

Yudhis: Kok lo masih latian moge? Katanya udah jago? Aduh, ini kan adegan kunci banget buat film besar kita, Lun. (Why are you still practicing riding a bike? You said you had already mastered it. This is a very important part in our big hit movie, Lun.)

In this scene, [banget] is said twice by Luna and Yudhis. [Banget] in [hari ini banget] said by Luna means that Luna wants to make sure that it is really today, whereas [banget] said by Yudhis means very important that Luna doesn’t want to be missed.

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Buruan] is used by Luna here to tell Yudhis to just talk about the important matter because she is in the middle of doing something. For more about this, you can read my article: Buruan Meaning In Indonesian.

[Moge] is a combined word. It combines the words [MOtor] and [GEde]. [Moge] means a big bike, like a Harley Davidson or something similar.

[Kenapa? Kenapa?] is usually said by someone when they want to know what is happening.

[Lo] or [elu] or [loe] is informal for [Anda] = you. For more about this, you can read my article here:

[Lupa] = forget.

[Latian] = [latihan] = practice.

[Jago] in this scene means that someone already has the skills.

[Besar] = big.

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Meaning of Kelayapan

[Kelayapan] is when you are going out with no specific purpose or specific direction to go. You’re kind of like just wasting time and letting the hours roll by.

How to Pronounce Kelayapan

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

But sometimes, you will hear Indonesians pronounce it with the letter [b] or [kelayaban].

Examples of Kelayapan In Use

In this section, you will see examples from movie scenes, YouTube videos, and whatnot where the word [kelayapan] is spoken.

The first example is from a TV Series called Suami-Suami Masa Kini, Episode 1 (2022). Let’s watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Police Officer: Atasan di sini itu saya. Dan tugas kami itu bukan mencari suami yang kelayapan. Tugas kami itu menangkap maling, rampok dan bandar narkoba. Mendingan sekarang ibu-ibu pulang. Nanti juga suaminya pada pulang kok kalau duitnya udah habis. (I’m the superior in here. And our job is not to find husbands who are going everywhere with no direction. Our jobs are to catch thieves, robbers, and drug dealers. You’d better go home now. If your husband’s money has run out, they will go home.)

In this scene, Tania and her friends come to a precinct nearby to ask for help finding their husbands. Their husbands suddenly can not be reached by phone, which makes Tania and her friends worried.

Then the police officer in that precinct replied to her by saying that their duties as police officers are not to find someone going everywhere with no specific direction and not knowing what he is going to do, or what is called the term [kelayapan].

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Atasan] = superior, boss.

[Di sini] = over here.

[Saya] = I.

[Tugas] = duty.

[Mencari] = to look for something.

[Menangkap] = to catch.

[Maling] = thieves.

[Rampok] = [perampok] = robbers.

[Bandar narkoba] = drug dealers.

[Pulang] = go home.

[Duit] = [uang] = money.

[Udah] is short for [sudah] = already.

[Habis] = run out of something.

The second example is still from the same movie, Suami-suami Masa Kini, Episode 2 (2022). Let's watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Rumi: Mba Tan, mba. Aku pulang sama kamu aja, ya? (Tan, can I go home with you?)

Tania: Lah? Itu kan ada Yuda. Ya elah, Yud. Lo masih mo ke mana lagi, lo? Masih mo kelayapan? (What? Yuda is here. Hey, come on, Yud. Are you still gonna wander about?)

Yuda: Engga. Pulang. Cape, mba. Tania. (No. Go home. I’m tired, Tania.)

In this scene, Rumi and Yuda are husband and wife. And they are at the moment in each other’s throats. That’s why Rumi asks Tania to go home with her. Tania doesn’t know they are fighting, so she assumes that Yuda will still wander about.

That’s why Tania says this to Yuda:

Lo masih mau ke mana lagi, lo? Masih mo kelayapan? (Where else do you still want to go? Are you still want to wander about?)

Let’s learn the vocabulary used in this clip.

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Mba] is an honorific title used to address a female who is older than you. In this case, Tania is older than Rumi, and that’s why Rumi addresses Tania with the word [mba]. For more about this, you can read my article: Mba Meaning In Bahasa.

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

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

[Mo] is informal for [mau] = want.

[Ya elah] is usually used when you belittle other people’s actions or words. In this scene, Yuda goes to do karaoke with his friends, but suddenly, the elevator in his office stops. And when Tania gets them out of the stuck elevator, Tania still thinks that Yuda still wants to go somewhere. Rumi is Yuda’s wife, and Rumi asks Tania to go home with her. In fact, there is Yuda over there, as Rumi’s husband. Isn’t it weird that Rumi asks Tania to go home with her when her husband is standing over there? That’s why Tania assumes badly of Yuda that he still wants to wander about by saying [ya elah] and then asking Yuda such a question.

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ABG or Abege in Indonesian

ABG, sometimes written as [abege], is an acronym for Anak Baru Gede, which literally means teenagers. When saying ABG or [abege], usually Indonesians add the word [anak] in front, so it becomes [anak abege] or [anak ABG].

It can mean the literal meaning of teenagers, but sometimes, when people refer to [abege], it has a negative connotation. The stereotype of [anak abege] is someone unstable in emotion, who can not think thoroughly when faced with difficult situations, and can not reason.

How to Pronounce ABG

Here is how you pronounce ABG in bahasa Indonesia.

Now, let’s watch examples from movies and whatnot where the word [abege] is spoken.

Example of ABG in Use

The first clip we are about to watch is from Di Bulan Suci Ini..., Season 1, Episode 1 (2023). Let’s watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Caroline: Wih, baju gua banyak yang laku nih. (Nice! I sold lots of clothes today.)

Santo: Baju mulu diurusin! Bantuin napa? Gini-gini, ini toko bakmi ini, yang biayain si Stef sampe sekolah. Udahlah! Berhenti banding-bandingin toko gua ama toko lu. (You only care about your clothes! Why don’t you give me a hand here? This noodle shop, in fact, is the one that paid for Stef’s tuition. Come on! Stop comparing my shop with your shop.)

Caroline: Siapa juga yang banding-bandingin? Aku kan cuma cerita kalo hari ini bajuku banyak yang laku. Kamu aja yang baperan kaya anak ABG. (Who’s comparing? I’m not comparing! I just said that today my clothes are selling a lot. You’re the one who easily gets emotional hearing that. You’re just like a teenager.)

Stefani: Aku ngga baperan padahal aku ABG. (I do not easily get emotional, even though I’m a teenager.)

Santo: Eh, eh, eh! Mo ngapain lu? (Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing?)

In this clip, Santo’s day is hectic because many people buy noodles from his noodle shop on that day. At that moment, his wife, Caroline, comes and says that her online shop is selling a lot of clothes that day. Hearing this, Santo suddenly becomes insecure and says that even though he is only selling noodles, his noodle shop pays their daughter’s school tuition fee. He feels like his wife is comparing his noodle shop with his online clothing shop.

Then Caroline, her wife, says the word ABG, and by saying that, she indirectly says that ABG is unstable and gets emotional easily, just like his husband at that moment.

Then, Stefani, out of nowhere, heard that and said that even though she is also a teenager, she does not easily get emotional or unstable.

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Wih] is a word used when someone is surprised because of something. In this context, Caroline was surprised because her online clothing shop sold a lot of clothing that day.

[Baju] = clothes.

[Gua] is informal for [saya] = I. For a detailed explanation, you can read my article here:

[Lu] is informal for [Anda] = you. For a detailed explanation, you can read my article here:

[Mulu] is short for [melulu]. It means again and again.

[Diurusin] is the informal way of saying [diurusi] = taken care of. It comes from the base word [urus] with added suffix and prefix, di-in.

[Bantuin] is used when you ask for help; the base word is [bantu] = help.

[Napa] is short for [kenapa] = why.

[Gini-gini] is usually used when you compare something with something. In this context, Santo compares his noodle shop to his wife’s online clothing shop.

[Bakmi] = noodle, one of the Indonesian dishes that looks like this.

[Aja] is short for [saja] = just.

[Baperan] is someone who easily gets emotional. For more about this, you can read my article: Baper in Indonesian.

[Sampe] is informal for [sampai] = until.

[Banding-bandingin] is the conversational way of saying [membanding-bandingkan] = to compare something with something.

[Mo ngapain lu?] is literally translated to English as [What are you going to do?].

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

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Sih in Bahasa Indonesia

[Sih] is a filler word and is considered a phatic expression. It doesn’t have any meaning. Its function in the sentence is to emphasize and bring emotions to the sentence.

Ivan Lanin explains [sih], [dong], and [deh] in the video below. For the whole video, you can watch it here. Ivan Lanin is an expert in the Indonesian language.

Here’s what he says in the video with English translations.

Ivan Lanin: Terus kemudian ada yang istilahnya fatis. Ini keren-kerenan aja. Ini sebenarnya gampang. Semua orang pasti pake setiap hari. Dong, deh, sih. Itu namanya kategori fatis. Itu kosakata yang ngga ada artinya. Sebenarnya ngga ada artinya, secara gramatikal, eh, secara leksikal, secara kamus itu ngga ada artinya. Tapi itu kita gunakan untuk menyampaikan pesan tertentu. Coba rasakan. Apa bedanya [eh], [ih], [oh], [uh], [ah]? Beda lho. Kamu gitu, ah! Kamu gitu, ih! Kamu gitu, oh! Beda-beda, kan? Ada yang normal, terasa. Ada yang engga. Nah, fatis itu sangat bermanfaat untuk menyampaikan emosi. Sangat bermanfaat! Itu akan membuat juga tulisan kita, tuturan kita terasa lebih luwes. (Then, there’s what is called phatic expression. This is just a fancy term. This is literally easy. Everybody uses these words in their daily conversation. Dong, deh, sih. These fall into the category of phatic expression. Those are words without meaning. Actually, it has no meaning in terms of lexical or dictionaries. But they are used to deliver specific messages. Can you feel the difference between [eh], [ih], [oh], [uh], and [ah]? They have different feelings. Kamu gitu, ah! Kamu gitu, ih! Kamu gitu, oh! These sentences have different feelings, right? Some feel normal. Some are not. A phatic expression is beneficial to deliver emotions. It is very helpful. It will make our writings and our spoken words feel more human.)

So, it’s kind of hard to explain [sih] in Indonesian. Moreover, I will give you many examples of how Indonesians use it in their daily lives, using scenes from movies so you can grasp the idea of how Indonesians use the word [sih]. The hardest part of this is how to use [sih] correctly.

Many foreigners understand the meaning of [sih] but are still confused about how to use [sih] correctly. To know how to use [sih] correctly, you need to watch many scenes and videos and see how Indonesian people use it.

Example Sentences Using Sih

Here, I give you three example sentences to better understand how to use [sih] in a sentence.

Let’s look at the first example sentence below.

1. Lagi pada ngapain sih?

Which translates into English as:

1. What are you guys doing?

As I said earlier, [sih] doesn’t have any meaning in this sentence, and you can actually omit the word [sih] in this sentence. If you omit the word [sih], the sentence will become,

1. Lagi pada ngapain?

The difference between the sentence with [sih] and the sentence without [sih] is that the sentence with [sih] gives more emphasis. The speaker really wants to know what the guys are doing. He was curious about what was happening, so he asked for the sentence and added the word [sih] in his sentence.

Now, let’s look at the second example sentence below.

2. Kok loe gitu sih?

Which translates into English as:

2. Why are you like this?

Again, you can omit the word [sih] in this sentence. Thus, the sentence will become:

2. Kok loe gitu?

The difference between the two sentences is that the sentence with [sih] has more emotion than the one without the word [sih]. It’s like the speaker really wants to know the answer to his or her question.

Lastly, let’s look at the third example sentence below.

3. Ada apa sih?

Which translates into English as:

3. What’s going on?

Again, in this sentence, you can also omit the word [sih], but if you omit the word [sih] and just say it like below:

3. Ada apa?

Then, the sentence doesn’t have emotion in it. The speaker does not really want to know what is happening. They are asking, but if they use [sih] in the sentence, they really want to know what is happening.

It’s hard to explain, but you will understand this once you watch many movies and analyze how Indonesian people use this word.

Next, let’s watch short clips where the word [sih] is spoken, and I will try to explain them to you as best I can.

Examples of Sih In Use

In this section, we will watch examples from movies and whatnot where the word [sih] is used by Indonesians to better understand how to use it in a conversation.

The first clip we are about to watch is from Tetangga Masa Gitu (2014-2017). Let’s watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Adi: Ah, eee.. Bastian, Bintang. (Oh, hey! Bastian, Bintang.)

Bintang: Mas Ruly. Haii! (Ruly. Hi!)

Ruly: Bintang, apa kabar? Astaga. (Bintang, how have you been? Oh my God.)

Bastian: Rudo! Ruly Ernando. Halo, mas. Apa kabar? (Rudo! Ruly Ernando. Hi. How have you been?)

Ruly: Baik. Sori lho ya ganggu malem-malem. Ngga ada maksud apa-apa. (I’ve been good. I’m sorry if I’m bothering you this late evening. I have no intention to bother.)

Bastian: Oh, ngga papa, mas. Kit.. Toh kita udah kebal diganggu pagi siang malem ama.. Hmm.. ini! (It’s okay. We are used to being disturbed at night by him!)

Ruly: Keliatan kok! (Yeah, I can see that.)

Bastian: He’eh. (Yup.)

Adi: Emang dia pernah ke sini? (Has he been here before?)

Bastian: Oh, iya, lah. (Yes, he has.)

Bintang: Iya, dong! Kan waktu itu pas mas Ruly beli rumah kita yang di Pondok Indah tanda tangan surat-suratnya di sini. (Yes, of course. When he bought our house in Pondok Indah, he signed all the documents here.)

Bastian: He’eh. (Yup.)

Adi: Aneh ngga, sih? (Isn’t it weird?)

Ruly: Engga. (Nope.)

Adi: Aneh, deh. Kayanya menurut saya aneh banget. Soalnya ya kok bisa kebetulan dia ini mantan pacarnya Angel dan kebetulan dia juga pernah ke sini, ke rumah kalian dan kebetulan juga dia pernah beli rumah kalian yang di Pondok Indah. (This is weird. I think this is really weird. The problem is, how come he happened to be Angel’s ex-boyfriend, and he also happened to be here, at your house, and he also happened to have bought your house in Pondok Indah?)

In the scene above, Ruly comes to Adi’s house. Ruly is Angel’s ex-boyfriend, and Adi is Angel’s husband. Bastian and Bintang are Adi’s neighbors. They are husband and wife. When Adi and Ruly are fighting, Bastian and Bintang come.

Adi didn’t know that Bastian and Bintang knew Rully; when Bintang explained, Adi found it weird. As you can see, Adi was asking for some kind of, like, agreement from the other person when he said, [Aneh ngga sih?], and then when the person he was talking to answered it with [Engga], Adi then explained why he thought that this was weird.

Here, Adi wants an agreement or some kind of reply from the person he talked to. So, if you omit the word [sih], the emotion is gone.

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Apa kabar?] is a phrase you use when you meet someone. [Apa kabar?] = How are you? How have you been?

[Astaga] is a word you use when you are surprised by something. Here, Ruly is surprised that he meets Bastian and Bintang.

[Baik] = fine, good.

[Ganggu] = bother, disturb.

[Ganggu malem-malem] is a phrase that is spoken by Ruly because at that time, he came to the house late in the evening, and he just wanted to be polite, saying [ganggu malem-malem].

[Malem-malem] = this evening.

[Malam] = [malem] = evening.

[Keliatan] = [kelihatan] = [terlihat] = can be seen.

[He’eh] means yes. For more about this, you can read my article: He’eh Meaning In Bahasa.

[Emang] is short for [memang] = of course. If [emang] is put in the front of a sentence, it is usually used to ask something like in this example. [Emang dia pernah ke sini?] = [Memang dia pernah ke sini?] = [Apakah dia pernah ke sini?]

[Lah] and [dong] after the word [iya] have the same function, that is, to emphasize the word [iya].

[Deh] after the word [aneh] has no meaning. It just emphasizes the word [aneh]. By saying [deh] after the word [aneh], Adi wants to emphasize that it is really weird.

[Engga] = [ga] = [ngga] = no.

[Pacar] = girlfriend or boyfriend.

[Pondok Indah] is the name of an area in Jakarta.

[Beli] = buy.

[Rumah] = house.

The second clip we are about to watch is from a TV show called The East (2015-2019). Let's watch it below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Baby: Ini butuh berapa lama lagi ya, Bonita? (How much longer is this, Bonita?)

Clarissa: Fotokopi aja lama banget sih, Bon? (Why are you taking so long just to make a copy?)

Bonita: Udah, udah, ini udah. Udah bisa pake. (It’s done. I’m done. You can use it now.)

In this scene, Baby and Clarissa are waiting to make a photocopy of something. At that moment, Bonita is still using the photocopying machine. Baby and Clarissa seem not patient enough to wait, and then they ask Bonita how long she will use the photocopying machine.

In the clip, Clarissa says this:

Fotokopi aja lama banget sih, Bon?

[Sih] in the sentence here, adding the emotion and showing that Clarissa is impatient to wait for Bonita to finish what she is doing with the photocopying machine.

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Ini] = this.

[Butuh] = need.

[Berapa lama lagi ya?] = How much longer is this?

[Berapa lama lagi ya?] is usually used when you are waiting for someone, and then you want to know how long you will have to wait.

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

The third clip we are about to watch is still from the same movie, The East (2015-2019). Let's watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Bima: Jadi gini, Gis. Buat Tonight Show nanti, aku itu mau ngadain Tonight Updates. (So, here’s the thing. For The Tonight Show, I want to do the Tonight Updates.)

Gista: Oke. (Okay.)

Bima: Nah! Aku itu butuh banget berita terbaru dari artis-artis di Jakarta ini. Nah, yang bisa didapetin sama Entertainment News tapi ngga bisa didapetin dari internet. Aku butuh itu. (So, I need the latest news from artists in Jakarta that I can get from Entertainment News, but people can’t get it from the internet. I need that kind of news!)

Gista: Gue mau bantu loe sih, ya tapi ngga bisa sekarang nih. Orang gue mau live. (I want to help you, but I can’t do it right now because I’m going live in just a moment.)

In this scene, Bima asks Gista to help him find something. Gista replies that she wants to help, but because she has something to do now, she can’t help Bima.

She says this:

Gue mau bantu loe sih.

The word [sih] emphasizes that Gista really wants to help Bima, but not now, because she has something to do.

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Jadi gini] is usually used when you want to start saying something. It’s kind of like [here’s the thing] in English.

[Buat] = [untuk] = for.

[Nanti] = later.

[Aku] is informal for [saya] = I. For a more detailed explanation, you can read my article here:

[Ngadain] is the conversational way of saying [mengadakan] = to conduct something.

[Banget] = [sekali] = very. We usually use [banget] instead of [sekali] in daily conversation.

[Terbaru] = latest.

[Didapetin] is the conversational way of saying [didapatkan] = obtained.

[Gue] is informal for [saya] = I. For a more detailed explanation, you can read my article here:

[Loe] is informal for [Anda] = you. For a more detailed explanation, you can read my article here:

[Orang] = people, but in this sentence, [orang gue mau live], it has a different meaning. [Orang], in this context, means [because actually]. [Orang gue mau live] can be changed into [karena sebenarnya saya mau live] = because I actually want to do the live session.

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Good Morning In Bahasa Indonesia

Good morning in Bahasa Indonesia is [selamat pagi]. [Selamat pagi] is usually spoken between 5:30 AM and 10 AM. You can say it in the whole phrase [selamat pagi], or you can just say it [pagi].

If we translate this phrase word for word, [selamat] means to congratulate or be safe, and [pagi] means morning. So, [selamat pagi], if translated word for word, means safe morning or to congratulate the morning. It’s kind of weird and doesn’t make any sense, actually, if translated word for word, but nice to know.

How to Pronounce Selamat Pagi

Below is how you pronounce [selamat pagi] in bahasa Indonesia.

You can also say it [pagi], and below is how you pronounce it.

Moving on, we will watch examples where Indonesians say good morning in bahasa Indonesia.

Examples of Selamat Pagi In Use

The first example is from a movie called Mimpi Metropolitan (2018). Let’s watch the clip below.

Here’s what he says in the clip above:

Alan: Selamat pagi, kakak cantik. Kakak, kalau kuperhatikan ya, betul-betul cantik lho kak. (Good morning, pretty sister. Sis, if I look closely at you, you are truly pretty.)

He says [selamat pagi] instead of just [pagi].

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Kakak] is an honorific title to address older sisters or older brothers, but on Sumatra island, [kakak] is used to address only the older sisters and not the older brothers. For more about this, you can read my article here: Kakak In Indonesian.

[Kak] is short for [kakak].

[Kuperhatikan] = [aku perhatikan] = I look closely at you.

[Perhatikan] means to look closely at something.

[Cantik] means pretty.

[Kalau] = if.

[Betul-betul] = truly.

[Lho] here is to emphasize. He is emphasizing that she is really pretty. For more about this, you can read my article here: Lho In Indonesian.

The second example is still from the same movie, Mimpi Metropolitan (2018). Let’s watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Melani: Pagi, mas Alexi. (Morning, Mr. Alexi.)

Alexi: Oh, pagi. Menjelang siang sih tepatnya. (Morning. It’s almost noon, to be exact.)

In this clip, Melani and Alexi say [pagi] instead of [selamat pagi]. So, you can choose to say it [pagi] or [selamat pagi].

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Mas] is an honorific title to address older brothers in Java Island. For more about this, you can read my article here: Mas In Indonesian.

[Menjelang] = [me+jelang] = near the turn of something. Here, [menjelang siang] means the morning is near to turning into the afternoon.

[Siang] = afternoon.

[Tepatnya] = to be exact.

The third example is from a movie called Strawberry Surprise (2014). Let’s watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Guard: Pagi, mas. (Morning, sir.)

Timur: Pagi, mas. (Morning, sir.)

Guard: Masnya ini nunggu siapa ya? (Excuse me, who are you waiting for?)

Timur: Ee, saya nunggu galerinya buka. (I’m waiting for this gallery to open.)

Guard: Galerinya itu bukanya jam 8, mas. (This gallery opens at 8 AM, sir.)

In the clip, they both say [pagi] instead of [selamat pagi].

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Nunggu] is the colloquial form of the word [menunggu] = to wait. In conversational Indonesian, you will hear Indonesian people drop words and syllables here and there, like in this scene.

[Siapa] = who.

[Saya] = I.

[Buka] = open.

The fourth example is from a movie called Dilan 1990 (2018). Let’s watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Dilan: Selamat pagi. (Good morning.)

Milea: Pagi. (Morning.)

Dilan: Kamu Milea, ya? (You are Milea, aren’t you?)

Milea: Iya. (Yes.)

Dilan: Boleh aku ramal? (May I predict the future for you?)

Milea: Ramal? (Predict the future?)

Dilan: Iya. Aku ramal nanti siang kita akan bertemu di kantin. Mau ikut? (Yes. I predict that we will meet this afternoon in the cafeteria. Do you want to ride with me?)

Milea: Ngga, makasih. (No, thank you.)

Dilan: Tapi suatu hari nanti kamu pasti akan naik motorku. Percayalah. Duluan ya. (But one day I bet you will ride my bike. Believe me. I’m taking a leave now.)

In the clip above, Dilan says [selamat pagi] while Milea replied with just [pagi].

The fifth example is from a movie called Susah Sinyal (2017). Let’s watch the clip below.

In the clip above, she says [pagi] instead of the full phrase [selamat pagi] to her grandma. [Oma] means grandma.

The sixth example is from a movie called Devil On Top (2021). Let’s watch the clip below.

In the clip above, he says [pagi] to his boss, Sarah.

The seventh example is also from Devil On Top (2021). Let’s watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Angga: Selamat pagi. (Good morning.)

Sarah: Selamat pagi, Angga. Kamu hampir telat. Tepatnya 1 menit 25 detik. (Good morning, Angga. You are almost late—1 minute and 25 seconds, to be exact.)

In the clip above, both Sarah and Angga say [selamat pagi] instead of just [pagi]. So, from the examples that I gave you, you can see that some Indonesians say [selamat pagi], and some Indonesians just say [pagi].

So, you can choose whether to say it in a full phrase [selamat pagi] or just say [pagi]. It’s up to you.

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Good Evening In Bahasa Indonesia

Good evening in Bahasa Indonesia is [selamat malam]. [Selamat malam] is spoken at night. In English, there are good evenings and good nights. In bahasa Indonesia, there is only one, that is [selamat malam].

[Selamat] can mean safe or congratulations. And [malam] means night. And if we translate word for word, it can mean a safe night or to congratulate the night. It sounds weird, but that’s if you translate it word for word.

How to Pronounce Selamat Malam

Here is how you pronounce [selamat malam] in bahasa Indonesia.

You can also just say [malam], and here is how you pronounce it.

Next, let's look at examples, mostly from movies, of how Indonesians say those, [selamat malam] and [malam].

Examples of Selamat Malam In Use

The first example we are about to watch is from a TV Series called Tetangga Masa Gitu (2014). Let’s watch the clip below.

As you can see, he says, “Selamat malam” in the clip above.

The second example is from a TV Series called Mimpi Metropolitan (2018). Let’s watch the clip.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Bambang: Mba Melanie. Malam, mba Melanie. (Melanie. Evening, Melanie.)

Melanie: Malam, Bang. Belum tidur? (Evening, Bang. Haven’t slept yet?)

Bambang: Belum, mba. (No, not yet.)

In the clip above, Bambang and Melanie say the word [malam] instead of [selamat malam].

So, you can choose whether to say in the full phrase [selamat malam] or just [malam]. If the situation is formal, you'd better say it in full sentences [selamat malam].

The third example is from Ini Talk Show, a popular TV program in Indonesia. Let’s watch the clip below.

Here is what he says in the clip above:

Andre: Ya! Selamat malam, pemirsa. Di mana pun Anda berada. (Well, good evening, everyone. Wherever you are.)

As you can see, he says, “Selamat malam.”

The fourth example is from a movie called Sin (2019). Let’s watch the clip below.

Here is what he says in the clip above:

Selamat malam, nona. Bisa bicara sebentar kah? (Good evening, miss. Can I talk to you for a moment?)

So, he says [selamat malam] instead of just [malam].

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Selamat Sore In Bahasa Indonesia

[Selamat sore] is spoken between good afternoon and good evening. The time frame of this [selamat sore] is between 3 PM and 6 PM.

[Selamat sore] is used in a formal setting, and in daily conversation, we usually drop the word [selamat] and just say [sore] instead.

How to Pronounce Selamat Sore

Here is how you pronounce [selamat sore] in bahasa Indonesia.

And here is how you pronounce [sore].

Let’s see examples where the phrase [selamat sore] or [sore] is spoken by Indonesians.

Example of Selamat Sore In Use

The first example we are about to watch is taken from Najwa Shihab’s YouTube channel. Let’s watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Mumtaz: Selamat siang, pak Anies. (Good afternoon, Mr. Anies.)

Najwa: Selamat sore. (It’s late afternoon.)

Mumtaz: Ee, selamat sore. Perkenalkan. Perkenalkan, nama saya Mumtaz dari Fakultas Ekonomika dan Bisnis. Jurusan Manajemen. (Good late afternoon. Let me introduce myself. My name is Mumtaz from the Faculty of Economics and Business—majoring in Management.)

At first, Mumtaz said [selamat siang], and then Najwa corrected him, saying [selamat sore]. That’s why he then says [selamat sore] to correct his incorrect greetings.

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Pak] is an honorific title to address a male person. It’s like mister in English. For more about this, you can read my article: Pak Meaning In Indonesian.

[Perkenalkan] is a word you use when you want to introduce yourself. It is usually followed by saying your name and where you are from.

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Thank You In Indonesian

Thank you in bahasa Indonesia is:

Terima kasih.

And here is how you pronounce [terima kasih].

And you will also hear Indonesian people say this:

Makasih.

And here is how you pronounce [makasih].

[Makasih] is a common reduction for [terima kasih]. The difference between [makasih] and [terima kasih] is that [terima kasih] is more formal than [makasih]. [Makasih] is usually used in daily conversations.

Sometimes, you will hear them add [ya] to the phrase [terima kasih]. So, it is:

Terima kasih ya.

[Ya], in this case, doesn’t have any meaning. It’s just a filler word. And here is how you pronounce [terima kasih ya].

And sometimes, you will also hear Indonesians say this:

Terima kasih lho.

[Lho] in here also has no meaning. It’s just a filler word. Here is how you pronounce [terima kasih lho].

You can also add [ya] to [makasih], and it’s common, and you will hear Indonesian people saying this a lot.

Makasih ya.

And here is how you pronounce [makasih ya].

Also, you will hear Indonesians say [makasih lho].

Makasih lho.

And here is how you pronounce [makasih lho].

And, if you want to say [thank you very much], you can say this:

Terima kasih banyak.

And here is how you pronounce [terima kasih banyak].

[Banyak] means a lot. Next, we will watch examples from movies where these phrases are spoken by the Indonesian people.

Examples of Terima Kasih In Use

The first example we are about to watch is taken from a TV series called Mimpi Metropolitan (2019). In this clip, the phrase [makasih ya] is used.

Let’s watch the scene below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Pelayan: Kopi, kopi, teh. (Coffee, coffee, tea.)

Bambang: Hm, mas mas. Saya mau kopi. Hee, masnya malah bengong. Ngga usah grogi di depan saya. Santai aja. Sini. (Hei! I want a cup of coffee, please. Hey, don’t be dumbfounded like that. Don’t be nervous with me. Just relax. Bring the coffee here.)

Pelayan: Iya, iya, iya. (Okay.)

Bambang: Gitu. Makasih ya. (That’s my boy. Thank you.)

Pelayan: Oke, sama-sama. (You’re welcome.)

The situation in this scene is between Bambang and a waiter. This waiter is serving coffee and tea and offering tea and coffee to the people in that location.

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Kopi] = coffee.

[Teh] = tea.

[Mas] is an honorific title to address older men in Indonesia or strangers on the street. For more about this, you can read my article: Mas Meaning In Bahasa.

[Mau] = want.

[Bengong] = dumbfounded.

[Grogi] = nervous.

The second example is still from the same movie, Mimpi Metropolitan (2019). In this scene, the phrase [makasih ya] is used.

Let’s watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Woman: Eh, iya nih. Makan nih. (Hey, I got this for you. You can eat this.)

Bambang: Buat saya mba? (This is for me?)

Woman: Iya, buat loe. Oh iya, jangan lupa ya dialognya. Yang tawuran itu, yang naskah. (Yes, that is for you. Don’t forget about the dialogue, the script about the fighting scene from the script.)

Bambang: Siap! (Okay.)

Woman: Awas lho! Udah, gue pergi dulu ya? (Please, do not forget! Okay, I got to go now.)

Bambang: Makasih ya, mba. (Thank you.)

Woman: Iya, sama-sama. (You’re welcome.)

In this clip, a woman gives [nasi kotak] to Bambang. [Nasi kotak] is food in a box. Here is what [nasi kotak] looks like.

[Nasi kotak] is very common in Indonesia. And then Bambang is saying thank you to the woman who gave him [nasi kotak] using the phrase [makasih ya].

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Eh, iya nih] is a phrase used when you want to start talking about something and to attract the attention of the person you are talking to.

[Makan] = eat.

[Makan nih] is used when you offer someone food, like in this scene. The woman gives Bambang food to eat.

[Buat saya?] comes from the full sentence [ini buat saya?], which is usually said when you want to make sure that something is really for you.

[Oh iya] is used when you suddenly remember something to say.

[Loe] is informal for [Anda] = you. For a more detailed explanation of this, you can read my article here:

[Jangan lupa] = don’t forget. [Jangan lupa] is usually used to remind people about something and to warn them not to forget about something important.

[Siap], in literal meaning, means [ready], but [siap] is usually used when someone orders you to do something, and you are willing to do it. In this scene, the woman orders him not to forget about the dialogue, and he says yes.

[Tawuran] is when you fight not one by one but as a group, or many people fighting altogether.

[Awas lho!] is used when you threaten someone.

[Pergi] = to leave a place.

[Gue] is informal for [saya] = I. For a more detailed explanation of this, you can read my article here:

The third example is taken from a movie called Strawberry Surprise (2014). In this clip, the phrase [makasih lho] is used.

Let’s watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Man 1: Mas, ngopi dulu, mas. (Here is coffee for you.)

Man 2: Makasih lho, mas. (Thank you.)

Man 1: Silakan duduk. (Please, have a seat.)

Man 2: Iya. (Okay.)

Let’s learn the vocabulary used in this scene.

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Ngopi] is the colloquial way of saying [minum kopi]. It means drinking coffee.

[Ngopi dulu] is usually used to offer someone coffee, like in the scene. If you say [ngopi dulu yuk?] to your friends, it means that you are asking your friends to drink coffee with you.

[Silakan duduk] is a phrase used when you ask someone to sit down.

The fourth example is still from the same movie, Strawberry Surprise (2014). In this scene, the phrases [makasih lho] and [terima kasih banyak] are used.

Let’s watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Guard: Maaf, mas itu mau lihat galeri atau mau apa? (Sorry, do you want to see the gallery or else?)

Timur: Oh, sebenarnya saya mau ketemu sama mba Aggi. (Actually, I want to meet mba Aggi.)

Guard: Oh, mba Aggi ya? (Oh, you want to meet mba Aggi?)

Timur: He’eh. (Yes.)

Guard: Sebentar, mas. Tak buka’e dulu. Sik, sik, sik. (Wait a minute. I will open this for you. Just a sec.)

Timur: Wah, makasih lho, mas. Terima kasih banyak. (Thank you. Thank you very much.)

Guard: Maaf lho, mas. (Please come in.)

In this clip, the guard uses a mix of Indonesian and Javanese languages.

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Maaf] is usually used as a polite way before asking something to a person.

[Mau apa?] is used when you ask what someone wants or wants to do.

[Sebenarnya] If translated literally, the truth is.

[Mba] is an honorific title to address women. For more about this, you can read my article: Mba In the Indonesian Language.

[Sik, sik, sik] comes from the Javanese language. [Sik] in this context has the same meaning as [sebentar]. It means to wait for a second.

[Maaf lho, mas] literally means [I’m sorry, sir], but in this scene, this phrase is used just to be polite. That’s why I translated the phrase into [please come in].

The fifth example is taken from a serial called Wedding Agreement, Season 1, Episode 1 (2022). Let's watch the clip below.

In this scene, [terima kasih] is used. [Terima kasih] is the most formal form of all.

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As always, we will watch examples from movies where Indonesians reply to someone who says [terima kasih] to them.

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How to Reply If Someone Says Terima Kasih to You

If someone says, “Terima kasih” to you, you can reply by saying:

Sama-sama.

And here is how you pronounce [sama-sama].

If the person says, “Makasih ya,” you can reply by adding the word [iya] before [sama-sama]. Here it is:

Iya. Sama-sama.

And here is how you pronounce [Iya. Sama-sama].

You can also reply by saying:

Terima kasih kembali.

And here is how you pronounce [terima kasih kembali].

You can also reply by saying:

Kembali kasih.

But native Indonesian speakers rarely reply with this, so if they hear you reply with this, they will be impressed and maybe ask you questions such as, “Who taught you this?”

And here is how you pronounce [kembali kasih].

In literal meaning, [terima] means to accept, and [kasih] means love. So, [terima kasih] in literal meaning means you accept the love, so when you reply with [kembali kasih], [kembali] means to return, and [kasih] means love. [Kembali kasih] literally means that you return the love to the person who first gave it to you.

Examples of How Indonesians reply to Terima Kasih

In this section, you will watch examples, mostly from movies, where Indonesian people are replying to the phrase [terima kasih] said to them.

The first example we are about to watch is taken from a TV serial called Mimpi Metropolitan, Episode 1 (2019). Let’s watch the clip below.

For the conversation from the above scene with English translations and vocabulary explanations, you can read my article here:

You can see that the woman says this:

Iya, sama-sama.

That’s because Bambang says, “Makasih ya,” with the added word [ya] at the end of the word [makasih]. So, the woman first replies with [iya], then says [sama-sama].

The second example we are about to watch is still from the same movie, Mimpi Metropolitan, Episode 1 (2019). Let's watch the clip below.

In this clip, Bambang also says [makasih ya], and the waiter first responds with the word [oke], followed by [sama-sama].

The waiter says this:

Oke, sama-sama.

[Oke] comes from the English word [okay]. Again, it’s just showing that the waiter is receiving that you thank him.

The third example is from a TV series called Tetangga Masa Gitu, Episode 1 (2014). Let's watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Adi: Tuh, siapa tuh? (Who is that?)

Bintang: Hai. (Hi.)

Adi: Huh, males! (Huh, I don’t like this!)

Bintang: Ini tadi aku bikin puding buah, buat mba Angel dan mas Adi. Mari dicoba. (I made fruit pudding for you, Angel, and Adi. Please try it.)

Angel: Tuh! Makasih ya. (See? Thank you.)

Bintang: Iya. Sama-sama. (You’re welcome.)

Angel: Masukin kulkas dulu ya. (I’ll put this in the refrigerator first.)

Bintang: Iya. (Okay.)

In this clip, Angel says:

Makasih ya.

And then Bintang replies by saying [iya] first, and then followed by [sama-sama].

Iya. Sama-sama.

So, if someone says [makasih] or [terima kasih] with the added word [ya] at the end, then it is better if you first reply with [iya] and then follow with [sama-sama].

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Siapa] = who.

[Tuh] is usually used to point at something or when you want to show something to your friends. [Tuh] = [itu] = that. For more about this, you can read my article: Itu, Tu, and Tuh in Indonesian.

[Males] in this context is said by Adi, which means that when he knows who comes to his house, he doesn’t feel comfortable because he doesn’t like his new neighbor. For more about this, you can read my article: Males Meaning In Bahasa.

[Tadi] = just now.

[Bikin] is the colloquial way of saying [membuat] = to make something.

[Buat] = [untuk] = for.

[Mari dicoba] = [silakan dicoba] = please try it.

[Masukin] is the colloquial way of saying [masukkan] = to put something in.

[Kulkas] = fridge.

The fourth example is from a TV serial called Suami-suami Masa Kini, Episode 2 (2022). Let’s watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Tania: Bye. (Bye.)

Everyone: Bye. (Bye.)

Tania: Ndri, Rumi. Makasih ya. (Ndri, Rumi. Thank you.)

Rumi: Iya, mba. Sama-sama. (Yeah. You’re welcome.)

Tania: Ti-ati. (You take care.)

Ical: Dah semua. Bye. (Bye, you all. Bye.)

Indri: Yok. (Let’s go.)

Tobi: Bye, guys. See ya. (Bye, guys. See ya.)

In this clip, Tania says [makasih] followed by the word [ya], and then, as you can see, Rumi first replies with [iya], and then she says [sama-sama].

Vocabulary From the Clip

[Mba] is an honorific title used to address a female older than you. In this scene, Tania is older than Rumi, and that’s why Rumi uses [mba] when addressing Tania. For more about this, you can read my article: Mba Meaning In Bahasa.

[Ti-ati] is a common reduction for [hati-hati]. You say this phrase when you say goodbye to your friends. [Hati-hati] here means take care.

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