Gue In Indonesian

An Informal Indonesian Word

Halo semuanya. Apa kabar? Ketemu lagi sama saya, Iman Prabawa. Today, we’re going to talk about what [gue] means in Indonesian. As always, I’ll show you some examples from movies, YouTube videos, comics, and other real-life situations where Indonesians use this word.

Okay guys, now let’s talk about [gue].

Gue, Gw, Gua, Gwe In Indonesian

So, [gue] is an informal way to say [saya], which means [I].

But here’s the interesting part — there are many ways to write it. You might see it written as [gue], [gua], [gwe], [gw], or even just [g].

Don’t worry — they all mean the same thing. It just depends on how people like to type it.

Now, where do people usually use [gue]?

Mostly in Jakarta and nearby cities like Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi.

And usually, [gue] comes as a pair with [loe] or [lu], which means [you]. So, you may hear something like:

Gue udah bilang ama loe! (I’ve told you!)

If you’re in Jakarta, it sounds totally normal.

But if you’re in other cities — for example, Jogjakarta — don’t use [gue]. People there usually say [aku] instead. It sounds more natural in that area.

Now, when can you use [gue]?

You can use it with close friends or people your age.

But be careful — don’t use [gue] when talking to your boss, your parents, your teachers, or someone older than you… unless you’re really close and they’re okay with it. Otherwise, it might sound disrespectful.

Alright, now let’s look at an example.

We’re about to watch a clip taken from a movie called Devil On Top (2021).

In this scene, there’s a conversation between a woman and a man. The woman is the boss, and the man is her employee.

Let’s see how they use [gue] in this situation.

Here is the conversation from the clip with English translations.

Sarah: Istirahat dulu, yuk? (Wanna take a break for a bit?)

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

Sarah: Kita ngapain sekarang? (So, what should we do now?)

Angga: Hmm, saya ada permainan sih, mba. (Hmm… I actually have a game, ma’am.)

Sarah: Sarah. Kan ini di luar jam kantor. (Just call me Sarah. We’re off the clock.)

Angga: Iya. Sarah, gue ada permainan. “Gue—loe“ aman kan, ya? (Right, Sarah, I’ve got a game. Is it okay if I use “gue—loe” when I talk to you?)

Sarah: He’eh. (Yeah, that’s fine.)

Angga: Oke. (Alright then.)

In this scene, as you can see, Angga starts off using formal language. He says [saya] instead of [gue], and he calls his boss [mba] as an honorific title.

Then his boss tells him to just call her Sarah, without using [mba], because they’re outside office hours.

After that, Angga asks if it’s okay for him to use [gue-loe] instead of the more formal [saya-kamu], and Sarah says she’s fine with it.

So as you can see, it’s not common to use [gue-loe] in the office or in formal situations. But if you’re close enough to the person, and that’s how you usually talk to each other, then it can be okay.

And just like Angga, you can always ask first whether it’s okay to use [gue-loe] with them. That way, you’re being respectful while still keeping things casual.

How to Pronounce Gue

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

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

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

Examples of Gue In Use

In this section, I’ll show you examples where [gue] and its writing variations are used by Indonesians.

The first example is from a movie called Ada Apa Dengan Cinta 1 (2002). Let’s look at the clip below