Mas In Indonesian
An Indonesian Honorific Title
Halo semuanya. Ketemu lagi sama saya, Iman Prabawa. In this article, I want to talk to you about the word [mas] in bahasa Indonesia. You will hear this word a lot if you are in Indonesia, especially in Java Island.
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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:
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.
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.
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.