Oleh-Oleh In Indonesian

An Indonesian Phrase

Halo semuanya, ketemu lagi sama saya, Iman Prabawa. In this article, I want to talk to you about the meaning of the phrase [oleh-oleh] in bahasa Indonesia. We are also going to be watching examples from movies, YouTube videos, and others, where Indonesians use the phrase, so you know how to use this phrase in the right context.

So, without further ado, let’s talk about it.

Oleh-Oleh Meaning In Indonesian

[Oleh-oleh] refers to something that you bought or brought from a trip as a token or reminder of a place visited, which is often given to friends or family. In English, [oleh-oleh] translates as souvenir or gift.

But don’t confuse the meaning of the phrase [oleh-oleh] with the meaning of the word [oleh] because they have different meanings.

How to Pronounce Oleh-Oleh In Indonesia

Here is how you pronounce [oleh-oleh] in bahasa Indonesia.

Next, let’s look at examples where the phrase [oleh-oleh] is used by Indonesians.

Examples of Oleh-Oleh In Use

The first example we are about to watch is from Gadis Kretek, Episode 3, 2023. You can watch this on Netflix.

Let’s watch the clip below.

Conversation from the clip with English translations.

Seno: Aku ada oleh-oleh untukmu. Kemaren sempet mampir ke Solo, batiknya bagus-bagus. Pasti cantik kalo kamu yang pakai. (I’ve actually brought you a gift. Yesterday, I stopped by Solo, and they have good Batiks there. It sure is beautiful if you are the one who wears this.)

Dasiyah: Saya ngga bisa menerimanya, mas. (I can’t accept your gift, Seno.)

Seno: Kenapa? (Why is that?)

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In this clip, Seno stops by Dasiyah’s house. He brought a gift for Dasiyah. This gift, which is in Bahasa Indonesia, is called [oleh-oleh].

Seno says this in the clip:

Aku ada oleh-oleh untukmu.

Which in English would be translated as:

I brought you a gift.

Vocabulary From the Clip

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

[Ada] means to exist. For more about this, you can read my article here: Ada In Indonesian.

[Untukmu] is short for [untuk kamu] = for you.

[Kemaren] is the colloquial way of saying [kemarin] = yesterday.

[Sempet] is the conversational way of saying [sempat] = had the chance. [Sempet mampir ke Solo] = had the chance to visit Solo/stopped by Solo.

[Bagus] = good.

[Solo] is the name of a city in Central Java.

[Cantik] = beautiful.

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

[Ngga] is informal for [tidak] = no.

[Mas] is an honorific title to address someone (male) older than you. For more about this, you can read my article here: Mas In Indonesian.

[Kenapa] = why.

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.