Assuming you’re on the verge of leveling up in your Indonesian studies, it’s time that you step up and learn some of the most useful intermediate Indonesian words. But before we dive in, some context: 

Many language experts consider Indonesian to be the easiest spoken language for English speakers to learn. It’s a simplified language, and learning it is more fun than it is a chore.

La coca-cola is feminine in Spanish.

Le café is masculine in French.

Das Bier is neuter in German.

But in Indonesian, it’s all the same.

So whether you’re ordering a coca-cola, kopi, or a bira, it all falls under the same blanket.

Surprised? 

You might be even more surprised to learn that there is no plural in Indonesian. For example, one woman is satu wanita and two women are dua wanita. As you can see, the word wanita (“woman”) does not change regardless of whether we’re talking about a single woman or multiple women. 

Moreover, there is no conjugation in Indonesian. This means the verb stays constant, and only the pronouns preceding it change to indicate person and number. 

That’s Indonesian for you. Extremely simple rules and no new script to learn (like there would be if you were learning almost any other Asian language). In other words, you won’t have to spend months learning new characters or sounds.

All of these reasons and more make starting out with Indonesian very easy. This means that you’ll be ready to move into the intermediate phase much faster than you would when learning most other languages.

But just like with any other language, vocabulary is paramount for getting from one level to another. 

That’s where this article comes in.

We’ve compiled the most important intermediate Indonesian words in different categories, covering everything from nouns and verbs to conjunctions, auxiliary verbs, and particles. In addition, we’ve included parallel English translations for each word.

Without further ado, let’s get right into it.

Table of Contents

1. Large Numbers
2. Nouns
3. Verbs
4. Adjectives
5. Adverbs
6. Prepositions
7. Conjunctions
8. Auxiliary Verbs and Particles
9. Conclusion

1. Large Numbers

English Translation	Indonesian	Number
Ten	Sepuluh	10
Eleven	Sebelas	11
Twelve	Duabelas	12
Thirteen	Tigabelas	13
Fourteen	Empat belas	14
Fifteen	Limabelas	15
Sixteen	Enambelas	16
Seventeen	Tujuh belas	17
Eighteen	Delapan belas	18
Nineteen	Sembilan belas	19
Twenty	Dua puluh	20
Thirty	Tigapuluh	30
Forty	Empat puluh	40
Fifty	Lima puluh	50
Sixty	Enam puluh	60
Seventy	Tujuh puluh	70
Eighty	Delapan puluh	80
Ninety	Sembilan puluh	90
A hundred	Seratus	100
A thousand	Seribu	1,000
Ten thousand	Sepuluh ribu	10,000
A hundred thousand	Seratus ribu	100,000
A million	Satu juta	1,000,000

2. Nouns

Because nouns make up such a huge chunk of any language, picking up more nouns should be a priority for language learners at any level. To get you started, we’ve listed for you the most practical intermediate Indonesian nouns in a variety of categories. You can begin practicing these words right away to immediately open up new conversation opportunities! 

Time 

English Translation	Indonesian
Century	Abad
Morning	Pagi
Evening	Malam
Quarter	Perempat
Semester	Semester

Places 

English Translation	Indonesian
Region	Wilayah
Department	Departemen
Village	Desa
Park	Taman
Bank	Bank
Pharmacy	Farmasi
Hospital	Rumah Sakit
Bakery	Toko roti
Cliff	Jurang
Beach	Pantai
Island	Pulau
Hill	Bukit

Technology 

English Translation	Indonesian
Screen	Layar
Keyboard	Papan ketik
Mouse	Mouse
Tablet	Tablet
TV	Televisi
Console	Konsol
Charger	Pengisi daya
Website	Situs web
Account	Akun
Password	Kata sandi
File	Berkas
Folder	Map
Software	Perangkat lunak
Technology	Teknologi

Home

English Translation	Indonesian
Room	Kamar
Floor	Lantai
Living room	Ruang keluarga
Bathroom	Kamar mandi
Fridge	Lemari es
Wardrobe	Lemari pakaian

City & Transportation

English Translation	Indonesian
Suburbs	Pinggiran kota
Neighborhood	Lingkungan
Highway	Jalan raya
Alley	Gang
Roundabout	Bundaran
Crossroad	Persimpangan jalan

People 

English Translation	Indonesian
Uncle	Paman
Aunt	Bibi
Grandson	Cucu laki-laki
Granddaughter	Cucu perempuan
Child	Anak
Grandfather	Kakek
Grandmother	Nenek

Body Parts 

English Translation	Indonesian
Finger	Jari
Back	Punggung
Belly	Perut
Breast	Payudara
Shoulder	Bahu
Leg	Kaki
Thigh	Paha
Butt	Pantat
Foot	Kaki
Cheek	Pipi
Chin	Dagu
Forehead	Dahi

Food

English Translation	Indonesian
Knife	Pisau
Fork	Garpu
Spoon	Sendok
Wine	Anggur
Dish	Hidangan
Appetizer	Hidangan pembuka
Dessert	Pencuci mulut
Drink	Minum
Coffee	Kopi

Work & Studies 

English Translation	Indonesian
Nurse	Perawat
Lawyer	Pengacara
Waiter	Pelayan
Salesman	Pedagang
Lecturer	Dosen
Judge	Hakim
Teacher	Guru

Clothes

English Translation	Indonesian
Pants	Celana
Sweater	Sweater
T-shirt	Kaos
Shirt	Kemeja
Coat	Mantel
Sock	Kaus kaki
Shoe	Sepatu
Dress	Gaun
Hat	Topi

3. Verbs

At the beginner stage, you learned a number of basic Indonesian verbs to get your point across. Now, you’ll want to focus on picking up some more advanced verbs that can help you better express yourself and add flavor to your conversations. 

Indonesian	English Translation
Melayani	To serve
Pergi	To leave
Memperbolehkan	To allow
Mengirim	To send
Menerima	To receive
Hidup	To live
Menelepon	To call (via phone)
Mengingatkan	To remind
Memperkenalkan	To introduce
Menerima	To accept
Menolak	To refuse
Bertindak	To act
Bermain	To play
Mengenali	To recognize
Memilih	To choose
Menyentuh	To touch
Menjelaskan	To explain
Bangun	To get up
Membuka	To open
Menutup	To close
Menang	To win
Kalah	To lose
Ada	To exist
Berhasil	To succeed
Mengganti	To change
Bekerja	To work
Belajar	To study
Tidur	To sleep
Berjalan	To walk
Mencoba	To try
Berhenti	To stop
Melanjutkan	To continue
Memasak	To cook
Tergolong	To belong
Mengambil risiko	To risk
Mempelajari	To learn
Bertemu	To meet
Membuat	To create
Mendapatkan	To get
Memasuki	To enter
Untuk keluar	To exit
Menawarkan	To offer
Membawa	To bring
Menggunakan	To use
Mencapai	To reach
Mempersiapkan	To prepare
Menambahkan	To add
Membayar	To pay
Mempertimbangkan	To consider
Untuk membeli	To buy
Untuk mendorong	To push
Untuk berbelanja	To shop
Untuk bepergian	To travel

4. Adjectives

Our next set of intermediate Indonesian words is adjectives, or words that describe nouns. Keep in mind that the words listed below are only equivalents of English adjectives; some of them may be translated in Indonesian as adverbs or nouns. 

Indonesian	English Translation
Mengagumkan	Awesome
Mengerikan	Horrible
Aneh	Weird
Rumit	Complicated
Tebal	Thick
Tipis	Thin
Dekat	Near
Jauh	Far
Sempit	Narrow
Lebar	Wide
Lembut	Soft
Keras	Hard
Penuh	Full
Kosong	Empty
Cahaya	Light
Berat	Heavy
Unik	Unique
Khusus	Special
Baru	New
Lama	Old
Miskin	Poor
Kaya	Rich
Bersih	Clean
Kotor	Dirty
Lemah	Weak
Kuat	Strong
Ramping	Slim
Lemak	Fat
Imut	Cute
Kejam	Mean
Lucu	Funny
Bagus	Nice
Senang	Happy
Sedih	Sad
Diam	Quiet
Bergairah	Excited
Berbahaya	Dangerous
Membosankan	Boring
Pedas	Spicy
Selanjutnya	Next
Sebelumnya	Previous
Kedua dari terakhir	Second-to-last
Jeruk	Orange
Merah Jambu	Pink
Abu-abu	Gray
Ungu	Purple
Magenta	Magenta
Pirus	Turquoise

5. Adverbs 

Adverbs are words that provide us with additional information about a verb, an adjective, or even another adverb. You might not have used these very often at the beginner level, but you’ll find them useful as you approach the intermediate level in Indonesian. Below, you’ll find several adverbs you should become familiar with at this point in your language learning journey.

When 

Indonesian	English Translation
Sudah	Already
Dahulu kala	A long time ago
Sekarang	Now
Lagi	Again
Akhirnya	At last
Kemudian	Then
Setelah itu	Thereafter

How Often

Indonesian	English Translation
Terkadang	Sometimes
Jarang	Rarely
Biasanya	Usually
Umumnya	Generally
Sepanjang waktu	All the time

Where 

English Translation	Indonesian
Nowhere	Tidak di mana-mana
Somewhere	Di suatu tempat
Elsewhere	Di tempat lain
Up	Naik
Down	Turun
Over	Atas
Under	Di bawah
Far	Jauh
Close	Dekat

How

English Translation	Indonesian
Softly	Dengan lembut
Slowly	Perlahan
Quickly	Segera
Calmly	Dengan tenang
Easily	Dengan mudah
Luckily	Untunglah
Simply	Secara sederhana

How Much

Indonesian	English Translation
Cukup	Enough
Terutama	Especially
Hampir	Almost
Berapa banyak	How much
Sangat banyak	So many
Sangat sedikit	So few
Tentang	About

6. Prepositions

Time

English Translation	Indonesian
Before	Sebelum
After	Setelah

Space

English Translation	Indonesian
Next to	Di samping
To the right	Ke kanan
To the left	Ke kiri
At	Di
In front of	Di depan
Behind	Di belakang
Under	Di bawah
Over	Atas

Other 

Indonesian	English Translation
Antara	Between
Terima kasih kepada	Thanks to
Meskipun	Despite
Tanpa	Without
Dengan	With

7. Conjunctions

As you learn to write and speak Indonesian at a more intermediate level, having some practical conjunctions up your sleeve will come in handy. We introduced a few basic conjunctions in our beginner words article, so now we’ll show you a few more advanced ones. 

Indonesian	English Translation
Baik…maupun…	Neither…nor…
Jadi	So
Jika tidak	Otherwise
Karena	Since (as)
Ketika	When
Karena itu	Therefore

8. Auxiliary Verbs and Particles

If you want to sound more like a native Indonesian speaker, one of the best things you can do is learn the most common auxiliary verbs and particles. 

Auxiliary Verbs

Indonesian	English Translation
Akan	Will / Going to
Ingin	Want
Mau	Want (informal)
Telah	Have / Had
Sudah	Have / Had
Pernah	Have
Masih	Still
Bisa	Can
Dapat	Can
Boleh	May
Harus	Must
Seperti	Like

Particles 

-kah

The Indonesian particle -kah is used in interrogative sentences.

Example:
Sepeda rumah atau mobilkah yang akan kamu jual? 
“Will you put the house or the car up for sale?”

As you can see in the example above, the word mobil (“car”) is followed by -kah, which is used to ask a question when a choice can be made between two options.

It’s worth mentioning that -kah can also be used as a suffix (as opposed to a particle). 

-lah

As opposed to -kah, -lah is used in declarative sentences. We use it to stress a certain word within a phrase.

Examples:

1. Jelaslah kamu yang salah, dari apa yang kamu ceritakan. 
   “It is clear that you’re the one in the wrong, from your story.”

2. Tempat itulah adalah tempat obat dijual. 
   “That place is where the drugs are sold.”

Just like with the previous particle, -lah can also be used as a suffix. 

-tah

Of all the particles on our list, -tah (derived from the old Malay language) is probably used the least often in daily life. 

The usage of -tah is similar to that of -kah, in the sense that it’s mostly used for interrogative sentences. It is used when the person asking the question doesn’t necessarily require a response or seek an answer. 

Example:
Apatah artinya makanan tanpa teman? 
“What is the meaning of food without company?”

-pun

The particle -pun is used to emphasize a certain word within a sentence. It’s mostly used to stress the word that follows it within a sentence. Please note that it could be written either separately or jointly with the word preceding it.

Example:
Aku pun akhirnya menyetujui keputusan tersebut. 
“I do finally agree with the decision.”

9. Conclusion

Congrats on getting this far. 

Feel like your Indonesian might need a bit more work? Try an effective learning program like IndonesianPod101.

Here, you can access parallel translated vocabulary for exactly your level, with the support of different features and optional access to an Indonesian language expert.

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Happy Indonesian learning!