Hey everyone, apa kabar hari ini? (How are you today?)

Hi Bryan!

Terima kasih (Thank you) for your questions! 😊

1. For kinship terms, you are correct! "Mbak" and "Mas" are commonly used for addressing younger people or those of similar age or social status. "Ibu" and "Pak" are used for people who are older or hold a higher social status. It's a way to show respect in Indonesian culture.

2. Regarding the response to "Apa kabar?" (How are you?), both "Baik" (Good) and "Kabar baik" (Good news) can be used interchangeably. However, "Baik" is more commonly used in casual conversations, while "Kabar baik" might sound a bit more formal or complete.

Feel free to let us know if you have any questions.

Terima kasih! (Thank you!)

Team IndonesianPod101.com

regarding kinship terms, for younger people we can use mbak or mas, and for people older than us (or higher social status), we use ibu and pak?

as for replying to "apa kabar", do both "baik" and "kabar baik" mean the same thing, or is there anything we need to take note of?

Hello Emma,

Thank you for sharing your concern. You're right, it takes some getting used to. But this kind of conversation mostly takes place face to face, so other than the language itself, there are also body language and facial expressions to help with the communication. Of course, you can include pronouns when talking to an Indonesian, like you would in English. This lesson aims to help you understand that Indonesians may omit pronouns from time to time when the context is understood.

I hope this helps!

Salam,

Sarah

Team IndonesianPod101.com

Halo,

When you were talking about how the pronouns “you” and “I” aren’t used I was a bit confused. I feel like it would be difficult to tell the difference between If you are talking about yourself or the person you’re talking to. In big groups this would be especially confusing.

Terima kasih:)

Hello Aeri,

As a rule, Indonesian modifiers follow the word they modify. So they come after the word it modifies. In "baik sekali", "baik" is the main word that means "good, well". The modifier "sekali" that means "very" comes after the main word, so it is "baik sekali". Try practicing adding "sekali" with "indah" or "marah". Yes, there are exceptions. One exception would be "sangat" that is another word for "sekali" but it comes before the word it modifies. Another one is "banyak" that means "a lot of". The placement is similar to its English counterpart.

"banyak orang" -> "a lot of people".

"banyak PR"-> lots of homework."

I hope this helps!

Salam

Sarah

Team IndonesianPod101.com

Halo team,

I have a question about the usage of grammar for baik sekali. Since baik means fine/well, and sekali means very, wouldn't sekali baik sound better? It would sound like "very fine". Does either way of swapping the words still mean the same thing or does it depend on the context?

Hi Chris,

Thank you for your comment.

People in Bali and Lombok are familiar with the Javanese "Mbak" and "Mas" although they use local terms "Geg" and "Bli" among themselves. Domestic tourists use Mbak and Mas in Bali and Lombok as well. These terms, although rooted in Javanese, have become widely used (as evident in national TV programs). You can even find the entries in Indonesian dictionary.

When in doubt, please switch to Indonesian "Dik" when the person you're talking to is younger, and "Bu" that is equivalent to "Mam" and "Pak" that is equivalent to "Sir".

Again, thank you for taking the time to leave this comment. :)

Salam,

Sarah

Hi. I am going through your lessons and finding that there is a Javanese slant on the usage of words. mBak and Mas are 2 examples which are not Indonesian words but Javanese.

Do you not think that these words should be left out as if you speak them on other islands such as Bali or Lombok or Sulawasi, etc..they may not understand you.

kind regards

Hi Rosetta,

As a general rule, when it is a noun that is doubled it means plural. jalan-jalan can be noun (plural): “Jalan-jalan di kota ini sempit.” and verb meaning taking a stroll or traveling: “Di akhir minggu, saya senang jalan-jalan ke luar kota.”

Hope this helps!

Salam,

Sarah

Team IndonesianPod101.com

Selamat malam. saya punya pertanyaan...

when any verb like "jalan" is doubled (jalan-jalan), does it always take on a new meaning. and, are there many verbs like this?

terimah kasih

Hi Abdulla AA,

👏 Good job —>“Baik, dan kamu?” and “Baik, dan Ibu?”

It’s great that you are trying to make more Indonesian friends! Indonesians speak many languages, formal and slang, depending on their age and their area of residence (don’t forget many Indonesians speak local languages too). It is very likely that people throw in some (slang) words in local languages into bahasa Indonesia. Moreover, Indonesians love to abbreviate almost everything longer than one word. Entertainers are constantly making up new terms, at first as jokes but then then general public soon catches up, and there you go... another new slang. Exciting, right? I am sure you will catch up soon too.

Here is lesson path for slangs: https://www.indonesianpod101.com/lesson-library/must-know-indonesian-slang-words-phrases/

Enjoy,

Sarah

Team IndonesianPod101.com

I am a Saudi citizen who visited Indonesia twice and it was a wonderful visit ; I have only two friends. I joined Facebook to get more friends but I was shocked at the ways people communicate and things that I have never done such as:

1. A lot of funny cards. 2. What is written in these cards sometimes does not have a translation in the general/slang language dictionary . 3. Sometime SMS abreviations are the same thing I do not find meaning in the online list.

4. Slang language Shortcuts. Learning will be more enjoyable by adding such materials in the future.

baik, terima kasih dan ibu

baik terima kasih dan kamu

Hi Kristiina,

Thank you for your comment! That’s very good. Just a little correction, it’s “apa” instead of “aba”. I realize it could be typo as well but I thought I just let you know. Happy learning!

Salam,

Sarah

Team IndonesianPod101.com

Hi, kabar baik. Aba kabar?

Hi Anne,

Thanks for posting. French is “orang Perancis” in Bahasa Indonesia, and France is “(negara) Perancis”. I hope you enjoyed the lesson!

Salam,

Sarah

Team IndonesianPod101.com

hai. nama saya anne dan orang saya peransis. terimakasi

hai. nama saya anne dan orang saya peransis

Hi Anna,

Terima kasih sudah berkomentar. Thank you for your comment. Kami semua baik di sini. We are all great here at IndonesianPod101.com. :)

Salam,

Sarah

Team IndonesianPod101.com