Learn about Indonesian classifiers
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Intro |
|---|
| Michael: What are Indonesian classifiers? |
| Blanca: And how are they used? |
| Michael: At IndonesianPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation: Karen Lee needs to buy some stationery. She goes to a store, and says, |
| "Can I have three pencils and three sheets of paper, please?" |
| Karen Lee: Bisa minta tiga batang pensil dan tiga lembar kertas? |
| Dialogue |
| Karen Lee: Bisa minta tiga batang pensil dan tiga lembar kertas? |
| Priyo Priambodo: Ini, silakan. |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Karen Lee: Bisa minta tiga batang pensil dan tiga lembar kertas? |
| Michael: "Can I have three pencils and three sheets of paper, please?" |
| Priyo Priambodo: Ini, silakan. |
| Michael: "Here you go." |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: In this lesson, you'll learn what counters are and how to use them. Counters, which are also known as classifiers, are special words that are used with numbers for counting. |
| Michael: Let's start by taking a closer look at the dialogue. |
| Do you remember how Karen says "Can I have three pencils and three sheets of paper, please?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Blanca as Karen Lee: Bisa minta tiga batang pensil dan tiga lembar kertas? |
| Michael: You might have noticed that Karen uses different words to count pencils and sheets of paper. To say "three pencils," she says |
| Blanca: tiga batang pencil |
| Michael: and to ask for "three sheets of paper," she says |
| Blanca: tiga lembar kertas |
| Michael: As you can see, Karen uses the exact same numeral |
| Blanca: tiga |
| Michael: meaning "three," but she uses different counting words, or counters. To count pencils, she uses |
| Blanca: batang, |
| Michael: which is the counter used for long and thin things, and to count sheets of paper, she uses |
| Blanca: lembar, |
| Micheal: which is the counter used for flat things. In Indonesian, it is usually not sufficient to only use numerals when counting; instead, numerals are followed by a suitable counter for the objects being counted. Thus, what is considered an appropriate counter depends on the object in question. For example, as we've seen in the dialogue, flat things like sheets of paper should be counted using |
| Blanca: lembar. |
| Micheal: Counters are sometimes used in English as well. For example, you can't say "four papers;" you need to add the word "sheets" in order to count the otherwise uncountable "paper." However, in Indonesian, counters are used for almost everything. As we already mentioned, the choice of counter depends on the size, shape, and other traits of the object which you want to count. You already know that the counter for flat things, like sheets of paper, is |
| Blanca: lembar. |
| Michael: Here are some other examples of things which can be counted using the same counter: |
| Blanca: daun, |
| Micheal: "leaves," and |
| Blanca: kain |
| Michael: "cloth." |
| Micheal: Now, do you remember which counter Karen used to count pencils? |
| Blanca: batang. |
| Micheal: This is a counter used to count long and relatively thin objects, such as |
| Blanca: pena |
| Micheal: "pens," and |
| Blanca: pohon |
| Michael: "trees." For example, "one tree" is |
| Blanca: sebatang pohon. |
| Micheal: Note that the number "one" |
| Blanca: satu |
| Michael: when followed by a counter is often contracted to |
| Blanca: se as in sebatang. |
| Michael: Let's continue with the counter |
| Blanca: biji |
| Michael: literally meaning "seed," it can translate as "piece" or "grain" as in |
| Blanca: biji padi |
| Michael: meaning "grain of rice," or |
| Blanca: biji jagung |
| Michael: meaning "grain of corn." There's another similar counter for small and usually round objects, and that's |
| Blanca: butir |
| Michael: For example, if you want to refer to "two eggs," this will be |
| Blanca: dua butir telur |
| Michael: Our next counter is |
| Blanca: orang |
| Michael: This counter is used to count people. As with other counters, it simply follows the numeral, so "three people" would be |
| Blanca: tiga orang. |
| Micheal: However, "one person" is |
| Blanca: seorang or satu orang |
| Michael: Next up is the counter for animals |
| Blanca: ekor |
| Michael: Using this, how can we say "two elephants"? |
| Blanca: dua ekor gajah |
| Michael: Let's continue with the counter for things that come in pairs |
| Blanca: pasang |
| Michael: literally "pair." Using this, how can we say "three pairs of shoes?" |
| Blanca: tiga pasang sepatu |
| Michael: Let's continue with the counter for things that are cut or sliced |
| Blanca: potong |
| Michael: meaning "cut" or "slice." Using this, how can we say "a cut chicken leg"? |
| Blanca: sepotong paha ayam |
| Michael: And, how about "a slice of cake"? |
| Blanca: sepotong kue |
| Michael: How about "two cuts of wood"? |
| Blanca: dua potong kayu |
| Michael: Luckily, there is also a general counter in the Indonesian language |
| Blanca: buah |
| Michael: It literally means "fruit," but translates as "piece." You can use it to count fruits and everything else other than people and animals. For example, |
| Blanca: sebuah durian |
| Michael "a durian (fruit)" |
| Blanca: sebuah meja |
| Michael: "a table" |
| Blanca: sebuah buku |
| Michael: "a book" |
| Blanca: sebuah komputer |
| Michael: "a computer" |
| Review and Practice |
| Michael: In this lesson, you learned that, when you count things in Indonesian, you should use a suitable counter. There are different counters for different objects, and the appropriate counter to use depends on various attributes of the object being counted, such as the object's shape and length. Try to recall some of the counters we've introduced by responding to the following prompts aloud. |
| Are you ready? What counter is used when counting flat objects, such as sheets of paper? |
| [3 seconds] |
| Blanca: lembar |
| Michael: Let's hear it again. |
| Blanca: lembar. For example, satu lembar, dua lembar, tiga lembar. |
| Michael: What counter is used to count long things, such as pens or trees? |
| [3 seconds] |
| Blanca: batang |
| Michael: Let's hear it again. |
| Blanca: batang. For example, sebatang, dua batang, tiga batang. |
| Micheal: What counter is used for small objects, such as a grain of rice? |
| [3 seconds] |
| Blanca: biji |
| Michael: Let's hear it again. |
| Blanca: biji. For example, satu biji, dua biji, tiga biji. |
| Michael: What counter is used if you're counting small, round objects, such as eggs? |
| [3 seconds] |
| Blanca: butir |
| Michael: Let's hear it again. |
| Blanca: butir. For example, sebutir, dua butir, tiga butir. |
| Michael: What counter is used to count animals, such as cats or dogs? |
| [3 seconds] |
| Blanca: ekor |
| Michael: Let's hear it again. |
| Blanca: ekor. For example, satu ekor, dua ekor, tiga ekor. |
| Michael: What counter is used to count people? |
| [3 seconds] |
| Blanca: orang |
| Michael: Let's hear it again. |
| Blanca: orang. For example, seorang, dua orang, tiga orang. |
| Michael: What counter is used to count things that come in pairs? |
| [3 seconds] |
| Blanca: pasang |
| Michael: Let's hear it again. |
| Blanca: pasang. For example, sepasang, dua pasang, tiga pasang. |
| Michael: What counter is used to count cuts or slices of meat, chocolate, or cake? |
| [3 seconds] |
| Blanca: potong. |
| Michael: Let's hear it again. |
| Blanca: potong. For example, sepotong, dua potong, tiga potong. |
| Michael: What counter is used to count things other than people or animals? |
| [3 seconds] |
| Blanca: buah. |
| Michael: Let's hear it again. |
| Blanca: buah. For example, sebuah, dua buah, tiga buah. |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Blanca: Dadah! |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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