The Focus of this Lesson is Asking Questions in Formal Situations with the Suffix -kah and Interview Questions
Baiklah sekarang, bisakah Anda menceritakan sedikit tentang diri Anda?
"All right now, could you tell me a little about yourself?"

1. Using the suffix -kah to soften the tone when asking a question in a formal situation

The suffix -kah is added to the word in a sentence that becomes the main focus of the question. When you are asking question with the suffix -kah, it will soften the question by making it sounds less abrupt. Therefore adding suffix -kah in formal situations is a must.

For example:

Apa+kah ("what"+kah)

1. Apakah yang perlu saya persiapkan untuk besok?
   "What do I need to prepare for tomorrow?"

Siapa+kah ("who"+kah)

1. Siapakah yang bertanggung jawab atas hal ini?
   "Who is responsible for this matter?"

Kapan+kah ("when"+kah)

1. Sampai kapankah batas waktu untuk pendaftaran?
   "When is the deadline for registration?"

Di mana+kah ("where" (at)+kah)

1. Di mana kah letak kantor bapak?
   "Where is your your office located, sir?"

Ke mana+kah ("towards") where+kah)

1. Ke manakah mereka akan pergi?
   "Where are they going?"

Bagaimana+kah ("how"+kah)

1. Bagaimanakah cara menggunakan mesin ini?
   "How do I use this machine?"

The suffix -kah is not limited to the five W's (who, what, where, when, why) and how. You can also add it to adjectives.

Banyak+kah ("many/ a lot/ much"+kah)

1. Banyakkah orang yang akan datang?
   "Are there many people attending?"

Sakit+kah ("painful"+kah)

1. Sakitkah rasanya bila saya tekan di sini?
   "Is it painful if I press here?"

Pahit+kah ("bitter"+kah)

1. Pahitkah rasa obat itu?
   "Does that medicine taste bitter?"

Without the suffix -kah the meaning will stays the same, but you can only use it in informal situations.

2. Questions during an interview

Here are a list of some of the most common questions asked in interviews.

1. Apa alasan Anda untuk melamar pekerjaan ini?

"What's your reason for applying for this job?"

Literally: "What reason you to apply job this?"

Apa alasan Anda means "What is your reason?" Because we use Anda when referring to "you" in this phrase, this phrase is to be used in formal situations.

For informal situations we can say Apa alasan kamu?

For example:

1. Apa alasan Anda memilih jurusan desain? (formal)
   "What is your reason for choosing a design major?"
2. Apa alasan kamu bilang begitu? (informal)
   "What's your reason for saying that?"    

Melamar pekerjaan means "to apply for a job" in formal situations.

For an informal way to say this, you could just simply eliminate the prefix me-, so it will be lamar pekerjaan. In more casual way (colloquial), we have ngelamar kerjaan. Of course I wouldn't recommend that you say ngelamar kerjaan to anyone but your friends and family.

For example:

1. Dia datang untuk melamar pekerjaan.
   "He came to apply for a job."
2. Dia sedang coba lamar pekerjaan.
   "He is trying to apply for a job."
3. Tadi pagi aku ngelamar kerjaan di bank.
   "Earlier this morning, I applied for a job in the bank."

Here are some possible ways to answer the question Apa alasan Anda untuk melamar pekerjaan ini? meaning "What's your reason for applying for this job?":

1. Ini merupakan toko kesukaan saya selama bertahun-tahun, sehingga saat Anda membuka lowongan pekerjaan di sini, saya langsung bersemangat ingin bergabung.
   "This has been my favorite stores for years, so when you opened up the job vacancy, I was excited and wanted to join."
2. Karena saya yakin bahwa kualifikasi dan pengalaman kerja saya cocok dengan posisi yang Anda butuhkan.
   "Because I believe that my qualifications and work experience matched what you need for the position."

2. Bagaimana Anda mengetahui tentang lowongan pekerjaan ini?

"How did you find out about this job?"

Literally: "How you know about vacancy work this?"

Bagaimana Anda mengetahui means "How do you know?" and is used in formal situations.

For informal situations there is Bagaimana kamu tahu?

For example:

1. Bagaimana Anda mengetahui bahwa dia telah berbohong?
   "How do you know if he had lied?"
2. Bagaimana kamu tahu tentang restoran ini?
   "How do you know about this restaurant?"

Here are some possible ways to answer this question:

1. Saya mengetahui lowongan pekerjaan ini dari surat kabar.
   "I know about this job vacancy from the newspaper."
2. Saya mengetahui lowongan pekerjaan ini dari agen perekrutan.
   "I know about this job vacancy from the recruitment agency."
3. Saya mengetahui lowongan pekerjaan ini dari situs Anda.
   "I know about this job vacancy from your website."

3. Mengapa Anda meninggalkan pekerjaan yang lama?

"Why did you leave your last job?"

Literally: "Why you leave job which old?"

Meninggalkan pekerjaan means "to leave the job" or "to leave work."

This is a subtle way of saying "to quit the job." But depending on the context, meninggalkan pekerjaan can also mean literally "to leave work for the day, " or taking a short break from work.

For example:

1. Dia akan meninggalkan pekerjaannya di perusahaan itu.
   "He will leave his job at that company."
2. Setiap hari dia meninggalkan pekerjaannya sekitar jam 5 sore.
   "He leaves work around five in the evening everyday."

There is another way to say "to leave the job" / "to quit a job" in more straightforward way, which is berhenti dari pekerjaan. This literally means "stop from work."

For example:

1. Dia ingin berhenti dari pekerjaannya, tetapi dia butuh uang.
   "He would like to quit his job, but he needs money."

Here are some possible ways to answer this question:

1. Saya menyadari bahwa setelah bekerja selama 5 tahun di sana, saya merasa bosan dengan pekerjaan yang sama dan ingin mencari tantangan yang lebih.
   "I realized that, after working there for five years, I feel bored with the same job and want to look for more of a challenge."
2. Perusahaan sebelumnya mengurangi jumlah karyawan, dan posisi saya terkena eliminasi.
   "My previous company was downsizing its employees, and my position has been eliminated."

Examples from the dialogue:

1. Apakah yang membuat Anda ingin melamar pekerjaan di restoran ini?
   "What makes you want to apply for a job in this restaurant?"

Sample Sentences

1. Di manakah tempat penukaran uang?
   "Where is the money changer located?'"
2. Apa alasan kamu ingin pindah ke Los Angeles?
   "What is your reason for wanting to move to Los Angeles?"

meringankan biaya hidup "to ease the cost of living"

meringankan consists of the prefix me- to indicate active voice, the root word ringan which means "light," "mild," or "easy," and the suffix -kan to indicate causation. All together meringankan means "to lighten" or "to ease." Biaya means "fee," "cost," or "expense." In this phrase is also a noun meaning "life" or "living."

This phrase is used in formal situations such as interviews. In informal situations, people will just say something like untuk tambah uang saku, which literally means "to increase the pocket money."

For example:

1. Untuk meringankan biaya hidup dia harus bekerja dua pekerjaan.
   "To ease his cost of living he has to work two jobs."

apa yang membuat Anda "what makes you"

Apa means "what," yang can be translated as "that" as in "the one that.,"  "which," "who," "what," "whose," "whom," as in "the one which.." etc. Next we have membuat, which consists of the prefix me-, and the root word buat which means "to make" or "to do." And last we have Anda which is the formal way of saying "you."

When you are trying to find out the reason why someone does or has decided to do something you can use this phrase. For informal situations, normally we replace membuat with bikin, which has the same meaning as membuat which is "to make" or "to do." Then we would change Anda into kamu which is the informal "you," so it becomes apa yang bikin kamu.

For example:

1. Apa yang membuat Anda berubah pikiran?
   "What made you change your mind?"

suka sekali "to like (a lot)"

suka in this context means "to like." And sekali is an adverb meaning "very" or "so." The word order of this phrase cannot be changed.

There is another phrase with the same meaning you can use in formal situations, which is sangat suka. Sangat is an adverb which means "very" or "so" and suka here means "to like." Sangat suka all together literally means "very like." For informal situations (like when speaking to your friends, family, or people around your age), people normally say suka banget. Banget is commonly used in colloquial Indonesian, and means "very" or "so."

For example:

1. Dia suka sekali dengan lukisan ini.
   "She really likes this painting."

The Cost of Living in Indonesia

The cost of living in Indonesia is significantly lower than in western countries.

If you have a chance to visit or live in Indonesia, you can enjoy eating out everyday without having to break the bank. For example, my favorite place for gado-gado (cooked mixed vegetables with peanut sauce), which is located in a non-air conditioned place near my house in Jakarta, only charges 12,000 rupiah (0.9 USD). But if you go to a fully air-conditioned food court, restaurant or somewhere near the business district, gado-gado will cost you from 20,000 to 40,000 rupiahs (1.5 to 3 USD).

Local products in supermarkets are also relatively cheap, and 1 kg of rice only costs 17,000 rupiah (1.30USD). But you can also find things even cheaper if you go to a wet market/traditional market in Indonesia, especially if you are good at haggling.

The price of gasoline is rising quickly but I'd say it is still low compared to most other countries, and it's about 8,500 rupiah (0.65USD) per liter at the moment. I remember how expensive gasoline was when I was living in Sydney, which is 1.2 USD at the moment!

Marlboro cigarettes will cost you 15,500 rupiah (1.19USD), and Rokok Kretek or clove cigarettes cost from 7000 to 13000 rupiah (0.5 to 1 USD).

Useful expression:

1. Harga barang di kota besar lebih mahal daripada di daerah pedalaman.
   "The price of goods in the big city is more expensive."