Personal information
Learn how to answer questions and talk about yourself in Indonesian.
Indonesians are very inquisitive and will want to know where you are from, how old you are, if you are married, how many children you have and so on. It is not rude to ask how old you are in Indonesia!
| Where are you from? | Kamu dari mana? Kamu asli mana? Asalmu dari mana? (Note Dari mana kamu? Where have you been?) |
| You | Kamu |
| From | Dari |
| Where | Mana |
| Origin (lit. ground) | Asal |
| What's your name? | Siapa nama kamu/anda? Siapa nama mu? |
| Who | Siapa |
| Name | Nama |
| You | Mu: diminutive from kamu, often used to express possession. |
| I’m from...(Remember: Aku is informal, spoken to equals, whereas saya is more formal.) | Aku/saya dari ... |
| Are you married? (The first version is more polite.) | Apa kamu sudah nikah? Kamu sudah nikah? |
| or: | Sudah Kawin? (Kawin is another word for married, although it is worth knowing that it can also mean to have sex. (Formal: Apakah anda sudah menikah? |
| You already married or not? (A little rough and ready.) | Kamu sudah nikah ngak? |
| Do you have a husband? | (Apa) kamu sudah punya suami? |
| Do you have a wife? | (Apa) kamu sudah punya isteri? |
| Yes | Ya |
| Already | Sudah |
| Not yet | Belum |
| No | Tidak |
| No (slang) | Nggak |
| Married | Menikah |
| Means what, but is also used to make questions. | Apa |
| Do you have children? | Apa kamu sudah punya anak? |
| Do you already have children or not? | Kamu sudah punya anak belum? |
| Answer: Yes (already) No (not yet) | Sudah/ belum |
| How many children do you have? | Ada berapa anak mu? |
| Berapa anakmu? | |
| Anakmu Laki-laki atau perempuan? | |
| Answer : I have three children | Anakku tiga (3) |
| 1 boy | Satu (1) laki-laki |
| 2 girls | Dua (2) perempuan |
| Child | Anak |
| How many? | Berapa? |
| Ada | Means be – but in Indonesian sometimes has a similar meaning to have. |
| Do you already have a girlfriend/boyfriend? | Apa kamu sudah punya pacar? Kamu punya pacar ngak? Kamu sudah punya pacar? |
| Do you have a girl friend/boyfriend? | Punya pacar ngak? |
| Not - pacar can mean girlfriend or boyfriend. | |
| How much is your salary (gaji)? | Berapa gajimu? |
| This is not actually polite in Indonesian, but you will get asked it. If you choose to answer this question, it might be an idea to divide the actual number by ten – many Indonesians earn a tiny salary, and wage differentials can be an issue. | |
| My salary is... | Gajiku ... – |
| Sorry, I don’t want to answer. | Maaf, saya tidak mau jawab. |
| Sorry, but that’s not polite. | Maaf, tapi (tetapi) itu tidak sopan. |
| Not bad... | Lumayan…. |
| Enough to live | Cukup untuk hidup |