Instant Indonesian. Stuart Robson

No problem./It doesn’t matter.

      Rumahnya tidak besar. His house is not big.

      Rumahnya tidak jauh. His house is not far.

      In the two preceding examples, you will notice that the particle -nya is attached to the noun rumah. The function of -nya is to indicate possession by a third person (singular and plural). So, mobilnya means “his car,” rasanya “its taste.”

      Mau makan, enggak? Do you wish to eat, or not?

      In day to day language, you will often hear tidak in the form of enggak (gak, or nggak). It is often used as a tag to end questions as in the previous example. This is an example of informal Indonesian, that is, language that is used frequently, but is not considered acceptable in the written language or formal situations.

17	KIRI/KANAN left/right

      Ke kiri. To the left.

      Indonesian traffic drives on the left side of the road. If you happen to travel on the small public buses, which are called angkot, kolt or bémo depending on which area you are in, you must instruct the driver in order to stop at your desired location. You can do this by saying, or shouting out if necessary, Kiri, Pak! (literally “left!,” i.e. pull in to the kerb).

      Bélok kanan di sini, Pak. Turn right here.

      Sebelah kanan. The right side.

      Langsung ke kiri! Go immediately left!

      Terus! Continue.

      Lurus! Go straight!

      Setop di sini, Pak! Stop here, Pak!

      Di kiri jalan ada pasar. On the left of the road there is a market.

      Indonesians also make frequent use of the cardinal points to say where to go: utara, north, so we could have dari utara, “from the north,” or ke utara, “to the north;” and similarly with selatan, south; timur, east; and barat, west.

18	BERAPA how much/many?

      Ini berapa? How much is this?

      Ada berapa anak? How many children do you have?

      Umur berapa? How old are you?

      Jam berapa? What time is it?

      But Berapa jam? means “How many hours?”

      Harganya berapa? What is the price?

      Buah ini berapa harganya? How much does this fruit cost?

      Literally, “this fruit, how much is its price?” If you are concerned about the word order of the sentences you are attempting, it helps to bear in mind that there is a great degree of flexibility where word order is concerned, providing you specify the relevant parts of your message clearly. The two previous examples could correctly be spoken as Berapa harganya? and Berapa harganya buah ini?

      Although large retail stores in Indonesia usually offer goods at fixed prices, bargaining is expected in most other transactions. For some foreigners, bargaining is something that does not come easily, so it helps to be mentally prepared, particularly if you are unsure of the fair price for the goods you are intending to buy. Some people take the strategy of counter-offering with half of the price initially offered by the trader, then working up slowly from there. Some counter-offer with lower than half! It is up to you!

      You may find it useful to take note of the environment in which you are buying. If you are buying in a location frequented by tourists, expect that the initial price will be inflated and do not hesitate to bargain hard—the trader may just be trying his or her luck! Also, if all the neighboring shops are selling similar products and it appears as though the goods are mass produced for tourists, try for a lower price. On the other hand, if you wish to purchase quality handicrafts from a location where you can observe the goods being made by skilled craftspeople, you must still bargain, but expect a higher price.

19

HARUS

      Harus pakai bon dulu? Must I pay first?

      Harus! You must!

      In some stores, especially in small towns, you may need to pay and then exchange a docket for your purchase, rather than paying directly at the cashier.

      Saya harus pulang dulu. I have to go home (for a while).

      Kamu harus sabar! You should be patient!

20	BOLÉH may/can/allowed to

      Boléh tanya, Pak? May I ask a question?

      Boléh saja. Of course you can.

      Boléh tawar? Are we allowed to bargain?

      Boléh makan dulu? May we eat first?

      Boléh. You may.

      Tidak boléh masuk. Entry is not allowed here.

      Social Etiquette in Public

      There are a number of social conventions relating to the body that should be borne in mind. It goes without saying that observing the behavior of others is a better method of understanding these than reading about them here! Many of these conventions are based around the concept that certain people, such as older people, are to be shown respect in a number of ways, so try to identify such people.