250 Essential Indonesian Words You Should Learn

I wrote this list of 250 most useful Indonesian words to complement my article How I Learned to Speak Indonesian in 1 Month.

I recommend you to memorize all them by heart. It's a boring process, yet it won't take so much time. Spend 10 minutes on the list every day and you'll know all of them in two weeks. Once you're done, I guarantee you will be able to get by in 90% of daily life situation.

A smart and fun way to learn more words is to use the website IndonesianPod101. They have hundreds of exercises and games (flashcards for instance) with the Indonesian pronunciation. Have a look, a large part of the website is free to use. If you choose a paid plan, use this link IndonesianPod101 - 20 Free Videos to get an extra 20 videos for free!

These are essential as you will use them in all sentences.
I, Me or Mine = Aku (informal) or Saya (formal)
You, Your or Yours = Kamu (informal) or Anda (formal). Plural you (Kalian) is rarely used.

He, She, Him, Her or His = Dia

It or Its = Ini (for something your hand can reach) or Itu (for something further away)

We, Our or Ours = Kita or Kami (if the person you are talking to is not included)

They, Their or Theirs = Mereka

Formal/Informal
Unless you are speaking to a kid/teenager or a close friend, it is better to address someone with a formal pronoun.

Another way to be formal is to replace the personal pronouns with the title and the name of the person you are addressing. For instance, instead of asking me "How old are you?" (Kamu umur berapa?), you could say "How old is Mr Frederic?" (Umur Berapa Bapak Frederic?).

Adverbs
Since adverbs can modify the meaning of a verb or adjective, they'll help you express more complicated ideas and feelings without the need to learn too much additional vocabulary.

Maybe = Mungkin

A lot = Banyak

A little = Sedikit
All = Semua

About = Kira-kira

Enough = Cukup

How = Bagaimana/Gimana (informal)

When = Kapan
Where = Mana (often used with Di, Ke or Dari, see below)

Many/Much = Banyak

Each = Setiap

Most = Paling

Small = Kecil

Big = Besar
Old = Tua (for the age of a person, a building, etc) or Lama (for a law, a rule, a tariff, etc). Lama also means "Long time".
New = Baru
Young = Muda

Hard = Keras

Strong = Kuat

Far = Jauh

Near = Dekat

Beautiful = Cantik (for women), Ganteng (for men), Indah (for a landscape or an object)

Hot = Panas

Cold = Dingin

Sure = Yakin

Good = Bagus

Bad = Jelek (also means "ugly")

Cheap = Murah

Expensive = Mahal

Shy = Malu

Heavy = Berat

Angry = Marah

Happy = Senang

Sad = Sedih

Well = Baik

Tired = Capek
Smart = Pintar

Difficult = Susah/Sulit
Easy = Mudah

Alone = Sendiri

Sick = Sakit
Different = Beda

Thank you = Terima Kasih (often said "Makasih")

Dad = Ayah

Mother = Ibu

Kid = Anak
Friend = Teman

Water = Air

Rice = Nasi

Chicken = Ayam

Fish = Ikan

Egg = Telur

Fried = Goreng

Sweet = Manis
Delicious = Enak

Left = Kiri

Right = Kanan

Straight = Lurus or Terus
Through = Lewat
To Turn = Belok

To Ride = Naik

Tree = Pohon

Dog = Anjing

Cat = Kucing

Beach = Pantai

Mountain = Gunung

House = Rumah

City = Kota

Restaurant = Restoran or Warung (low class)

Mosque = Mesjid

Shop = Toko

Office = Kantor

Country = Negara

School = Sekolah

Village = Desa

Green = Hijau

Red = Merah

Blue = Biru

Yellow = Kuning

Black = Hitam

White = Putih

Time (Waktu)
Date = Tanggal

Second = Detik
Minute = Menit
Hour = Jam

Day = Hari
Week = Minggu

Money = Uang
Age = Umur
0 = Kosong/Nol
First = Pertama

1 = Satu

2 = Dua

3 = Tiga

4 = Empat

5 = Lima

6 = Enam

7 = Tujuh

8 = Delapan

9 = Sembilan

10 = Sepuluh

11 = Sebelas

12 to 19  = N + Belas such as "Dua Belas" (12), "Tiga Belas" (13), etc....

20 to 99 = N + Puluh such as "Dua Puluh" (20, "Tiga Puluh" (30), Empat Puluh Dua (42)

100 = Seratus
200 to 999 = N + Ratus such as "Dua Ratus" (200), "Dua Ratus Lima Puluh Tiga" (253)
1000 = Seribu
After 2000 = N + Ribu such as "Dua Ribu" (2000), "Dua Ribu Enam Ratus Empat Puluh Delapan" (2648)

Monday = Senin

Tuesday = Selasa

Wednesday = Rabu

Thursday = Kamis

Friday = Jumat

Saturday = Sabtu

Sunday = Minggu

January = Januari

February = Februari

March = Maret

April = April

May = Mei

June = Juni

July = Juli

August = Agustus

September = September

October = Oktober

November = November

December = Desember

Next = Depan
→ Ex: Next Monday = Senin depan. Next week = Minggu depan.

Previous = Kemarin
→ Ex: Previous Monday = Senin kemarin. Last week = Minggu kemarin

Body (Badan) and Clothes (Baju)
Leg or Foot = Kaki
Arm or Hand = Tangan
Finger = Jari
Face = Muka
Eye = Mata
Mouth = Mulut
Pants = Celana
T-Shirt = Kaos
Shirt = Kemeja
Shoes = Sepatu

Yang
I use this word a lot. Depending on the context, it could be translated as "the one", "that is", "which is", "those", "which", "whom", "whose", "who".

→ Aku suka mobil yang di depan rumahnya  = I like the car which is in front of his house.
→ Kamu suka yang mana?  = Which one do you like?

There is another use that can't really be translated into English. When you talk about something that has specific characteristics, you should use the structure "Noun + Yang + Adjective" instead of "Adjective + Noun". For instance, to translate "He has a red car", it is better to say " Dia punya mobil yang merah" instead of "dia punya mobil merah".

Finally, it is sometimes placed after a pronoun to emphasize the latter. For instance, "apa yang kamu mau" (literally: What is it that you want?) can be asked instead of "kamu mau apa?" (What do you want?).

Brother/Sister
There is not an exact translation for the words brother and sister in Indonesian. Instead, you may use one of these:
→ Saudara means both brothers and sisters (the children of your parents)

→ Adik means younger brother and younger sister
→ Kakak means older brother and older sister
→ Adik/kakak perempuan means younger/older sister
→ Adik/kakak laki-laki means younger /older brother

No
All these words are used to express negation:
→ Bukan, placed before a noun or pronoun, means "not": "Kamu bukan orang Perancis" (You are not French)
→ Tidak, placed before a verb, an adjective or alone, means "no" "do not" or "not": "Aku tidak suka" (I do not like). "Dia tidak baik" (He is not good).
→ Tak, Ngak, Gak are informal, yet popular ways to say "Tidak": "Aku gak bisa" (I cannot).
→ Jangan means "Do not" in imperative sentences: "Jangan bicara!" (Don't talk!).
→ Belum: If they can, Indonesians will avoid using "Tidak" or "Bukan", preferring the softer "Belum" (not yet) or "Kurang" (less). For instance, you never say "Aku tidak nikah" (I'm not married) but "Aku belum nikah" (I'm not married yet). Instead of answering "Aku tidak suka cowok ini" (I don't like this guy), it is better to say "Aku kurang suka cowok ini" (I like this guy less [than the others]).

Ada indicates the presence of something and it could be translated as "there is" or "there are": Ada 5 orang di rumah ini (There are 5 people in this house). You can use it to ask questions: Ada ... ? means "Is there ... ?" or "Are there ....?"

The first meaning of sama is "With", but it can also mean "the same" (in that case, you can add "Dengan" to express "As").
→ Mereka sama teman = they are with friends
→ Umur kamu sama dengan umur aku = Your age is the same as my age

Jadi
Jadi has two meanings:
→ "To become", for instance in the sentence: Dia jadi marah = He became angry
→ Placed at the beginning of a sentence, it corresponds to the adverb "So". For instance in the sentence: Jadi, kamu marah? = So you are angry?

Lagi
→ Placed after a verb, lagi means "again", "once more". For instance: "Aku sakit lagi" = "I'm sick, again".
→ Placed before a verb, it is used to express a current state or action. "Aku lagi makan" = "I'm eating now". It is often an answer to the informal idiom "Lagi ngapain?" or "Lagi apa" = "What are you doing?"

Mau
"Mau" has two meanings:
→ "Want": "Aku mau pergi sama kamu" = "I want to go with you"
→ "Will" (future tense): "Mau hujan" = "It will rain".

To do and to make
There are several ways to say "to do" in Indonesian:
→ "Lakukan", which means to do something in general. It is often used in interrogations: "Apa yang dia lakukan?" (What is he doing?)
→ "Bikin", which means to do something or make something that results in a tangible product. Ex: "Saya bikin pasta" = "I'm making pasta"
→ "Buat", which is a more informal way to say "Bikin". It can also mean "For". Ex: "Ini buat kamu" = "This is for you" (literally: This made for you).
Habis
"Habis" has two meanings:
→ "To finish" or "finished". For instance, "Aku habis makan" = "I'm done eating"; "Airnya sudah habis" = "The water is finished". "Selesai" is a synonym.
→ "After". For instance, "Habis makan, aku mau ke kantor" = "After eating, I will go to office". "Setelah" is a synonym.

-Nya
There are many suffixes and prefixes in Bahasa, but none is more useful than -nya. Added at the end of a noun, it indicated possession and could be translated as "his", "her", "its".

→ Ini rumahnya = This is his house

Words You Don't Need to Learn
Some words have an Indonesian translation but you can pronounce them in English and everyone will understand:

Yes (Ya)
Please
Sorry
Hello
Toilet