Translate English to Indonesian
Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) is spoken by over 270 million people, making it one of the most spoken languages in the world. As the official language of Indonesia, the fourth most populous country, it serves as the lingua franca across 17,000 islands with hundreds of local languages. Paste your English text above.
Common English to Indonesian translations
| English | Indonesian | Pronunciation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hello | Halo | HAH-loh | ||
| Good morning | Selamat pagi | seh-LAH-maht PAH-gee | ||
| Thank you | Terima kasih | teh-REE-mah KAH-see | ||
| Please | Tolong | TOH-long | ||
| How much is this? | Berapa harganya? | beh-RAH-pah har-GAH-nyah | ||
| Where is the bathroom? | Di mana kamar mandi? | dee MAH-nah KAH-mar MAHN-dee | ||
| I do not understand | Saya tidak mengerti | SAH-yah TEE-dahk meng-ER-tee | ||
| Can you help me? | Bisakah Anda membantu saya? | BEE-sah-kah AHN-dah mem-BAHN-too SAH-yah | ||
| I would like coffee | Saya mau kopi | SAH-yah MOW KOH-pee | ||
| The bill, please | Minta bon | MEEN-tah bohn | ||
| Nice to meet you | Senang berkenalan | seh-NAHNG ber-keh-NAH-lahn | ||
| Goodbye | Selamat tinggal | seh-LAH-maht TING-gahl | ||
| I need a doctor | Saya butuh dokter | SAH-yah BOO-tooh DOK-ter | ||
| Excuse me | Permisi | per-MEE-see |
Tips for English to Indonesian translation
Indonesian is one of the easiest Asian languages for English speakers to learn. It uses the Latin alphabet with no special characters, has no verb conjugations, no grammatical gender, no tones, and relatively simple grammar. Word order is SVO, the same as English. These features make Indonesian translation particularly straightforward.
Indonesian builds words through a productive system of prefixes and suffixes. The root tulis (write) becomes menulis (to write), penulis (writer), tulisan (writing), dituliskan (was written for). Understanding these affixes helps verify translations.
Indonesian and Malay are mutually intelligible, essentially two standard forms of the same language. Indonesian was standardized from Malay as a unifying language for the newly independent Indonesia in 1945. A translation into Indonesian will be understood in Malaysia, Brunei, and Singapore with minimal confusion.
Indonesian has borrowed extensively from Dutch (colonial period), Arabic (religion and trade), Sanskrit (culture and religion), Portuguese (early trade), and increasingly English. Words like kantor (office, from Dutch kantoor), kursi (chair, from Arabic), and komputer (computer) are standard Indonesian.
About the Indonesian language
Indonesian belongs to the Austronesian language family, the same family as Malay, Tagalog, and Hawaiian. It was deliberately chosen as the national language of Indonesia in 1945 because Malay was already widely used as a trade language across the archipelago, and choosing it over Javanese (the most spoken local language) avoided favoring one ethnic group.
Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world with over 270 million people across 17,000 islands. It has the largest economy in Southeast Asia and is a member of the G20. Indonesian culture is extraordinarily diverse, encompassing Javanese gamelan music, Balinese dance, Sumatran cuisine, and hundreds of distinct ethnic groups each with their own local languages.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. No sign-up needed.
One of the easiest Asian languages for English speakers. Latin alphabet, no tones, no conjugations, SVO word order.
Yes. Click the speaker icon.
Mutually intelligible standards of the same language. A translation works for both.
Good for everyday use. Professional review for legal or business texts.
No. Standard Latin alphabet with no diacritics.
Visit our Indonesian to English page.
No.
Over 270 million, making it one of the most spoken languages globally.
Over 60 pairs including Malay, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, and more.
Need the reverse? Try Indonesian to English translation.
