How can i learn indonesian

Finally, I should mention that in most cases, the adjectives come after the nouns in Indonesian, just like in Spanish or French. I think that this is relatively easy to get used to. As you can see, learning Indonesian can be a bit tricky sometimes but overall learning this language should be very enjoyable.

Of course, it all depends on what you define as easy, but I think that we can definitely say that Indonesian is indeed relatively easy to learn for English speakers. You will have to build your Indonesian vocabulary from scratch as there is little overlaps with English.

On the other hand, words are relatively easy to pronounce and to memorize and Indonesian grammar is very easy. This means that you can start speaking Indonesian fairly quickly after getting started. Learn the most important words, try to make sentences and very soon you will be able to hold basic conversations in Indonesian and connect with Indonesian people!

Click the following link to see how VocaBooster can help you become conversational in Indonesian. According to the Foreign Service Institute it takes about 36 weeks or hours to become proficient in Indonesian. The fact is that it takes significantly less time to reach a basic conversational level. Mastery in language learning often takes years or even decades, but understanding the basics and holding basic conversations can be achieved in much less time.

We are convinced though that by following three principles, it will be extremely helpful for those who want reach a conversational level in Indonesian quickly. Learn the most important words first. This principle can be applied in language learning as well. To create your first sentences, you need words such as: I, you, to like, can, to do, today, to want, to be, expensive, big etc. You will be surprised by how many things you will be able to say by knowing only a few hundred words.

This principle works very well for Indonesian because of its simple grammar. Focus on making sentences from the beginning. When we learn languages at school, we often have to learn thousands of words. We also learn all the grammar rules and eventually, we have to read books in that language. Why is that? Well, in order to become fluent at a language we need to learn two things: — We need to learn a lot about the language words, grammar. Most people only focus on learning a language, but not using it!

You can simply write down sentences or even better, practice with a native speaker online. So… — Learn the most important words. Keep yourself accountable, be consistent.

Many people try to learn a new language, but few eventually become fluent. You download an app, go through a few lessons but eventually, it gets boring and you give up. Connecting to Indonesian people to practice on websites like italki. Another way to progress in the long term is by being consistent in your learning.

Look for communities online for people who are learning Indonesian or sign up for a language challenge. These are great ways to stay motivated and stay consistent in your learning.

Teach Yourself Indonesian Teach Yourself offers a wide range of self-study books including Indonesian. In 24 thematic chapters, you learn important language structures through dialogues. Each chapter includes key vocabulary lists. This book also features current cultural information boxes that reflect recent changes in society. VocaBooster Indonesian One of the biggest frustrations we faced learning Indonesian with learning traditional language courses was that so much irrelevant content was taught which included things one simply did not need to know as a beginner.

Therefore, we decided to create an Indonesian course where we only focus on the most important vocabulary for beginners! We handpicked of the most important words in Indonesian, put them in a logical order and added example sentences and native audio recordings. Click here for more info about VocaBooster Indonesian.

Bahasa Indonesia also has 3 diphthongs, which are a combination of 2 vowels blended together to produce a different sound than the 2 letters would make separately.

These diphthongs always have the same sound. Use most of the same consonant sounds you would in English. Bahasa Indonesia uses the same alphabet as English, and most of the consonants are pronounced the same way. However, some are more limited than their English counterparts. There are also a few consonants that are pronounced differently, so if you're learning Bahasa Indonesia, you'll need to practice those.

Practice compound consonants. Bahasa Indonesia has 4 compound consonants, also known as "digraphs. As with diphthongs, when you see any other 2 consonants together in a Bahasa Indonesia word, pronounce each letter separately rather than blending them together.

The digraph "ny" sounds like the "ny" in the English word "canyon. The digraph "kh" sounds like the "ch" in the Scottish word "loch. Sound out most words exactly as they're spelled. Bahasa Indonesia is a relatively easy language to learn because it is a phonetic language, meaning the words are pronounced exactly as they're spelled. Once you know how to pronounce the alphabet, you can sound out words that you see in print, even if you don't quite understand what they mean.

Method 2. Use "apa kabar" as a general greeting. Try different greetings based on the time of the day. As with many other languages, there are different Indonesian greetings that you can use depending on the time of day.

These are general greetings that can be used in any context. Selamat siang good day: 11 a. Selamat sore good afternoon: 3 p. Say "baik" to reply to "apa kabar. This is the polite, formal version. When speaking to friends, ask "Bagaimana denganmu? Introduce yourself with "nama saya" followed by your name. If you want to continue talking to someone, you typically would introduce yourself first. Use your first name after "nama saya.

When the person introduces themselves, you might also say "senang bertemu dengan Anda," which means "nice to meet you. Continue the conversation by asking the other person questions. As in any language, asking the other person questions is a good way to keep a conversation going. It can also help you pick up more of the language to listen to the person's answers. Good questions to ask include: [11] X Research source Dari mana Anda berasal?

Where are you from? Di mana Anda tinggal? Where do you live? Apakah Anda suka di sini? Do you like it here? What do you do for a living? Umur berapakah Anda? How old are you?

Let the other person know if you don't understand something they said. Especially when you're just starting to learn Indonesian, it's likely that your conversational partner will say things that go over your head. Let the person know quickly that you didn't understand them with the following phrases: [13] X Research source Saya tidak mengerti I don't understand Tolong bicara pelan sedikit Please speak more slowly Bisa tolong diulangi? Please say that again.

Show respect with polite words and phrases. Indonesians value politeness and respect, especially if you're talking to someone older than you or in a position of authority. Polite words and phrases you should know include: [14] X Research source Tolong please Maaf excuse me Permisi excuse me, if you want to get past someone Maafkan saya sorry Terima kasih thank you Termina kasih kembali reply to thank you. Method 3. Label items around your home with Indonesian words.

Use sticky notes to easily expand your vocabulary. Search online for the words in Indonesian for common items around your home, then apply the sticky note with the word to the item.

Each time you pass by the item, say the Indonesian word. Over time, you'll likely come to think of these items by their Indonesian word rather than the corresponding word in your native language. Here are some words to get started: [15] X Research source Kamar mandi bathroom Tempat tidur bed ; kamar tidur bedroom Langit-langit ceiling Lantai floor Kursi chair Dapur kitchen Meja table Dinding wall.

Memorize a few basic adjectives in Bahasa Indonesia. Adjectives are used frequently in normal conversation, but you likely tend to use only a few basic ones on a regular basis. If you learn the same basic adjectives in Bahasa Indonesia, you'll be able to have a conversation in Indonesian similar to one you'd have in your native language. Create your own flashcards for other common words. You can learn a lot of basic vocabulary by labeling items around your home, but those words will generally only get you so far.

After all, most people don't spend their day talking about furniture and other household items. Make a list of words or categories of words that you use on a regular basis, then look up their Indonesian equivalent. Save a few images that stick out to you and use them to create flashcards. You can either print the pictures and write the Indonesian word on the back, or you can use them as digital flashcards — save them in their own album in your photo app, then create a "key" document with the word for each picture.

If the photo flashcards work for you to learn nouns, moving photos in the form of GIFs can help you learn verbs. Simply repeat the same process you did with nouns, searching for GIFs that relate to the Indonesian verb you want to learn. Method 4. Use simplified grammar rules and sentence structure. Unlike most languages, Bahasa Indonesia doesn't have a lot of complex grammar rules that you might be familiar with from other languages, including English and European languages. This lack of rules can make the language a lot easier to pick up.

Grammar rules you don't have to worry about include: [20] X Research source No gender: Unlike in many European languages, such as Spanish or French, Indonesian nouns do not have a gender, so you don't have to worry about whether something is either male or female. No plurals: Nouns don't change their form to indicate that they're plural. Rather, you figure out whether a noun is singular or plural from the context of the sentence.

No conjugations: Verbs do not change form in Bahasa Indonesia. You don't have to worry about the verb agreeing with the subject, because the verb form is always the same regardless of the identity or number of the subject and remember, nouns don't have a plural form. No tenses: Technically speaking, verbs don't change their form to indicate past, present, or future tense. Rather, you simply add a single word in front of the verb to indicate past or future tense.

There are many top-notch, expert-designed online Indonesian courses and programs that run from reasonably priced to very expensive.

They allow you to learn Indonesian on your own time and are often more interactive and engaging than many free courses and resources. Plus, many of the best products out there are constantly updated with new, fresh material, so you can get the most relevant Indonesian learning experience available. All of the above options have one thing in common: they cost money. For those learners who want to be more conscious of their budgets or are okay with spending more time finding and working with more cost-effective content, there are still plenty of options to learn Indonesian for free or for cheap!

Be aware that the tradeoff of a free product is that it usually sacrifices quality. These lessons often focus on writing and reading without much of a way to improve listening and speaking skills. And be wary that free interactive Indonesian lessons like these can often be basic, poorly designed, messy, rigid, and just downright boring — not to mention littered with ads.

Tandem learning is a technique where two people who speak different native languages meet up to help each other learn, swapping roles as teacher and student. This is an effective method when both people are able to commit significant time and thought to the partnership, but keep in mind that not everyone is a good teacher. Using resources like Babbel, language textbooks and Indonesian classes, and practice with Indonesian native speakers can all help you prepare before you make a big transition through Indonesian immersion.

Using books to learn Indonesian is a great way to sharpen your reading skills and to understand how the Indonesian language is used in a whole wide range of contexts, from historical fiction to fairy tales to personal essays to collections of short stories to nonfiction and everything in between. Reading books in Indonesian helps you move at your own pace, and you can stop to consult an Indonesian dictionary if you need extra help along the way.

Keeping a language journal of unfamiliar Indonesian words and expressions helps you build your vocabulary. Plus, you can get some extra speaking and Indonesian pronunciation practice by reading the book aloud. There are many online Indonesian audio lessons you can find that can teach you the basics of Indonesian vocabulary and grammar without needing to look at a page or a screen.

Indonesian audio lessons are great for multitasking; you can listen to them in the car or in the background of another activity, like commuting to work, cooking dinner or taking a walk in your neighborhood. Similarly, Indonesian podcasts and Indonesian audiobooks are a great way to learn passively while you do something else that requires your visual attention. Luckily, there are lots of audio resources to pick from, and many of them are free.

Indonesian podcasts like Learning Indonesian are great for beginners and cover a wide range of introductory grammar and vocabulary, and others like Bule Belajar Bahasa are more suitable for intermediate learners while still maintaining a fun, conversational tone.

And listening to Indonesian songs can be a great learning method, too. With songs, a chorus or group of lyrics is often repeated more than once, giving you plenty of opportunities to hear lyrics over and over. You can find many playlists of Indonesian songs on Spotify that are often organized by proficiency level, too, from beginner playlists to more advanced ones.

Watching Indonesian movies and Indonesian TV shows is an excellent way to connect with the Indonesian language in a fun, dramatized and engaging format. You can find good Indonesian-language content of all different genres and for all learning proficiency levels on streaming services like Netflix, YouTube and Amazon Prime.

The goal of learning any language is to have real-life conversations with native speakers. So a language learning app should be designed to get you to that goal in the best way possible.