🇮🇩 Indonesian
Bahasa Indonesia • Latin
Word order: what’s normal (and how to sound natural)
Understand the default word order and a simple strategy to avoid ‘translation‑English’.
The key idea
Indonesian is generally SVO; meaning is often expressed with word order and particles.
- Memorize patterns (whole sentences), not just single words.
- When you change the meaning, keep the grammar skeleton the same.
- If word order is flexible, use ‘neutral’ order first — emphasis comes later.
Saya di sini.
I am here.
Saya mau air.
I want water.
Saya tidak mengerti.
I don't understand.
Kamu bisa bahasa Inggris?
Do you speak English? (informal)
Di mana kamar mandi?
Where is the bathroom?
Ini teman saya.
This is my friend.
Tiny practice routine
Pick one sentence and create 5 variations. Example: ‘I want water’ → water/coffee/tea/ticket/help.
- Speak each variation out loud.
- Record yourself and compare rhythm.
Mini‑quiz
Mini-quiz
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Typical word order for this language is closest to…