Essential Indonesian travel phrases

Pack the words that matter. These are the 34 Indonesian phrases that actually come up on a trip, from your first Halo to calling for help, grouped by situation and written with a simple pronunciation guide, and read aloud at the tap of a button. Chosen the way a Indonesian speaker would choose them, which is why the list ends with the phrases you only hear once you are there.

Quick answer

The most useful Indonesian travel phrases cover greetings, politeness, directions, food, and emergencies. Learn a handful first: Halo (hello), Permisi (excuse me), Terima kasih (thank you), and Toiletnya di mana? (where is the toilet?). This free tool groups 34 Indonesian phrases by situation, each with a plain-English pronunciation and a play button that reads it aloud. They are the phrases Indonesian speakers really use, not an English list translated into Indonesian, so the last block is the one a phrasebook never has: what locals say to each other.

Start here

The first 10 Indonesian phrases to learn

The ones you need on day one. Tap play, say the phrase back until it sounds close, then say it along with the voice: that is shadowing, the drill interpreters train with.

1 Halo Hello HAH-loh Works at any hour; with someone older the Selamat greetings below sound better
2 Selamat pagi Good morning suh-LAH-mat PAH-gee Used until about eleven; Indonesians greet by the hour, not with one word all day
3 Selamat siang Good day suh-LAH-mat SEE-ahng From late morning to about three; after that it is Selamat sore until dark, and Selamat malam once it is dark
4 Mau ke mana? Where are you off to? MAH-oo kuh MAH-nah A hello, not a real question: neighbours, drivers and stall keepers ask it; answer "Jalan-jalan", just strolling
5 Sampai jumpa See you SAHM-pai JOOM-pah See you, to someone you will meet again; leaving a shop you just say "Makasih" or "Permisi", friends part with "Duluan ya", I am off, and "Selamat tinggal" sounds final
6 Terima kasih Thank you tuh-REE-mah KAH-see Answered with Sama-sama; Makasih is the short spoken form
7 Permisi Excuse me per-MEE-see To squeeze past, to step into a room, and to open a question to a stranger
8 Ya / Tidak Yes / no yah / TEE-dahk In casual speech no is usually Nggak; Tidak is the full form
9 Maaf Sorry MAH-ahf Also said in advance, before you trouble somebody
10 Saya tidak mengerti I don't understand SAH-yah TEE-dahk muh-NGER-tee

Show

All 34 phrases, grouped by situation.

Greetings

Halo Hello HAH-loh Works at any hour; with someone older the Selamat greetings below sound better

Selamat pagi Good morning suh-LAH-mat PAH-gee Used until about eleven; Indonesians greet by the hour, not with one word all day

Selamat siang Good day suh-LAH-mat SEE-ahng From late morning to about three; after that it is Selamat sore until dark, and Selamat malam once it is dark

Mau ke mana? Where are you off to? MAH-oo kuh MAH-nah A hello, not a real question: neighbours, drivers and stall keepers ask it; answer "Jalan-jalan", just strolling

Sampai jumpa See you SAHM-pai JOOM-pah See you, to someone you will meet again; leaving a shop you just say "Makasih" or "Permisi", friends part with "Duluan ya", I am off, and "Selamat tinggal" sounds final

Basics

Terima kasih Thank you tuh-REE-mah KAH-see Answered with Sama-sama; Makasih is the short spoken form

Permisi Excuse me per-MEE-see To squeeze past, to step into a room, and to open a question to a stranger

Ya / Tidak Yes / no yah / TEE-dahk In casual speech no is usually Nggak; Tidak is the full form

Maaf Sorry MAH-ahf Also said in advance, before you trouble somebody

Saya tidak mengerti I don't understand SAH-yah TEE-dahk muh-NGER-tee

Bisa bahasa Inggris? Do you speak English? BEE-sah bah-HAH-sah ING-grees Widely understood in Bali and in hotels, much less so elsewhere

Getting around

Toiletnya di mana? Where is the toilet? toy-LET-nyah dee MAH-nah Signs say WC, pronounced way say; in a house ask for the kamar mandi

Kiri, Pak Pull over here KEE-ree pahk Literally left; it is how you stop a minibus, an ojek or a taxi

Berapa ongkosnya? How much is the fare? buh-RAH-pah ong-KOS-nyah Agree it before you get on an ojek; the ride apps show a price instead

Tolong antar ke sini Please take me here TOH-long AHN-tar kuh SEE-nee Show the address on your phone; drivers navigate by landmark, not by number

Masih jauh? Is it still far? MAH-see JAH-ooh

Eating out

Yang enak apa? What is good here? yahng EH-nahk AH-pah How you ask what the place is known for, in a warung with no menu

Jangan pedas, ya Not spicy, please JAH-ngahn puh-DAHS yah The most useful line in the country. "Jangan", don't, leaves anything out of an order, as in "jangan pakai sambal"; pedas means chilli hot, not merely warm

Minta air putih Plain water, please MEEN-tah ah-yeer POO-tee Air putih is plain drinking water; ask for air alone and anything may arrive

Enak sekali Very tasty EH-nahk suh-KAH-lee Enak covers anything that feels good, not only food

Minta bon, ya The bill, please MEEN-tah bon yah In a warung there is no bill; ask Berapa semuanya, how much altogether

Shopping

Berapa harganya? How much is it? buh-RAH-pah har-GAH-nyah

Boleh kurang? Can you come down a bit? BOH-leh KOO-rahng Real at a market or a stall; a shop with price tags does not bargain

Bisa pakai kartu? Can I pay by card? BEE-sah PAH-kai KAR-too Malls and cafes take cards; at a warung or a market bring cash or scan QRIS

Lihat-lihat saja Just looking LEE-hat-LEE-hat SAH-jah

Emergencies

Tolong! Help! TOH-long The same word means please in a request, so the tone carries it

Panggil ambulans! Call an ambulance! PAHNG-gil ahm-boo-LAHNS

Panggil polisi! Call the police! PAHNG-gil po-LEE-see

Saya tersesat I'm lost SAH-yah ter-suh-SAHT

Locals say

Sama-sama You're welcome SAH-mah-SAH-mah The answer to Terima kasih; it means the same to you

Pak Sir PAHK Hung on every sentence to a man older than you, "Bu" to a woman; for someone young use "Mas" or "Mbak", or "Kak", which is how shop staff address you

Tidak apa-apa No problem TEE-dahk AH-pah-AH-pah Waves off any apology or mishap; the spoken short form is Gapapa

Sudah makan? Have you eaten? SOO-dah MAH-kahn A greeting, not an invitation; answer Sudah, already, or Belum, not yet

Hati-hati Take care HAH-tee-HAH-tee Said to anyone leaving or getting on a bike, the standard sendoff

How to get the most from these phrases

Learn by situation, not alphabetically. Your memory files Halo next to the moment you would use it, so run through the greetings before you fly, the restaurant block on the way to dinner, and the emergency block once so it is there if you ever need it.

The pronunciation guide is written the way an English speaker would read it aloud, with the stressed syllable in capitals. It is a crutch, not the real sound. Press play, listen once, then say the phrase back: the audio fixes the vowels that plain English spelling cannot capture. Once a phrase feels easy, say it together with the voice, a beat behind, the way interpreters drill: our guide to shadowing explains the sequence.

Phrases get you to the country. What gets you fluent is meeting the same words again and again in context, which is exactly what reading does. Once Permisi and Terima kasih feel automatic, the next step is a real Indonesian sentence, then a page, then a book. That is the whole idea behind reading in Lingo7.

Put it into practice

Go past the phrasebook. Learn Indonesian by reading. A phrasebook gets you through the airport. Reading real Indonesian books, with a tap for translation and native audio on every sentence, is how the words start to stick. Lingo7 turns a book a level above you into something you can actually read. Free to start.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the most important Indonesian phrases for travel?

Start with greetings and politeness, then the phrases that solve a real problem: asking directions, ordering, paying, and getting help. On this page that is Halo (hello), Permisi (excuse me), Terima kasih (thank you), Toiletnya di mana? (where is the toilet?), and Tolong! (help!). Learn those few and you can be polite and safe almost anywhere.

What do Indonesian locals say that a phrasebook leaves out?

A phrasebook translates English, so it gives you the Indonesian for "hello" and stops. The phrases people there actually trade all day are the ones with no English slot: Sama-sama (you're welcome), Pak (sir), Tidak apa-apa (no problem). The "Locals say" block on this page collects 5 of them and says when each one is used, which is usually what turns a correct sentence into a normal one.

What do these Indonesian phrases sound like?

Tap the play button next to a phrase and you hear it read aloud, so you can copy the sound instead of guessing it from the spelling. The written pronunciation is a crutch for English eyes, the audio is the real thing. Play Halo and Terima kasih a few times, say them back, and they come out right when it counts.

How do you say hello and thank you in Indonesian?

In Indonesian, hello is Halo (pronounced HAH-loh) and thank you is Terima kasih (tuh-REE-mah KAH-see). Add Permisi (excuse me) and Sampai jumpa (see you), and you have the words that carry most short exchanges with a shopkeeper, waiter, or stranger.

How do you ask where the toilet is in Indonesian?

Ask Toiletnya di mana? (pronounced toy-LET-nyah dee MAH-nah), which means "where is the toilet?" in Indonesian. If you only catch part of the reply, Saya tidak mengerti (I don't understand) and a smile usually gets it repeated or pointed out. It is one of the few phrases worth memorizing word for word before you go.

Do I need to learn Indonesian before traveling?

No, but a dozen Indonesian phrases go a long way. Locals warm up fast when you open with Halo and Terima kasih instead of English. You do not need grammar or fluency for a trip, just the survival set above. For anything past that, the fastest route to real Indonesian is reading, which is exactly what Lingo7 is built for.