Meaning & use
Indonesian
Last updated
Meanings
proper noununcountable
The official language of Indonesia, spoken by millions of people across the islands.
Grammar: Language names are uncountable and take a singular verb: Indonesian is easy to pronounce.
Patterns
- speak Indonesian
- in Indonesian
- learn Indonesian
She learned Indonesian while working in Jakarta.
Do you know how to say 'thank you' in Indonesian?
The announcement was read in Indonesian and then in English.
adjectivebefore a noun
Relating to Indonesia, its people, or its language.
Grammar: Used before a noun: an Indonesian island, Indonesian food. It is not usually used after a verb.
Patterns
- Indonesian culture
- Indonesian food
- an Indonesian city
Indonesian cooking often uses peanuts, chilies, and coconut.
He studies Indonesian history at university.
The festival featured Indonesian music and dance.
nouncountable
A person who comes from Indonesia.
Grammar: Countable: one Indonesian, several Indonesians.
Patterns
- be Indonesian
- a group of Indonesians
My neighbor is Indonesian and runs a small restaurant.
Many Indonesians live on the island of Java.
Two Indonesians joined our class this term.
nounpluraltechnical
A group of languages spoken in Indonesia, including Javanese and Sundanese.
Grammar: Used as a plural noun when talking about the language family as a whole.
Patterns
- the Indonesian languages
- a family of Indonesians
Linguists classify Javanese among the Indonesian languages.
The course compares several Indonesian languages.
Word forms
| plural | Indonesians |
|---|
Common combinations
- Indonesian food
- We ordered Indonesian food, including satay and rice.
- speak Indonesian
- He can speak Indonesian well enough to travel alone.
- in Indonesian
- She wrote the letter in Indonesian.
- Indonesian culture
- The museum has a gallery devoted to Indonesian culture.
- native Indonesian
- Many native Indonesians speak a local language at home.
Synonyms and how they differ
- Bahasa Indonesia
- The formal Indonesian name for the national language; use it when you want to be precise, especially in Indonesia itself.
- Malay
- A closely related language; it fits when you mean the wider language family, but Indonesian has its own standard and vocabulary.
Word family
- Indonesia proper noun
- The country in Southeast Asia.
- Indonesianness noun
- Rare; the quality of being Indonesian.
Commonly confused: Indonesian or Indian? Indonesian or Indochinese?
Indonesian vs Indian
Indian means from India, a different country and language family; Indonesian means from Indonesia.
Indonesian vs Indochinese
Indochinese refers to the peninsula of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, not to Indonesia.
Practice
Which sentence uses Indonesian correctly?
Choose one answer.
Language names are uncountable and take no article, so 'speaks Indonesian' is right. 'An Indonesian' and 'the Indonesian' are wrong because they treat the language as a countable object, and 'Indonesians' means people, not the language.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Indonesian”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.