The World of Languages · Austronesian
Indonesian · Bahasa Indonesia
A standardised form of Malay that unites the world's largest archipelago nation. Most Indonesians learn it alongside a local mother tongue.
- 78 million native speakers
- 255 million speakers in total
- Latin script
- FSI Category II · 36 weeks
- Official in 1 country
Where Indonesian is spoken
Tap or hover over a country. Colours show the language's status, based on Unicode CLDR territory data (population estimates mix sources and years).
Top countries by speakers
- IndonesiaOfficial language · 180M (64%)
Key numbers
- Native (L1) speakers
- 78 million
- Second-language (L2) speakers
- 177 million
- Total speakers
- 255 million
- Source
- Ethnologue (2026), via Wikipedia
Indonesian at a glance
Indonesian (bahasa Indonesia) is the official and national language of Indonesia. It is a standardized variety of Malay, an Austronesian pluricentric macrolanguage that has been used as a lingua franca in the multilingual Indonesian archipelago for centuries. With over 280 million inhabitants, Indonesia ranks as the fourth-most populous nation globally. According to the 2020 census, over 97% of Indonesians are fluent in Indonesian, making it the largest language by number of speakers in Southeast Asia and one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. Indonesian vocabulary has been influenced by various native regional languages such as Javanese, Sundanese, Minangkabau, Balinese, Banjarese, and Buginese, as well as by foreign languages such as Arabic, Dutch, Hokkien, Portuguese, Sanskrit, and English.
From the Wikipedia article Indonesian language (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Name in Indonesian
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Family
- AustronesianMalayo-PolynesianMalayo-ChamicMalayicNuclear MalayicStandard Malay-Indonesian
- Writing system
- Latin alphabet (26 letters)
- Direction
- Left to right
- Official in
- Indonesia
- Codes
- ISO 639-3
ind· Glottologindo1316· Q9240 - Writing sample
Semua orang dilahirkan merdeka dan mempunyai martabat dan hak-hak yang sama. Mereka dikaruniai akal dan hati nurani dan hendaknya bergaul satu sama lain dalam semangat persaudaraan.
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights…”
Linguistic profile
How hard is Indonesian for English speakers?
The US Foreign Service Institute puts Indonesian in Category II: about 36 weeks (900 class hours) of full-time study to reach professional working proficiency.
Source: FSI language learning timelines. See all languages ranked: hardest · easiest.
Feature values from the World Atlas of Language Structures (WALS Online, CC BY 4.0).
The Indonesian script
Latin alphabet (26 letters). Tap a character to hear it (your device reads the letter name or sound).
Standard letters from Unicode CLDR exemplar characters.
Useful Indonesian phrases with pronunciation
Numbers 1–10
- satu
- dua
- tiga
- empat
- lima
- enam
- tujuh
- delapan
- sembilan
- sepuluh
Days of the week
- Mon Senin
- Tue Selasa
- Wed Rabu
- Thu Kamis
- Fri Jumat
- Sat Sabtu
- Sun Minggu
Everyday words
- water air
- cat kucing
- dog anjing
- coffee kopi
- beer bir
- bread roti
- book buku
Phrases and words checked against Wiktionary; days and months from Unicode CLDR. Audio uses your browser's built-in Indonesian voice when available.
Dialects and varieties
Formal Indonesian (bahasa baku)
Schools, government, news
“Saya tidak tahu” (I don't know).
Jakarta colloquial (bahasa gaul)
Jakarta and national youth media
“Gue nggak tahu” (I don't know). Gue/lo for I/you come from Hokkien.
Malaysian Malay
Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore
Mutually intelligible with Indonesian, with vocabulary differences: kereta = car in Malaysia but train in Indonesia.
Regional Indonesian
Across the archipelago
Spoken with local accents and particles from Javanese, Sundanese, Minangkabau and other languages.
Fun words, untranslatables and false friends
gotong royong
Mutual cooperation: neighbours working together for the common good.
jam karet
“Rubber time”: the flexible attitude to schedules.
ngabuburit
Passing the time in the late afternoon while waiting to break the Ramadan fast.
False friends for English speakers
| Indonesian | Looks like | Actually means |
|---|---|---|
| kantor | cantor (singer) | office (from Dutch kantoor) |
| seksi | sexy | section, department (also “sexy”) |
Curious facts
- Indonesian has no verb tenses: time is shown with words like sudah (already) and akan (will).
- Plurals are often made by doubling: anak (child) becomes anak-anak (children).
- Indonesian was chosen as the language of national unity at the 1928 Youth Pledge (Sumpah Pemuda), even though Javanese had more native speakers.
- Indonesian has many loanwords from Dutch, Sanskrit, Arabic and Portuguese: sepatu (shoe) comes from Portuguese sapato.
Famous Indonesian-speaking voices
Singers & musicians
Writers & poets
Film & TV
Other famous figures
Descriptions from Wikidata; photos from Wikimedia Commons under the licences shown.
Indonesian culture now
The Raid (2011 film)
Indonesian film by Gareth Evans
Dangdut
Genre of Indonesian folk and traditional popular music
Cigarette Girl (TV series)
2023 Indonesian television series
Laskar Pelangi
Film by Riri Reza
Gamelan
Traditional ensemble music of Indonesia
Wayang
Java-origin cultural performance
Learn Indonesian on YouTube
Free lessons from teachers and channels with Indonesian courses. Videos load only when you press play.
The story of the language
Quick quiz: how well do you know Indonesian?
Where to learn Indonesian
The Endless Book
Read text you can understand, in the style of your favourite author and genre. About 30 languages.
LangMagicLangMagic Speak
Speaking lessons built around your topics, from materials you choose.
LangMagicLangMagic Meet
A virtual meeting platform built for language lessons, with follow-up exercises.
FreeWikivoyage Indonesian phrasebook
Free travel phrasebook with pronunciation guide
FreeWikibooks: Indonesian
Free, open textbook
FreeOmniglot: Indonesian
Script, pronunciation and useful phrases
FreeWiktionary: Indonesian dictionary
Free multilingual dictionary
Sources
- Speaker numbers: Ethnologue (2026), via Wikipedia.
- Countries, populations, alphabets, days and months: Unicode CLDR 46.
- Classification: Glottolog 5.3. Grammar features: WALS Online.
- Introduction: Wikipedia, Indonesian language (CC BY-SA 4.0). People and culture: Wikipedia and Wikidata. Images: Wikimedia Commons.
- Writing sample: Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1, from the Unicode UDHR collection. Phrases and words: Wiktionary. Difficulty: US Foreign Service Institute.
- Map: Natural Earth via world-atlas (public domain).