Learn Indonesian for beginners

Indonesian uses the Latin alphabet, so you can read and sound out words from day one.

Indonesian does not conjugate verbs, so you can say new sentences as soon as you know the words. That is the ideal case for speaking practice: build a sentence, say it, repeat.

• Halo: hello
• Terima kasih: thank you
• Saya mau makan nasi goreng.: i want to eat fried rice.

1. 1

   Listen first

   Hear the Indonesian sentence before you try it so your ear knows the target.

2. 2

   Say it out loud

   Say the sentence three times. Slow first, then natural speed.

3. 3

   Build it

   Rebuild the sentence from its words so the word order sticks.

4. 4

   Repeat tomorrow

   Start the next session with yesterday's sentences.

• Only reading and tapping, and never saying anything aloud.
• Memorising word lists with no sentences around them.
• Waiting until you feel ready to speak. You get ready by speaking.
• Studying for two hours once a week instead of fifteen minutes daily.
• Expecting fast results. Indonesian takes about 900 hours to reach working proficiency, but basic spoken Indonesian comes much sooner.