Indonesian Language Pronunciation

Like what i mentioned before, Indonesian language has the same spelling as the Japanese does ( Romanized Katakana and Hiragana ), with a little Dutch influence.

VOWEL

For the vowel, Indonesian uses the same rule like Japanese vowel (A,I,U,E,O), but we have a little difference in how to say the ''E" part.

A

~it is spelled approximately like "a" in"bar"
( maka=so,therefore; saya=i,me )

~in the syllable ended with consonant, it is pronounced like "u" in "but"
( sekat=screen, room divider; kebal=invulnerable,resistant )

ai

~it sounds like "i" in "dine" and "slice"
( pantai=beach; santai=relaxed; kain=cloth, fabric )

au

~it's pretty much the same like when "ow" in "cow"
( kalau=if; galau=confusion; kau=you )


ae

~it's the combination between "a" spelling and "e" spelling, do you know sae miyazawa, it sounds exactly like ae in "sae"

ao

~it's pretty much the same like when you say "awwwww"


I

~it's spelled like "ee" in "seen"
( sibuk=busy; ini=this, these )

~in the syllable ended with consonant, it mostly sounds like "i" in "piece"
( sulit=hard; itu=that, those )


U

~it's spelled like"oo" in "pool"
( suka=like, enjoy; untuk=for, to )


E ( the only difference, it has two way of spelling, emphasized and unemphasized)

~unemphasized spelling, it's spelled like "e" in "oven"
( kejar=chase,pursue; berani=brave,unaffraid; sekarang=now )

~emphasized spelling, it's pronounced like "e" in "dead"
( nekat=determined, gutsy; hebat=great, excellent )

~Usually, if we find out that there are multiple syllables with "e" in a row, the first "e" is spelled in unemphasized, and the rest are spelled in emphasized.
For example, sederetan= a row, a line  ( the first "e" in "se"  is pronounced in unemphasized way, however the second and third "e" respectively in "de" and "re" are pronounced in emphasized way )


O

~it's spelled like "o" in "toll"
( kol=cabbage; sol=shoe sole, foot sole )
 


CONSONANTS


The Indonesian consonants are generally spelled like English consonants because it has the same alphabet.

B

~it's spelled like "b" in "bolt"

C

~it sounds like "ch" in "cheery" and "cheese"

D

~it's spelled like "d" in daddy

~in the syllable ended with consonant "d", it's spelled like "t" in kit, fit

F

~it sounds like "f" in far and "ph" in pharynx

~usually, it can be changed into "p", for instance, nafas (breathe,breath), can be also said napas (breathe,breath), both words have the same meaning.

G

~it's so much alike with "g" in "gadget", "get"

H

~the first "h" in indonesian word is spelled soft and gentle
( hancur=destroyed )

~when it comes to "h" in the middle of a word, it's spelled clearly and in one condition, it should be followed with the same or alike vowels, here's the example for "a" ( paha=thigh; pahat=sculpt; maha=very, great )

~when it comes to "h" in the middle of a word but this time with different vowels
( melihat=to see; pahit=bitter )

~in the syllable ended with consonant "h", we have to do a little exhale air to the vowel that comes with it
( payah=lame, weak ; sudah=already; lebih=more )


J

~it has the similar voice like "j" in "jacket"

K

~it sounds like "k" in kit
( sakit=sick )

~in the syllable ended with consonant "ck", it's spelled "duck"

( aduk=stir; batuk=cough )

kh 

~it sounds like "ch" in "loch"
( khawatir=worried; khusus=special, peculiar, particular )

L

~It kinda has the similar sound like "l" in "lame", "loop","lack"

M

~it's pronounced like "m" in "mario"

N

~N is also the same like the other letters, it's spelled like "n" in "name", "noon"

ng

~it does look the same like "ing" in every continues tenses and gerund like in "singing, dancing, it can be placed in the front, middle, or the end of a word
( mengetik=to type; mengacaukan=to ruin, to spoil )


ngg

~it's very much alike with "ng" in "linger"
( mengganggu=bother, annoy )

ny

~it sounds like "ny" in "sonya"
( menyanyi=to sing )

P

~it's totally the same like "p" in "plane" or "plant"

Q

~it's spelled like "q" in "queen" or"quake"

R

~it has the same sound like "r" in "rear" or "road"

S

~the same again, it sounds like "s" in "this" or "say"

sy

~it's pronounced like "sh" in "shampoo" or"shy"

T

~it's the same again like "t" in "total"

V

~the pronunciation is sounded like "v" in "vancouver"

W

~it has no difference at all with "w" in " win"

X

~this is also the same, it doesn't have any difference with "x" in "xylophone"

Y

~another similarity spelling, it's spelled like "y" in "yell" or "yawn"

Z

~the last alphabet letter, again this time, it's pronounced like "z" in "zip"