Numbers and Numerals in Indonesian Language

Numerals in Indonesian Language

CARDINAL NUMBERS in INDONESIAN

0 = nol, kosong
1 = satu
2 = dua
3 = tiga
4 = empat
5 = lima
6 = enam
7 = tujuh
8 = delapan
9 = sembilan
10 = sepuluh

11 = sebelas
12 = dua belas
13 = tiga belas
14 = empat belas
15 = lima belas
 the same pattern until 20
19 = sembilan belas
20 = dua puluh


21 = dua puluh satu
22 = dua puluh dua
the same pattern until 30
29 = dua puluh sembilan
30 = tiga puluh
and so on, using the same pattern as previous
40 = empat puluh
50 = lima puluh
and so on, using the same pattern also until 90
90 = sembilan puluh
100 = seratus
101 = seratus satu
110 = seratus sepuluh
200 = dua ratus
300 = tiga ratus
1.000 = seribu
1.100 = seribu seratus
2.000 = dua ribu
3.000 = tiga tibu
10.000 = sepuluh ribu
50.000 = lima puluh ribu
100.000 = seratus ribu
1.000.000 = sejuta / satu juta
1.000.000.000 = semiliar / satu miliar

The numeral is placed before noun to describe "quantity"

For example :

• empat tahun ( 4 years )
• sepuluh ribu rupiah ( ten thousand rupiah )
• enam hari ( six days )

 ~For counting, Indonesian uses some auxiliary words placed after the numeral such as :

• ekor ( for counting animals )
• orang ( for counting persons )
• helai/ lembar ( for counting things such as paper, thin layer things, clothes )
• buah/ banyak ( for counting most of things, it's used for everything beside those 3 mentioned above )
• batang ( for counting stick/ long-shaped things )

For example : 5 ekor ( 5 animals ), 5 ekor sapi ( 5 cows ), 4 orang ( 4 persons ), 2 buah ( 2 things )

~Usually, if the quantity is just one, we can say it with prefix "se-"

For example : sebuah ( a thing ), sesuatu ( something ), seekor ( 1 animal ), selembar kertas ( 1 sheet of paper )


And to describe position, dates and rank ( Ordinal Numbers in Indonesian language ) such as first, second, third, fourth, fifth , and so on, Indonesian uses only one prefix "ke-" placed before the numeral and it covers everything, no need to learn the hard way ^_^. Ordinal number for "first", it's also called "pertama" "besides kesatu"

For example :

• Hari keempat ( Day 4th, fourth day )
• Menit kedua puluh ( Minute 20th )
• Februari keempat belas ( 14th February )
• Hari pertama / hari kesatu ( The first day )
• Hari ( yang ) kedua ( The second day ) *the "yang" word is usually placed there to make an emphasizing

Fraction

In Indonesian, it's called "pecahan". To make a fraction word in Indonesian language, we can put prefix "per-" to the cardinal number.

For example :

• 1/2 = satu per dua / setengah
• 1/3 = satu per tiga / sepertiga
• 1/4 = satu per empat / seperempat
• 1/8 = satu per delapan / seperdelapan
• 4/5 = empat per lima
• 2 4/7 = dua empat per tujuh
• 3 /1/4 = tiga seperempat / tiga satu per empat

Making Question about quantity

If we want to make a question about quantity in Indonesian, we use question word "Berapa"

 For example :

• Berapa buah mangga yang kamu makan ? ( How many mangos have you eaten ? )
• Berapa lama ? ( How long ? )
• Berapa orang di dalam kamar itu ? ( How many persons are in this room ? )
• Berapa ekor ayam yang anda mau ? ( How many chickens do you want ? )
• Berapa banyak telur yang di beli ? ( How many eggs did you buy ?
•  and so on