Encyclopedia > List of borrowed words in Indonesian
This is a list of loanwords in the Indonesian language. A loanword is a word directly taken into one language from another with little or no translation. ... Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) is the official language of Indonesia and East Timor. ...
Word
Meaning
Language borrowed from
agama
religion
Sanskrit
aksara
letter
Sanskrit
bahasa
language
Sanskrit
bakti, bhakti
homage, devotion, service etc.
Sanskrit
berita
news
Sanskrit
budi
reason
Sanskrit
bumi
earth
Sanskrit
cahaya
light
Sanskrit
cakram, cakra
disk, sphere etc.
Sanskrit
cakrawala
horizon
Sanskrit
dana
donation, funds
Sanskrit
dharma, darma
duty, good deeds (i.e. charity), truth etc.
Sanskrit
desa
village
Sanskrit
genta
bell
Sanskrit
guna
use, purpose
Sanskrit
guru
teacher, guru
Sanskrit
jasa
merit, service etc.
Sanskrit
karma
karma (Hindu origin)
Sanskrit
karya
work, oeuvre
Sanskrit
kepala
head
Sanskrit
kerja
work (same origin as karya)
Sanskrit
mantra
mantra
Sanskrit
menteri
minister (head of a government department)
Sanskrit
nama
name
Sanskrit
negara
country
Sanskrit
negeri
city (lit.)
Sanskrit
pahala
merit, reward (for moral conduct)
Sanskrit
paksa
to force
Sanskrit
pustaka
book
Sanskrit
rasa
emotion, feeling, taste
Sanskrit
sastra
literature
Sanskrit
seteru
enemy
Sanskrit
topi
hat
Sanskrit
utara
north
Sanskrit
warna
colour
Sanskrit
warta
news (same origin as berita)
Sanskrit
warta berita
news broadcast
Sanskrit
apam
kind of cake
Tamil
kedai
foodstall
Tamil
akal
reason
Arabic
akhir
end
Arabic
akhlak
moral
Arabic
akhirat
hereafter
Arabic
awal
beginning
Arabic
badan
body
Arabic
berkah, barokah
bless, barakah
Arabic
daftar
list
Arabic
dunia
world
Arabic
kitab
book
Arabic
kursi
chair
Arabic
halal
lawful
Arabic
haram
unlawful
Arabic
maaf
sorry, to apologise
Arabic
maksud
meaning, purpose
Arabic
majelis
assembly, majlis
Arabic
masjid
mosque
Arabic
mubazir
useless
Arabic
murtad
apostate
Arabic
musim
season
Arabic
pikir
to think
Arabic
sedekah
gift, shodaqoh
Arabic
siasat
trick
Arabic
surat
letter
Arabic
waktu
time
Arabic
wilayah
region, area
Arabic
zakat
alms
Arabic
zaman / jaman
era
Arabic
arde
ground (Dutch= aarde = earth)
Dutch
arbei
strawberry (Dutch =aardbei)
Dutch
ban
tire (Dutch = band)
Dutch
baskom, waskom
washbasin (Dutch = waskom)
Dutch
bengkel
workplace (Dutch winkel = store, originally angle)
Dutch
besuk
visiting (Dutch = bezoeken)
Dutch
bioskop
cinema (Dutch = bioscoop)
Dutch
buncis
green beans (Dutch = boontjes)
Dutch
bruder
Roman Catholic friar (Dutch broeder = brother)
Dutch
buku
book (Dutch =boek)
Dutch
dak
roof (Dutch = dak)
Dutch
dasi
necktie (Dutch = das)
Dutch
ember
bucket (Dutch =emmer)
Dutch
engsel
hinges (Dutch hengsel)
Dutch
handuk
towel (Dutch handdoek)
Dutch
hanger
hanger
Dutch
kabel
cable (Dutch = Kabel)
Dutch
kamar
room (Dutch=kamer)
Dutch
kantor
office (Dutch=kantoor)
Dutch
karcis
ticket (Dutch kaartjes = plural for diminutive of kaart, card or ticket)
Dutch
kartu
card (Dutch=kaart)
Dutch
kelar
ready, finished (Dutch= klaar)
Dutch
kosen
window frame (Dutch= kozijn)
Dutch
laci
deskdrawer (Dutch= laatje, diminutive form of la)
Dutch
lampu
lamp
Dutch
oom / om
uncle
Dutch
pabrik
factory (Dutch = fabriek)
Dutch
plafon
ceiling (Dutch= plafond, from French)
Dutch
potlot
pencil (Dutch= potlood)
Dutch
rekening
account (Dutch= rekening)
Dutch
resleting
zipper (Dutch= ritssluiting)
Dutch
ribewis
driving licence (Dutch= rijbewijs)
Dutch
sekrup
screw (Dutch= schroef)
Dutch
sepeda
bicycle (most probably from French velocipede)
Dutch
slang
waterhose
Dutch
tante
aunt
Dutch
tas
bag
Dutch
tegel
floor tile
Dutch
telat
(too) late (Dutch= te laat)
Dutch
wastafel
sink
Dutch
wortel
carrot
Dutch
zuster, suster
nun, nurse, sister
Dutch
mantel
coat
Dutch / German
amoi
Chinese girl (from Port of Amoy, China)
Chinese
angpao
gift money for Chinese New Year
Chinese
bakmie
noodle
Chinese
bakso
meatball
Chinese
dacin
balance scale
Chinese
duit
money
Chinese (Hokkien)
hoki
luck, lucky
Chinese
kecap
soybean sauce, (ketchup is tomato ketchup, it is not the kecap of soybean)
Chinese
loteng
2nd storey of a house
Chinese
Mak Comblang
Match Maker
Chinese
mecin
MSG (flavouring for cooking)
Chinese
mesiu
gunpowder (not clear whether of Chinese descent or not)
Chinese
singkek
Chinese newcomer (derogative), pure blooded Chinese, i.e. not of mixed ancestry
Chinese
tahu
tofu
Chinese
teh
tea
Chinese
Tionghoa
Chinese
Chinese (Hokkien)
Tiongkok
China
Chinese (Hokkien)
kado
gift (FR: cadeau)
French
kudeta
coup d'etat (FR: coup d'etat)
French
aku
I, me
Javanese
armada
fleet (Port. armada)
Portuguese
belanda
Dutch, Holland, any westerner (Port. Holanda)
Portuguese
beranda
veranda (Port. varanda)
Portuguese
biola
violin (Port. viola)
Portuguese
boneka
doll (Port. boneca)
Portuguese
frambus
raspberry (Port. framboesa)
Portuguese
gardu
to guard, watch post (Port. guarda)
Portuguese
gereja
church (Port. igreja)
Portuguese
gubernur
governor (Port. governador)
Portuguese
jendela
window (Port. janela)
Portuguese
kakus
toilet
Portuguese
keju
cheese (Port. queijo)
Portuguese
kemeja
shirt (Port. camisa)
Portuguese
kereta
chariot/car
Portuguese
lemari
closet (cognate with English armoury. Port. armario)
Portuguese
meja
table (Port. mesa)
Portuguese
mentega
butter (Port. manteiga)
Portuguese
minggu
Sunday (Port. Domingo)
Portuguese
sepatu
shoe (Port. sapato)
Portuguese
serdadu
army (Port. soldado)
Portuguese
tempo
time (Port. tempo)
Portuguese
terigu
flour (Port. trigo)
Portuguese
gosip
gossip
Portuguese
pensil
pencil
Portuguese
solusi
solution
Portuguese
target
target
Portuguese
topik
topic
Portuguese
anjangsana
high official visiting
Sundanese
anjungan
pavilion
Minangkabau (W. Sumatra)
nan
which, who (connecting word)
Minangkabau
anda
you (respectful)
Nias (island W. of Sumatra)
so pasti
surely
Manado Malay
pahlawan
hero
Persian
piyama
pajamas
Persian
administrasi
administration
English
migrasi
migration
English
sirkulasi
circulation
English
Bibliography
de Vries, Jan W., Grijns, C.D. and Santa Maria, L. 1983 Indonesian : a check-list of words of European origin in Bahasa Indonesia and traditional Malay Leiden : Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde. ISBN 9067180041.
Indonesian is a standardized dialect of the Malay language that was officially defined with the declaration of Indonesian independence in 1945, and the two languages remain quite similar.
Indonesian is part of the Western Malayo-Polynesian subgroup of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian languages.
Indonesian is spoken throughout Indonesia (and East Timor), although it is used most extensively in urban areas, and less so in the rural parts of Indonesia.
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