Basic Indonesian phrases for Bali and beyond

The Indonesian you will actually use in Bali, Jakarta or Lombok: greetings, directions, ordering food, bargaining at a market and asking for help, plus two Balinese words that people in Bali love to hear. Each phrase comes with a pronunciation you can read straight off the screen.

Before you start

Indonesian is the easiest language on this list to start: it has no tones, it uses the Latin alphabet, and words are mostly read the way they are written. A c is always said like the ch in church.

In Bali people speak Indonesian with visitors and Balinese with each other. Indonesian is all you need, but Om Swastiastu and suksma are a friendly extra.

The greeting changes with the time of day: selamat pagi in the morning, selamat siang around midday, selamat sore in the afternoon and selamat malam in the evening.

The pronunciation is a simple English spelling, not an exact transcription. It gets you understood; a native speaker will still hear an accent.

Basics and politeness

Getting around

Food and drink

Shopping and money

Help and health

Balinese words for Bali

Numbers

Other phrase lists

• Thai phrases (49)
• Vietnamese phrases (46)