Discover the richness of Indonesian vocabulary, from Jakarta's street slang to centuries-old regional dialects, organized alphabetically for your convenience.
“A Javanese cultural tradition, particularly in Central and East Java, consisting of a “communal offering of snacks” and beverages such as traditional market snacks, tea, or coffee, brought by community members on a rotating basis to a mosque or prayer hall, accompanied by Quranic recitation sessions held on specific designated days as part of Islamic religious observance.”
“Behaving in a “fake” or “unnatural” way in front of others to maintain a certain “image” or “impression”, often to appear good or cool.”
“An explanatory conjunction used to introduce or specify something previously mentioned; an archaic spelling variant of yaitu under the Van Ophuijsen orthographic system, where the phoneme /y/ was rendered as the letter 'j'. Synonymous with “yakni” in its function as a clarifying conjunction. (Modern Synonym: yaitu)”
“A subordinating causal conjunction used to indicate the reason, cause, or origin of an occurrence. It serves to directly link a resulting situation to its triggering source, functioning equivalently to the words “because” or “due to”.”
“An emphatic particle in Javanese used to assert or reinforce a statement, equivalent to “indeed”, “truly”, or “the point is”, conveying strong affirmation or exasperation about a situation.”
“Jang/djang is a historical orthographic variation of 'yang' (relative pronoun) used in the Dutch East Indies writing system (particularly the van Ophuijsen spelling, from the 19th century to the early 20th century).”
“A Javanese Ngoko term referring to “vegetables” or any edible plant used as a cooking ingredient, encompassing various types of greens and garden produce. The term is widely used in Central Java, particularly in the Semarang and Demak areas.”
“A Javanese Ngoko word meaning "they say" or "reportedly", used to relay information or statements attributed to another person rather than the speaker. Functions as an “indirect quotation marker” in everyday speech.”
“A verb meaning to “stumble” or “fall” into a hole, crevice, or a lower place accidentally.”
“A large permanent water tank or “basin” located in bathrooms or ablution areas used for storing water.”
“A term for a hole or depression in the ground or road surface caused by erosion, damage, or other natural factors. The term often refers to a damaged road condition that is potentially hazardous.”
“A prokem (Indonesian criminal/street slang) form of the word pinjam (to borrow), meaning to temporarily use something belonging to another person with the implied obligation of returning it. Formed through the characteristic “syllable reversal” method of 1980s Jakarta street slang.”
“A word from the “bahasa prokem” slang system of the 1980s, representing a coded form of the word jalan (street, road, or to walk), formed through the characteristic prokem encoding method of inserting specific syllables between consonants and vowels.”
“A slang verb meaning to sell something, used in casual and informal conversational contexts as a phonetic alteration of the standard word “jual”.”
““Jos gandos” is a Javanese slang expression (very popular in East Java, also widely understood in Central Java) that means absolutely awesome, amazing, top-notch.”
“A slang adjective expressing extraordinary quality. Great. Or impressive. An intensive emphasis of the root word jos used to describe something visually or performatively satisfying. It functions to assert spontaneous and modern admiration for a particular subject's excellence.”
“Stubborn, disobedient, or refusing to follow advice; commonly used in Batak Toba context to describe unruly or naughty behavior.”
“An informal expression used to emphasize the sincerity or truthfulness of a statement in everyday conversation. It is a modern variation of the word 'honest' modified with the '-ly' suffix to provide additional emphasis on the speaker's intent.”
“Jadoel is a term from colonial Malay referring to something outdated, obsolete, or from a bygone era that is no longer relevant.”
“A slang term describing upper-middle-class individuals from South Jakarta, associated with luxurious, trendy, and elite lifestyle”
“Acronym of 'jalur pribadi' (private channel), referring to sending personal or private messages through digital media, not in public spaces or groups.”
“Snarky or spiteful attitude expressed through sharp comments.”