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Alphabet & Pronunciation
Indonesian alphabet, digraphs, diphthongs, stress patterns and spelling-pronunciation rules
a, i, u, e, o
the five vowel letters
ah, ee, oo, eh, oh
Mostly one clear sound each, unlike English vowels
c
always like "ch" in "chair"
ch
cinta [CHIN-ta] = love; never a "k" or "s" sound
ng
single nasal sound
as in English "sing"
One consonant sound, not "n"+"g" separately
ny
palatal nasal sound
like Spanish ñ
nyanyi [NYA-nyee] = to sing
sy
"sh" sound (Arabic loanwords)
sh
syarat [SHA-rat] = condition/requirement
kh
guttural "kh" sound (Arabic loanwords)
kh (loch)
khusus [KHOO-soos] = special
ai, au, oi
diphthongs
eye, ow, oy
pandai (clever), kalau (if), sepoi (breeze)
e jelas vs e pepet
clear e vs schwa e
eh vs uh
The letter e can be pronounced two different ways
Tekanan kata: suku kedua dari akhir
Stress: usually the second-to-last syllable
-
A light, non-contrastive stress pattern
Selamat pagi / Selamat malam
Good morning / Good evening
seh-LAH-mat PAH-gee / seh-LAH-mat MAH-lam
Time-of-day greetings
