Pronouns & Basic Sentence Structure

saya

I (formal/neutral)

SAH-ya

The safest, most universally acceptable first-person pronoun

aku

I (informal/intimate)

AH-koo

Used with close friends, family, or in casual writing

kamu

you (informal)

KAH-moo

Used with peers, children, or close friends

Anda

you (formal, capitalized)

AHN-da

Polite, distant "you" — often used in writing and formal speech

dia/ia

he/she/it (no gender distinction)

DEE-a / EE-a

One pronoun covers he, she, and it

kami vs kita

we (exclusive vs inclusive)

KAH-mee / KEE-ta

kami excludes the listener; kita includes them

mereka

they

meh-REH-ka

General third-person plural pronoun

Saya makan nasi.

I eat rice.

SAH-ya MAH-kan NAH-see

Basic subject-verb-object sentence

adalah

to be (formal identity statements)

AH-da-lah

Dia adalah guru. = He/She is a teacher.

Ini/Itu

This/That

EE-nee / EE-too

Basic demonstratives used as pronouns or before nouns