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Alphabet & Pronunciation

Indonesian alphabet, digraphs, diphthongs, stress patterns and spelling-pronunciation rules
Tanpa nada, tanpa diakritik rumit
No tones, no complicated diacritics
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A direct, largely phonetic spelling-to-sound system
r
rolled/trilled r
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Pronounced with a light trill, as in Spanish
Vokal ganda tetap terpisah
Double vowels stay separate syllables
sa-at
saat has two syllables, not one long vowel
Konsonan akhir diucapkan penuh
Word-final consonants are fully pronounced
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Unlike French, final consonants are never silent
Ejaan pengaruh Belanda
Dutch-influenced historical spelling
oe → u
Older spellings like "oe" for "u" still appear in old names
Tekanan ringan, tidak membedakan makna
Stress is light and non-phonemic
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Unlike Greek, stress placement never changes word meaning
Imbuhan tidak mengubah tekanan drastis
Adding prefixes/suffixes doesn't shift stress dramatically
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Affixed words keep a fairly even, predictable rhythm
Gugus konsonan dari serapan Sanskerta/Arab
Consonant clusters from Sanskrit/Arabic loans
sm-, ks-, ps-
sastra, ekstra, psikologi keep their original clusters
Logat daerah: Jakarta, Jawa, Sumatra
Regional accents: Jakarta, Javanese-influenced, Sumatran
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Accent varies noticeably by region across the archipelago
Terima kasih / Sama-sama
Thank you / You're welcome
teh-REE-ma KAH-see / SAH-ma SAH-ma
Standard polite exchange