Okay, so now you at least know how to read Indonesian. That's a great start!
Indonesian/Malay has a rhymic quality akin to Italian. And for long, native poets, scribes, and orators have had a penchant of creating sentences that rhyme with each other. Just like in English poetry, the rhyming makes extensive use of the many similar final-sounds of words. To prove my point, let me bring you the Rhyme Game.
Rhyme Game
Objective:
- To practice your pronunciation of Indonesian through the rhyming pattern in the words
- To build up your vocabulary, obviously!
Kuku-kukuku kaku (My nails are stiff)
-ku (pronounced -COO) is not very common, but it does contain some important words!
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| aku | uh-coo | I, me, my |
| buku | boo-coo | book |
| siku | see-coo | elbow |
Now that I've established the pattern, can you guess how to pronounce these words?
Cinta itu buta (Love is blind)
Words ending with -ta (-TUH) are often related to love, and to umm... many other things!
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| cinta | chin-tuh | n. love |
| buta | boo-tuh | blind |
| genta | gEn-tuh | bell |
| renta | rurn-tuh* | elderly (and frail) |
(*)the vowel sound in ren- is essentially a schwa, in contrast to gEn- in genta
Can you guess, based on what you've learned?
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| bata | brick |
| beta | I, me, my (esp. in poetry) |
| cita | desire, obsession |
| data | data, duh! |
| dusta | n. lie |
| gita | song |
| harta | wealth, fortune |
| kata | word |
| kita | we, us, our (inclusive) |
| kusta | leprosy |
| lunta | to neglect |
| mata | eye |
| pita | ribbon |
| peta | map |
| pinta | to ask for sth, to request |
| rata | flat, plain, equal |
| sengketa | n. dispute |
| senjata | weapon |
| tata | to put things in order |
| unta | camel |
Tangkap ikan kakap! (Catch the Barramundi fish!)
When you catch and hold onto something, you say -kap (-CUP)! And when you let something be known, you should also say -kap!
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| tangkap | tung-cup | to catch |
| dekap | dur-cup* | to hug, to embrace |
| ungkap | oong-cup | to tell (esp. to expose the truth) |
Here we go again!
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| bekap | to forcefully prevent so from speaking |
| cakap | (1)v. to talk, (2)adj. skillful |
| kakap | (1)n. Barramundi fish, (2) adj. big, gargantuan |
| lengkap | complete |
| longkap | to skip over |
| perangkap | trap |
| rangkap | double |
| sekap | to detain |
| sikap | behavior |
| singkap | to expose |
| tingkap | window |
Other Tongue Twisters
If you're feeling especially game after your Indonesian phonetics lesson, have a go at the following tongue twisters:
| Indonesian | English |
|---|---|
| Ular melingkar-lingkar di atas pagar bundar | the snake does circles on top of the circular fence |
| Kuku-kuku kaki-kaki kakak-kakakku kaku-kaku | the toe-nails of my older siblings are stiff |