Friday 16 April 2010

Numbers (Nomor/Angka)

Satu = 1
Dua = 2
Tiga = 3
Empat = 4
Lima = 5
Enam = 6
Tujuh = 7
(De)Lapan = 8
Sembilan = 9
Sepuluh = 10
Sebelas = 11
Dua belas = 12
Tiga belas = 13
...
Dua puluh = 20
Tiga puluh = 30
Empat puluh = 40
...
Seratus = 100
Seratus satu = 101
...
Dua ratus = 200
...
Seribu = 1,000
Dua ribu = 2,000
...
Sepuluh ribu = 10,000
Sebalas ribu = 11,000
...
Seratus ribu = 100,000
...
Satu juta = 1,000,000
...
Satu milyar = 1,000,000,000

You may have noticed the (De)lapan for 8 above. This just denotes the fact that Indonesian is a language that is constantly being shortened, particularly so in Jakarta. 'Lapan will almost always be said by people in Indonesia, because that pesky first syllable takes so much time. One of the best ways to study the bigger numbers is to read your bank notes. As the denominations are so huge it is necessary to get used to big numbers fast. Also, beware that at the time of writing, 10,000 Rp notes and 100,000 Rp notes are remarkably similar in their colours. Especially for the colour blind, as they are red.
Also let it be known that Indonesians use the comma and full-stop (period) denotations of numbers in a different way from us weirdo pale-skins/darker skins. One million rupiah is represented as 1.000.000 while 1,0000001 is 1.0000001 back in Kansas.

Days of the Week (Nama-nama Hari)

Minggu = Sunday
Senin = Monday
Selasa = Tuesday
Rabu = Wednesday
Kamis = Thursday
Jumat = Friday
Sabtu = Saturday

Monday (Senin) is regarded as the start of the week. Friday (Jumat) is the Muslim holy day when men go to a longer prayer session at a mosque (masjid) and work stops during this period. Productivity is naturally a little slower on a Friday as it is seen as a day to wind down into the weekend. Interestingly, because of school and work continuing into Saturday, a lot of Indonesians think of Sunday as being 'the weekend', and will often refer to the weekend as a single day.
Due to six different religions being officially 'tolerated', there are quite a few religious holidays in the calendar. This means that there are a lot of days off because some deity did something or other. Not always necessary to know exactly what, but certain days do affect the social fabric. Nyepi in Bali requires everyone to stay in and be silent. Some Muslim holidays are marked by the early closure or non-opening of bars and clubs (Idul Fitri, Idul Adha).

Colours (Warna-Warna)

Merah = Red
Oranye/Jingga = Orange
Kuning = Yellow
Hijau = Green
Biru = Blue
Putih = White
Hitam = Black
Ungu = Purple
Coklat = Brown
Pink = Merah muda
Indigo = Nila
Violet = Violet
Perak = Silver
Emas = Gold

Indonesians use the phrase "Mejiku Hibiniu" (Merah, Jingga, Kuning, Hijau, Biru, Nila, Unggu) to remember the colours of the rainbow, much like the British English 'Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain'.
Indonesian adjectives, such as colours, always come after the noun, as in 'Saya mau buku biru' or 'I want book blue'.