Vowel
There are 5(five) letters that represent vowels in Indonesian, but there are 8(eight) distinct sounds associated with them. The difficulty for a beginner is knowing which sound applies to vowels that have more than one sound associated with them.
| a |
i |
u |
| /a/ is always pronounced like the English /a/ in ‘far’; ‘car’; ‘jar’ |
/i/ is always pronounced like the English /ee/ in ‘bee’; ‘teeth’ |
/u/ is always pronounced like the English /oo/ in ‘tooth’; ‘book’ |
| Example: |
Example: |
Example: |
| saya – I |
ini – this |
buku – book |
| apa – what |
sini – here |
guru – teacher |
| kaya – rich |
gila – crazy |
suhu – temperature |
| makan – eat |
kami – we |
malu – shy |
| tanam – plant |
indah – beautiful |
pintu – door |
Vowel /e/ has two different sounds.
Letter(Grapheme) and sound(phoneme) are 2(two) different things. The following examples show different ways to pronounce the letter /e/ for different words in Indonesian language.
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| e |
é |
| A weak one like the English /e/ in ‘children’; ‘her’; ‘per’ |
It is pronounced like the English /e/ in ‘pen’; ‘bet’ |
| Example: |
Example: |
| emas – gold |
énak – delicious |
| beras – rice |
kakék – grandfather |
| dekat – near |
soré – afternoon |
| pergi – go |
béla – defend |
| sekarang – now |
sétan – ghost |
Vowel /o/ has two different sounds also.
| o |
o |
| The first one is like the English /o/ in ‘cold’; ‘bold’ |
The second one is pronounced like the English /o/ in ‘hot’; ‘shot’ |
| Example: |
Example: |
| toko – shop |
tonton – watch |
| orang – person |
sombong – arogan |
| obat – medicine |
roti – bread |
| kado – gift |
tolong – help |
| perangko – stamp |
bohong – lie |
A combination of /a/ and /i/ becomes a two-vowel sound and the diphthongs
Unfortunately there is no way of knowing whether the combination of this two vowels becomes a diphthong or just a two-vowel sound. You will know it by practice and memorizing.
| Two- Vowel Sound |
Diphthongs |
| /a/ and /i/ is pronounced individually |
Diphtong /ai/ is pronounced like the English ‘my’; ‘tie’ |
| Example |
Example |
| air – water |
pantai – beach |
| main – play |
bagaimana – how |
| lain – other |
selesai – finish |
| baik – well |
damai – peace |
| kain – cloth |
capai – reach |
A combination of /a/ and /u/ becomes a two-vowel sound and the diphthongs
| Two- Vowel Sound |
Diphthongs |
| /a/ and /u/ is pronounced individually |
Diphtong /au/ is pronounced like the English ‘cow’; ‘how’ |
| Example |
Example |
| haus – thirsty |
harimau – tiger |
| daun – leaf |
engkau – you |
| mau – want |
kerbau – buffalo |
| laut – ocean |
pulau – island |
| bau – smell |
danau – lake |
A combination of /i/ and /a/; /i/ and /u/; /i/ and /o/; /u/ and /a/; /u/ and /i/ becomes a two-vowel sound.
| /i/ and /a/ |
/i/ and /u/ |
/i/ and /o/ |
/u/ and /a/ |
/u/ and /i/ |
| dia – he/she |
tiup – blow |
biola – violin |
suami – husband |
bui – jail |
| biar – let |
cium – kiss |
kios – kiosk |
kuat – strong |
kuil – temple |
| liar – wild |
siul – whistle |
pionir – pioneer |
buah – fruit |
puing – debris |
| tiang – pole |
liur – saliva |
|
tua – old |
buih – foam |
| siang – noon |
hiu – shark |
|
dua – two |
|
