Words for ‘very’: Banget, Amat, Sekali and Sangat
The common word for ‘very’ in Formal Indonesian is sekali, which follows the word it refers to: besar sekali ‘very big’, berbeda sekali ‘very different’, bank sekali ‘very good’. The words sangat and, less frequently, amat also occur in Formal Indonesian, preceding the word they qualify: sangat/amat…
Basic Features Example (1)
1.Cewek itu lagi duduk bareng temen. That girl was sitting with a friend. Colloquial items: cewek = young woman lagi = indicates action-in-progress bareng = together, together with temen = (“tM’N”) teman with…
Basic Features Example (2)
8. Kalo makan rendang mending pake tangan aja. If you eat beef rendang it’s better to just use your hands. Colloquial items: kalo = kalau with sound change au → o: if, when….
Colloquial Urban Indonesian
Colloquial Indonesian has its roots in Betawi Malay, a Malay based creole with an estimated 2,7 million speakers, spoken by the indigenous population of Jakarta or Batavia as it was known until 1942….
