Last updated on April 19, 2022
Contributed and posted by ‘The Indonesian Way’, a textbook for the Indonesian language by George Quinn and Uli Kozok.
Pandai and Pintar
Pandai often means “to be good at” but in certain contexts it can also be translated by the English terms “clever”, “bright”, “smart”, “intelligent” etc. even “knowledgeable”. If pandai is used in that meaning then it is synonym with pintar ‘smart’.
Sarah anak pandai/pintar.
Sarah is a bright child.
Saya kira Bupati kita kurang pandai/pintar. Tetapi pembantunya pandai / pintar sekali.
I don’t think our Bupati is that clever. But his assistant is very clever.
The Indonesian pandai differs in a very fundamental respect from English words like “clever”, “bright”, “smart”, “intelligent”, “knowledgeable” etc., which, in Indonesian, are better translated as pintar. In English “clever” describes an innate attribute – something that is always with you. But the Indonesian pandai is more a skill or a capacity that can come and go. You can get a feel for this in these sentences.
Anak kami sudah bersekolah, sudah mulai pintar.
Our daughter goes to school now, she’s beginning to show signs of intelligence.
Dulu saya pandai bermain piano, tetapi sekarang tidak lagi.
I used to be good at playing the piano, but not any more.
Example
To illustrate how pandai can be used, here is a description of the skills and talents of a group of people:
Ayah saya cukup istimewa. Ia pandai menulis. Dia menulis tentang politik dan ekonomi di majalah dan surat kabar. Dia pernah menulis buku tentang ekonomi desa di pulau Timor.
Ibu saya juga istimewa. Dia pandai sekali berdagang. Dia membeli biji kopi di desa, lalu ia menjual biji itu ke pabrik kopi di kota.
Adik saya Ningsih cukup pandai bermain gitar dan menyanyi. Ia pandai menyanyikan lagu-lagu pop. Katanya dia ingin sekali ikut acara Indonesian Idol di televisi.
Saya sama sekali tidak pandai menulis, berdagang atau bermain musik. Tetapi saya cukup pandai berolahraga. Saya bermain bulu tangkis dan bola voli. Saya juga cukup pandai berenang dan bersenam. Saya ingin menjadi guru olahraga di sekolah menengah pertama.
Teman saya Sari juga pandai berolahraga. Kadang-kadang kami bermain bulu tangkis di gedung olahraga di dekat rumah keluarga. Biasanya saya menang tetapi kadang-kadang saya kalah. Sari memang pandai sekali bermain bulu tangkis. Tetapi dia ingin menjadi pegawai negeri, bukan guru seperti saya.
About the author: George Quinn is the retired head of the Southeast Asia Centre at the Australian National University (2000 to 2008) where he taught Indonesian and Javanese, and contributed to courses on Indonesian linguistics, literature and culture, Indonesian religion and politics, and East Timor. He continues to teach Javanese at the ANU. One of his main publications is The Learners Dictionary of Today’s Indonesian (2001).