Indonesian and Balinese Phrases for Bali: A Visitor's Guide

You can get by in Bali with English, but a few words of Indonesian change things. Drivers, warung owners and market sellers light up when you try, prices start to make sense, and small moments like ordering food without chilli become easy. Add a couple of Balinese words and you will earn real smiles.

This guide gives you the essentials: why Indonesian is easy to start, how to pronounce it, greetings, polite words, numbers and prices, bargaining, ordering food, directions, the Balinese words people love to hear, and how to address people. A compact phrase table sits at the end.

Why Bahasa Indonesia is easy to start with

Bahasa Indonesia is the national language, used across the whole archipelago alongside hundreds of local languages. In Bali most people speak Balinese at home, Indonesian at school, at work and in shops, and often English in tourist areas. Indonesian is kind to beginners:

• It uses the Latin alphabet and is spelled almost exactly as it sounds.
• Verbs do not change for tense or person. Saya makan means I eat, I ate or I will eat. Add sudah (already) or nanti (later) when you need to.
• There is no grammatical gender and there are no articles.
• Plurals are often just the word doubled, or left as it is.
• Describing words come after the noun: nasi goreng is literally "rice fried".

Pronunciation basics

Get these right and you will be understood:

• a as in "father", i as in "machine", u as in "food", o as in "hot".
• e has two sounds: usually a short, soft "uh" (sepuluh, ten), sometimes "eh" as in "bed" (enak, delicious).
• c is always "ch": cari sounds like "chah-ree" and Canggu like "chang-goo".
• ng as in "singer", ngg as in "finger", ny as in "canyon".
• r is lightly rolled.
• A final k is barely sounded: tidak comes out close to "tee-dah".
• ai sounds like "eye" (pantai, beach) and au like "ow" (pulau, island).

Stress is light and fairly even, so do not hammer any one syllable. On old signs and family names you will see older spellings: oe for u (Soekarno), tj for c (Tjampuhan) and dj for j.

Greetings by time of day

Selamat means roughly "safe" or "blessed" and starts most greetings:

• Selamat pagi: good morning, until about 11am.
• Selamat siang: good day, from late morning to mid-afternoon.
• Selamat sore: good afternoon, from about 3pm until dusk.
• Selamat malam: good evening, after dark.
• Selamat tidur: good night, only when someone is going to bed.

People often drop the selamat and just say pagi or malam. You will also hear Mau ke mana? (Where are you going?) a lot. It is a friendly greeting rather than a real question, and jalan-jalan (just out for a walk) is a perfect answer.

Polite words

• Terima kasih: thank you. The reply is sama-sama, you're welcome. Casually, makasih.
• Tolong: please, when asking for help. Silakan: please, go ahead, when offering.
• Permisi: excuse me, when passing someone or getting attention.
• Maaf: sorry.
• Ya: yes. Tidak: no, or casually nggak.
• Belum: not yet. Indonesians often prefer it to a flat no. If you are single and someone asks Sudah menikah? (Are you married?), belum is the usual, gentle answer.
• Tidak apa-apa: no problem, it's fine.
• Saya tidak mengerti: I don't understand. Pelan-pelan, ya: slowly, please.

Numbers and prices

1 satu, 2 dua, 3 tiga, 4 empat, 5 lima, 6 enam, 7 tujuh, 8 delapan, 9 sembilan, 10 sepuluh.

Then 11 sebelas, 12 dua belas, 20 dua puluh, 25 dua puluh lima, 100 seratus, 1,000 seribu and 1,000,000 sejuta.

Prices in Bali run into the thousands, so the word you will use most is ribu, thousand. Rp 50,000 is lima puluh ribu and Rp 150,000 is seratus lima puluh ribu. Indonesians write thousands with a full stop (Rp 50.000), and menus often shorten prices to 50K or 50rb.

Listen carefully for lima belas ribu (15,000) and lima puluh ribu (50,000). They are easy to mix up, so ask to see the number on a phone or calculator if you are unsure. The red note is 100,000 and the blue one is 50,000. Keep them in separate folds of your wallet so you do not hand over the wrong one.

Bargaining phrases

Bargaining is normal at markets, souvenir stalls and with freelance drivers. It is not done in supermarkets, minimarkets, malls, restaurants, warungs with posted prices, or on ride-hailing apps.

• Berapa harganya? How much is it?
• Mahal sekali! Very expensive!
• Bisa kurang? Can you go lower?
• Harga pas berapa? What is your best price?
• Kalau beli dua? And if I buy two?
• Saya lihat-lihat dulu. I'm just looking.
• Tidak, terima kasih. No, thank you.

Keep it light. Start below what you are happy to pay, smile, and meet somewhere in the middle. Only bargain if you mean to buy, and once a price is agreed, pay it.

Ordering food

• Saya mau...: I would like... Satu lagi: one more.
• Pedas? Is it spicy? Tidak pedas: not spicy. Sedikit pedas: a little spicy. Sambal terpisah: chilli sauce on the side.
• Es means both ice and iced. Es teh is iced tea, while tanpa es or tidak pakai es means no ice.
• Tanpa gula or tidak pakai gula: no sugar. Gula sedikit: a little sugar. Tea usually comes sweet unless you ask for teh tawar, plain tea.
• Air putih: plain drinking water.
• Saya vegetarian, tidak makan daging: I'm vegetarian, I don't eat meat. Add tanpa terasi (no shrimp paste), because it hides in many sambals.
• Makan di sini: eat here. Bungkus: takeaway.
• Enak sekali! Delicious! Minta bon, or simply bayar: the bill, please.

For a serious food allergy, do not rely on a spoken phrase. Carry a card written in Indonesian, and see a doctor promptly if you react.

Directions and transport

• Di mana...? Where is...? Toilet di mana? Where is the toilet?
• Kiri: left. Kanan: right. Lurus: straight on.
• Belok kiri or belok kanan: turn left or turn right.
• Putar balik: turn around.
• Berhenti di sini or stop di sini: stop here.
• Pelan-pelan: slowly. Hati-hati: careful, take care.
• Dekat: near. Jauh: far. Berapa jauh? How far?
• Ke Ubud, berapa? How much to Ubud?
• Pakai argo: use the meter.

On addresses, Jl. stands for jalan (street), Gg. for gang (lane) and Br. for banjar (neighbourhood).

Balinese words that make people smile

Balinese has formal and informal speech levels, so visitors do best sticking to a few polite expressions. These are widely used and warmly received:

• Om Swastiastu (om swas-tee-AS-too): the Balinese Hindu greeting, a blessing meaning roughly "may you be well". The reply is the same. You will hear it in shops and offices and at the start of almost every speech.
• Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Om: the closing blessing, often used at the end of a speech or message.
• Suksma or matur suksma (SOOK-smah): thank you.
• Rahajeng semeng: good morning. Rahajeng rauh: welcome, often seen on signs.
• Rahajeng nyanggra rahina...: the greeting on festival banners, meaning "happy celebration of the holy day of...", as in Rahajeng nyanggra rahina Galungan.
• Ampura: sorry, excuse me.
• Nggih: yes, the polite form.
• Jaen: delicious.

Forms of address

Indonesians rarely use a first name on its own. Put a title in front:

• Pak (from Bapak, father): for men older than you or in a position of respect.
• Bu (from Ibu, mother): the same for women.
• Bli: Balinese for older brother, for men around your age or a little older.
• Mbok: Balinese for older sister.
• Mas and Mbak: the Javanese equivalents, common with staff from Java.
• Kak: a neutral, friendly choice for younger people, popular in shops and cafés.

Pak Wayan or Bli Made sounds far warmer than the name alone. Many Balinese names also show birth order: Wayan, Putu or Gede for a first child, Made, Kadek or Nengah for the second, Nyoman or Komang for the third, and Ketut for the fourth. That is why you will meet so many people called Wayan.

Compact phrase table

English	Indonesian or Balinese	Say it like
Hello (Balinese)	Om Swastiastu	om swas-tee-AS-too
Good morning	Selamat pagi	suh-LAH-mut PAH-gee
Good evening	Selamat malam	suh-LAH-mut MAH-lum
Thank you	Terima kasih	tuh-REE-mah KAH-see
Thank you (Balinese)	Suksma	SOOK-smah
You're welcome	Sama-sama	SAH-mah SAH-mah
Excuse me	Permisi	pur-MEE-see
Sorry	Maaf	MAH-ahf
Yes / No	Ya / Tidak	yah / TEE-dah
Not yet	Belum	buh-LOOM
How much?	Berapa?	buh-RAH-pah
Too expensive	Terlalu mahal	tur-LAH-loo MAH-hal
Can it be less?	Bisa kurang?	BEE-sah KOO-rang
Not spicy	Tidak pedas	TEE-dah puh-DAS
No ice	Tanpa es	TAHN-pah ess
No sugar	Tanpa gula	TAHN-pah GOO-lah
Plain water	Air putih	AH-eer POO-tee
Delicious	Enak	EH-nak
The bill, please	Minta bon	MIN-tah bon
Left / Right	Kiri / Kanan	KEE-ree / KAH-nan
Straight on	Lurus	LOO-roos
Stop here	Berhenti di sini	bur-HUN-tee dee SEE-nee
Where is...?	Di mana...?	dee MAH-nah
I don't understand	Saya tidak mengerti	SAH-yah TEE-dah muh-NGUR-tee
Take care	Hati-hati	HAH-tee HAH-tee
See you	Sampai jumpa	SAHM-pie JOOM-pah

Start with five of these, use them every day, and add a few more each week. People will help you along, usually with a big smile.