10 words a day

10 Words a Day - Day 1

apa : what
Apa ini? : What's this? / What are these?

ini : this, these
Ini apa? : What's this? / What are these?

itu : that, those
Siapa itu? : Who's that?

siapa : who
Itu siapa? : Who's that?

ke : to
Brian ke mana? : Where did Brian go?
(Note it's common to drop the word 'pergi' (go))

di : in, at, on
- Brian di mana? : - Where's Brian?
- Brian di sana. : - He's over there.
(And it's common to just say "Brian mana?" for either expression.)

dari : from
Brian dari mana? : He's from Canada.

mana : where
Mana itu? : Where's that?

sini : here
Brian, (ke) sini. : Brian, come here.

sana : there
Siapa itu di sana? : Who's that over there?

It's very important to recognize where there a mismatches or 'false friends' in a language. For example in French, there are many words that look like a word in English but the meaning is completely different. Similarly, languages will use equivalent words differently. The words "to, in, at, on' are usually completely mixed up between languages and often have direct matches less than half the time.

That's why it's very important to quickly begin using words based on your idea and not translating between languages in your head. For example: 'welcome to Indonesia' is NOT 'selamat datang ke Indonesia', it's 'selamat datang di Indonesia' [welcome in Indonesia]. If you want to argue about which makes more sense, the Indonesian logic is actually better. You're already here; you've already arrived, so why would I say 'welcome to'? In Bahasa, 'ke' (to) always includes the idea of action (going), and is often used without even using the word 'pergi' (to go). 'Mau ke mana?' (Where are you going? / Where do you want to go?) (Mau pergi ke mana?)

It's an easy mistake to make and can very quickly become a bad habit. I should know because I did it because nobody ever pointed it out to me. Just the other day I came across a very interesting example: Belajar ke Luar Negeri bersama EF. (Study abroad with EF.) Below the title was: Belajar bahasa di luar negeri adalah cara tercepat dan paling efektif untuk memperlancar bahasa Anda. Needless to say, even with 'fluent' Bahasa I had to ask one of our teachers for an explanation, in fact I thought they'd made a mistake.

Nope, it's absolutely correct because you read the title as 'being here' and 'going' abroad to study. Then it's 'studying a language in a foreign country is the fastest and most effective way to improve your language ability.

return to: index of lessons bintang bahasa

How many words a day can you learn? I don't know, it's really entirely up to the individual. How long does it take to learn a new language? Again, it's really entirely up to the individual. A very simple target to set is 10 words a day. With even a little bit of effort and a good method, you can easily achieve that. So, how long does it take to learn a know language? Well, to be able to communicate basic ideas, and understand the reply!, you need about 300 words, 500 is better.

What's the best way to learn new words and increase my vocabulary? Again, it depends on the individual to some degree, but we believe that the same 'best methods' apply to everyone. The best method is by reading and listening to dialogues or conversations which you can understand quickly (i.e. you know most of the words) and new words are introduced gradually and repeated several times within the dialogue with proper spacing.

What do you mean by 'proper spacing'? We mean just enough space for you to 'almost forget' the word. The first time you see a word, it's best to see it again in the next few sentences. More than that and it's gone! Especially if 2 or more other new words were also subsequently introduced. Short term memory is a very, very small bucket with big holes in the bottom for everything to fall through.

Are flaschcards useful? Somewhat, but not for learning (memorizing), more for 'activating' and increasing speed of recognition and ability to recognize words with no context as reference. Therefore, only use them as a supporting tool after following the other basic steps. Once you have an active vocabulary of 200-300 words, flashcards are quite honestly, a waste of time. If you have good reading and listening material that is set up to stay within your limited vocabulary and repeat the targetted new vocabulary, then simply reading, listening and trying to speak and express your ideas is by far the best way to learn quickly.

So what exactly is the best way to learn new vocabulary? Glad you asked! First, simply read and listen to simple dialogues and scenarios at your vocabulary level. For new students, best place to start is simply "What's this? / What's that?" (Apa ini? / Apa itu?)

For a humorous example, try Bob Saja (Just Bob).

Or try a simple scenario of a 'teacher' and 'student' asking "Apa ini? / Apa itu?".

In our story "Baru Tiba" (Just Arriving), we show the 'mismatch' between 'ini' (this) and 'sini' (here).

... tiba di bandara.   [arrive at airport]
Permisi, imigrasi di mana?
      (Excuse me, where's immigration?)
Di sana.   (Over there.)
Terimah kasih.   (Thank you.)
... di imigrasi   (at immigration)
Paspor.   (Passport.)
Ini.   [This.] (Here. / Here you are.)

Whenever you give something to someone, in Bahasa you say 'Ini.' whereas in English you'd say 'Here.' or 'Here you are.' or 'Here you go.' Try and explain the logic of the last expression based on the vocabulary!