Bintang Bahasa logo Apa ini? Apa itu? is a simple monologue introducing you to Indonesian, or Bahasa Indonesia. Phrases are repeated often but with space to 'almost forget'. If you'd like more information, want to join our mailing list with Bahasa pointers, or you want a teacher, simply send us an email.


Listen to the audio while you read the story.
Apa ini? / Apa itu? :    (What's this? / What's that?)
(notice that definitions are provided for every new word, and try holding your mouse over the words in the dialogue.)

What's this?Apa ini? (Ini apa?) apa: what
It's a book. / This is a book.Ini buku. ini: this, these, it
Whose book (is it)?Buku siapa buku: book
(It's) My book.Buku saya. siapa: who
 saya: I, me, my
What’s that?Apa itu? itu: that, those, it
That’s a house.Itu rumah. rumah: house
Whose house (is it)?Rumah siapa? 
(It's) My house.Rumah saya. 
 
Where's your house?Rumah kamu di mana? kamu: you, your
Where do you live?Kamu tinggal di mana? di: in, at, on
My house is over there.Rumah saya di sana. mana: where
 tinggal: live, stay
Where’s your book?Buku kamu di mana? sana: there (far)
My book is at my house.Buku saya di rumah. 
 
Whose house is this?Ini rumah siapa? 
This is my house.Ini rumah saya. 
Where’s my book?Buku saya di mana? 
Here it is.Di sini. 
Your book is here.Bukumu ada di sini. sini: here
 
What’s that?Apa itu? 
That’s a magazine.Itu majalah. majalah: magazine
Where’s the magazine?Di mana majalahnya? 
It’s over there.Disana. 
It's on the table.Di atas meja. 
Thanks Mom.Terima kasih. Bu. atas: on; upstairs
 meja: table
What’s that?Apa itu? 
That’s a book and a magazine.Itu buku dan majalah. dan: and
(It's a book and a magazine.) 
 
What’s that?Apa itu? 
That’s a magazine.Itu majalah. 
(It's a magazine.) 
It’s there.Itu di situ. Itu di sana. 
The magazine is on the table.Majalah itu di atas meja 
 
This is a newspaper.Ini koran. koran: newspaper
It’s here.Itu di sini. Ada di sini. 
The newspaper is on the table.Koran itu di atas meja. 
That is a letter.Itu surat. surat: letter
It’s over there.Itu di sana. 
It's on the table.Ada di atas meja. 
The letter is on the table.Surat itu di atas meja. 
 
That’s a letter and a magazine.Itu surat dan majalah. 
They're over there.Ada di sana. 
They're on the table.Ada di atas meja 
 
What’s that?Apa itu? 
That’s a car.Itu mobil. mobil: car
Where’s the car?Mobil di mana? 
It's over there.Disana. 
The car is over there.Mobilnya di sana. 
 
What’s this one?Yang ini apa? yang: which, that
It’s a book.Itu buku. 

So... that gives you a feeling for how we start learning. The student is quickly introduced to 10-20 words and they're repeated many times but in a natural manner where the idea is 'clear'. For more difficult languages, like Japanese and Russian, we take an even slower pace, but the same method will have your reading the alphabet in no time.

The key is to immediately begin developing a feel for the rhythm of the new language. Get your ear and mouth working first, and you will begin absorbing the grammar naturally, without realizing it, and when you start to study the grammar, you'll be amazed at how much you already 'know' or at least have a sense of.

Try a quick vocabulary check to see what you remembered. Match the correct English word to the Bahasa word.

 siapa
   where  who  I, me, my 		 
 mana
   where  who  I, me, my 		 
 saya
   where  who  I, me, my 		 
 sana
   you, your  here  there 		 
 sini
   you, your  here  there 		 
 kamu
   you, your  here  there 		 

     
(Put your mouse over the Bahasa word to see the answer.)   
Either try another dialogue with 'Apa ini? Apa itu?' or try some exercises with this portion of the dialogue.

Exercises: (choose the correct missing words)
ini, itu, di, ke    sini, sana, mana    saya, kamu, dia   
apa, siapa, mana    mana, yang, itu    mau, ada   
macam-macam  (various)

There are many other stories, dialogues and lessons which focus on a basic vocabulary of about 50 words. Progress at your own speed, and when you're ready, move on to some of the other more advanced material... and enjoy!

Return to :   Index of Bahasa Material     Bintang Bahasa home

Vocabulary Exercises:
Notice that the vocabulary exercises, like everything else, is set up to help students progress in very, very small steps. Doing such results in something more like a ramp which you can ride up very quickly versus struggling up giant steps that you can barely reach with your finger tips while standing on your tip-toes.

An immense amount of time is 'wasted' trying to do exercises that are 'too difficult'. You should try and do all the exercises quickly; seconds for each question; allowing your intuitive answer to come out, and to quickly see what you know and what you don't know. Taking a lot of time to get the wrong answer anyway is just that, 'wasted' time.

The next step from the format shown on the left, is to try and give the bahasa word from the given English word. Some students will progress very quickly to this level, others will take longer. It doesn't matter, just go at your own pace.

e.g.  there      Vocabulary practice.

Also try our 10 words a day section.      Go to top of page.