Indonesian

Here is some trivia about the Indonesian language, or Bahasa Indonesia.

George Bernard Shaw (or was it Winston Churchill?) once said that Britain and America are two nations divided by a common language. The same could be said of Malaysia and Indonesia which each have their own versions of Bahasa. Although the languages are very similar there are differences in spelling, pronunciation and vocabulary which can sometimes lead to misunderstanding.  Bahasa Indonesia retains some words introduced by the Dutch during the colonial period. Thus a post office, which in Malaysia is pejabat pos, is known in Indonesia as kantor pos, from the Dutch word for office - kantoor. 

Share this page:

AUTHOR BIO

portrait of author

David (the one on the left) is the writer behind Malaysia Traveller, sharing first-hand travel advice from over five decades of living and travelling across Asia and the Middle East. Based in Malaysia since 2009 and now in Kuching, he has published over 750 pages on this website, personally visited every place he covers, and uses only his own photos. Readers can learn more on his About Me page. He also shares updates on Facebook and YouTube. He loves uncovering overlooked places that even some Malaysians have never visited.