How to Pronounce Bali, Canggu, Ubud, and Other Places
Wondering how to pronounce Bali and other places in the region? In this blog article, we will tell you just that, plus an Indonesian pronunciation lesson so you will never mispronounce any words during your time in the country.
First let’s watch this video to know how to pronounce Bali and other places in the province:
One thing you need to know about Indonesian language is that is a phonetic language, meaning each alphabet represents one sound. For example, the letter “A” is always pronounced /ɑ/ as in “father”. The only exception is the letter “e” which and can represent /e/ is in “bait” and /ə/ as in “about”.
Indonesian Pronunciation
Let’s learn how to pronounce Indonesian alphabets and the sounds they represent below.
Vowels
| Vowel | Sound | Example |
| A | “ah” | Apa (what) |
| I | “ee” | Bibi (aunt) |
| U | “oo” | Buku (book) |
| E | “ey” /ə/ as in “about” /ə’baut/ | Enak (delicious) ke mana ((to) where) |
| O | “oh” | Toko (shop) |
Consonants that are pronounced the same as in English
| Vowel | Sound | Example |
| B | “beh” | Babi (pig) |
| D | “dey” | Dadu (dice) |
| F | “eff” | Fosil (fossil) |
| H | “ha” | Halo (hello) |
| J | “jey” | Jalan (road/street) |
| L | “el” | Lele (cat fish) |
| M | “em” | Minum (to drink) |
| N | “en” | Nanas (pineapple) |
| S | “ess” | Susah (difficult) |
| W | “wey” | Wajah (face) |
| Y | “yey” | Yoyo |
| X | “eks” | Xenia (a car brand) |
| Z | “zet” | Zebra |
Consonants that are pronounced the same as in English but without aspiration
| Vowel | Sound | Example |
| K | “ka” | Kakak (older sibling) |
| P | “pey” | Papa (father) |
| T | “tey” | Tato (tattoo) |
Consonants that are not the same in English
| Vowel | Sound | Example |
| C | “chay” as in chat, chicken” | Baca (to read) |
| G | “gey” as good, Google | Guru (teacher) |
| R | “air” | Rumah (house) |
| Q | “kee” | Qur’an |
| V | “fey” | virus |
Exercise
Pronounce the following words.
- Bapak
- Kuku
- Mandi
- Lalu
- Ibu
- Aku
- Guru
- Maaf
- Bubur
- Kaki
- Vokal
- Cuaca
Diphthongs – two vowels that make a single sound
| Diphthong | Sound | Example |
| Ai | [ɑy] | pantai (beach) |
| Au | [ɑw] | pulau (island) |
| Oi | [oy] | tomboi (tomboy) |
Exercise
Pronounce these words correctly.
- pantai
- santai
- rantai
- kalau
- bakpao
- pisau
- amboi
- konvoi
Consonant Clusters (two or more consonants placed together)
| Consonant clusters | Phoneme | Example |
| ng | [ŋ] | ngobrol (to chat) |
| ny | [ñ] | nyamuk (mosquito) |
Exercise
Pronounce these words correctly.
- ngomong
- mengerti
- ngopi
- nyaman
- nyanyi
- tanya
You might wonder about the meanings of words above, but they don’t about them for now as in this section we just focus on the pronunciation.
So do you know how to pronounce Bali and other places in the region now? If so, try to pronounce words you encounter in Indonesia. If you practice the pronunciation above, you should not have any problems with that. Do you want to take your Indonesian to the next level? Check out courses here.
