Watch out! Indonesians have many words that share similar sounds. Pronouncing these words can be challenging and they can result in misunderstandings or even convey unintended meanings. The following group of words requires careful attention. Check them out!
Perawat & Perawan
Perawat means nurse, and perawan means virgin. If you get to know a girl and wonder if she’s a nurse, you can ask her, “Apa kamu perawat?” (are you a nurse?). Imagine a situation if you mispronounce it into “Apa kamu perawan?” which means “Are you a virgin?”
Kental, Kontol, Kontrol
Kental means thick (for liquid), and kontrol means control with thick “O” sound. Both sound similar to kontol, which means “dick”. So beware in saying these two if you don’t want to surprise your chatting partner.
Di mana & Gimana
Question words are essential to build a conversation. Di mana means “where”, and gimana means “how”. Unfortunately both sound very close, so learners often find it hard to listen to and to memorize. If you experience a miscommunication, maybe you just remember them reversed.
Pipi, bibi, bibir
These three words indeed sound very close and are from the same word class. Pipi means cheek, bibi means aunt, and bibir means lips. If you want to inform that your aunt is unwell, you should say “Bibi saya sakit”. Do not misspell it into “Pipi saya sakit” (my cheek hurts) or “Bibir saya sakit” (my lips hurt).
Kaca, kacang, kencang, kencing, kancing, kucing
Well! I know, this is just too much. The possibility of misunderstanding cases is unlimited. Kaca means mirror, kacang means nut, kencang means tight, kancing means clothes button, and kucing means cat. If you have delicious nuts and want to offer it to a friend, you say “Mau kacang?” (Do you want some nuts?). Make sure you don’t mispronounce it to the other ones.
Here’s the list of other words with similar sound
- Air (water), ahir (end), lahir (born), mahir (advanced)
- Asi (breast milk), asin (salty), asing (foreign)
- Banting (to slam), bintang (star), bentang (to stretch), banteng (bull), benteng (fortress)
- Batuk (cough), batok (coconut shell), botak (bald), batik (Indonesian fabric pattern), butik (clothing shop), bintik (dark spot)
- Bau (smell), bahu (shoulder), baru (new), batu (stone), bantu (to help), buntu (dead end), buntut (tail)
- Belanja (to shop), belajar (to learn, to study), pelajar (student)
- Besar (big), benar (true), bentar (a while), bentur (to crash), bentuk (shape), bentak (to shout at)
- Besok (tomorrow), besuk (to visit), busuk (to rot)
- Basah (wet), basa (alkali), biasa (usual), bisa (can, able), bisu (mute), basi (musty), besi (iron)
- Biar (let), bayar (to pay), buyar (dispersed)
- Buah (fruit), bawah (below, under), bawa (to bring), bawang (onion), bakwan (name of a street food)
- Burung (bird), barang (things, stuff), baring (to lay down), bareng (together), berang (angry)
- Buta (blind), buat (for, to), baut (screw)
- Caci (to mock), cacing (worm), cincang (to chop)
- Cuci (to clean with soap/detergent), curi (to steal), ciri (characteristics), cari (to search)
- Dapat (to get), rapat (meeting)
- Gua (slang I, me, my), dua (two), tua (old), tau (to know), tahu (tofu), tahi (shit)
- Gula (sugar), gala (long wooden stick), gila (crazy)
- Gunting (scissors), ganteng (handsome), gantung (to hang), gentong (container)
- Gampang (easy), nampang (show off), numpang (hitchhike)
- Garam (salt), garang (fierce), garing (dry and crispy), girang (delighted), goreng (fry)
- Hitung (to count), hutang (debt), kutang (bra)
- Itu (that, those), jitu (accurate), gitu (like that), situ (there)
- Guru (teacher), guruh (thunder), buruh (laborer)
- Ular (snake), ulang (to repeat), ilang / hilang (lost), bilang (to say), gelang (bracelet)
- Kayu (wood), kaya (rich), kayak (like, similar to)
- Otak (brain), kotak (box), katak (frog), kakak (older sibling), kakek (grandpa), kikik (gigle), kikuk (clumsy)
- Kantong (pocket), kentang (potato), tentang (about), tantang (to challenge)
- Kepala (head), kelapa (coconut), kenapa (why)
- Kolor (underwear), kelor (moringa), kelar (done), keluar (go out)
- Kurung (to lock, to cage, imprison), kurang (less), karung (sack), karang (coral)
- Lontong (rice cake), loteng (attic), lonceng (bell), lancang (rude)
- Lupa (forget), luka (wound), lokal (local)
- Sulam (embroidery), salam (greeting), dalam (deep), alam (nature), malam (night), macam (vary), macan (tiger)
- Madu (honey), muda (young), mudah (easy), murah (cheap), marah (angry), merah (red)
- Masa (era), massa (mass), masak (to cook), masuk (to enter)
- Mulus (smooth), lulus (to pass, graduate), lurus (straight), tulus (sincere), terus (continue)
- Anda (formal you), panda (panda), pada (to, at), padat (solid), pantat (buttocks)
- Pagi (morning), bagi (to divide), lagi (again)
- Palu (hammer), pilu (sad), perlu (need)
- Pantai (beach), bantai (massacre), lantai (floor), santai (relax)
- Parang (machete), perang (war), pirang (blonde)
- Pas (fitted), pus (how to call a cat), paus (whale), puas (satisfied)
- Peras (squeeze), beras (rice), keras (hard, loud), kuras (to drain)
- Penerangan (lighting), penerbangan (flight), penebangan (logging), penekanan (emphasis), pemakaman (burial)
- Perempuan (woman), pertemuan (meeting, gathering), perjamuan (banquet)
- Putar (to turn), pintar (smart), petir (lightning)
- Bilas (rinse), gilas (to crush), gelas (glass), jelas (clear), kelas (class)
- Piring (plate), miring (skewed), giring (to herd)
- Pola (pattern), bola (ball), biola (violin)
- Sampah (trash), sumpah (oath)
- Sempat (have time to do something), sempit (narrow), sumpit (chopsticks)
- Selalu (always), selasa (Tuesday), selesai (finish), sesuai (suitable), seusai (after)
- Suka (to like), cuka (vinegar), buka (open), duka (sorrow), dupa (incense)
- Suku (tribe), sukur (grateful), susur (walk along the side), susu (milk), sisi (side), sisir (comb)
- Tahun (year), tuhan (God), tuan (Sir)
- Taman (park, garden), teman (friend)
- Tante (aunt), tinta (ink), cinta (love), minta (ask for)
- Tape (fermented cassava), tapi (but), topi (hat), kopi (coffee)
- Tanpa (without), tampak (visible), tampan (handsome), tampang (face, appearance)
- Telat (late), selat (strait), salad (salad), silat (martial art), solat (muslim prayer), sobat (friend), tobat (repent), obat (medicine), debat (debate), dekat (near), sekat (border)
- Tiga (three), tiba (arrive), tidak (no)
- Titip (entrust), tatap (to stare), tetap (still), tepat (exact), tempat (place), tipat (rice cake)
- Titik (dot, spot), tetek / tete (breast), teteh (older sister)