Alphabet & Pronunciation

A1 — Dasar

Indonesian alphabet, vowels, consonants, and digraphs (ng, ny, kh, sy)

Can recognize and pronounce Indonesian letters, vowels, and key digraphs

Examples

Nama saya Rina. — My name is Rina.
Selamat pagi! — Good morning!
Terima kasih. — Thank you.
Saya mencari rumah kecil. — I am looking for a small house.

BasicsA1

Alphabet & Pronunciation

Indonesian alphabet, vowels, consonants, and digraphs (ng, ny, kh, sy)

Learning Goal

Can recognize and pronounce Indonesian letters, vowels, and key digraphs

Exam Skills:ListeningSpeaking

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

Nama saya Rina.

My name is Rina.

Selamat pagi!

Good morning!

Terima kasih.

Thank you.

Saya mencari rumah kecil.

I am looking for a small house.

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

Indonesian uses the Latin alphabet with 26 letters, the same as English. Spelling is phonetic — every letter is almost always pronounced.

Vowels:

Letter	Pronunciation	Example
a	[a] — open	apa (what), nama (name)
i	[i]	ini (this), ikan (fish)
u	[u]	untuk (for), buku (book)
e	[e] or [ə] (pepet)	sore [e] (afternoon), semua [ə] (all)
o	[o]	orang (person), kota (city)

The letter "e" has two sounds: é [e] as in sore, and e pepet [ə] as in empat. This difference is important but not marked in writing.

Key digraphs:

Digraph	Pronunciation	Example
ng	[ŋ] — one sound!	dengan (with), ngarai (canyon)
ny	[ɲ]	nyaman (comfortable), nyanyi (sing)
kh	[x]	khusus (special)
sy	[ʃ]	syarat (requirement)

Key consonants: 'c' is always [tʃ] (like English 'ch'), 'r' is rolled [r], 'h' is always pronounced. No silent letters!

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

Practice Exercises

The letter 'e' has two sounds ([e] and [ə]) but they are not distinguished in writing. The letter 'c' is always [tʃ], never [k] or [s]. 🇬🇧 English speakers: English speakers pronounce 'c' as [k] or [s] instead of [tʃ]. They also struggle with the rolled 'r'.

Common Error Patterns

Pronouncing 'c' as [k] or [s] instead of [tʃ]

Indonesian 'c' is ALWAYS [tʃ] like English 'ch' in 'church'. Never [k] or [s].

Confusing the two 'e' sounds: [e] and [ə]

The pepet [ə] sounds like 'a' in English 'about'. Listen carefully to native speakers — context and memorization help.

Splitting digraphs ng, ny, kh, sy into separate sounds

These digraphs represent single sounds: ng=[ŋ], ny=[ɲ], kh=[x], sy=[ʃ]. Practice them as units.

Nama saya Rina.

My name is Rina.

All letters are pronounced. 'a' is always [a]. No silent letters in Indonesian.

Selamat pagi!

Good morning!

Selamat = greeting word. Pagi = morning. Note: 'e' in 'selamat' is pepet [ə], not [e].

Terima kasih.

Thank you.

Every syllable is pronounced: te-ri-ma ka-sih. 'h' at the end is audible.

Saya mencari rumah kecil.

I am looking for a small house.

'c' in 'mencari' and 'kecil' is always [tʃ] — like English 'ch'. Never [k] or [s].

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Practice in course

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

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Put it into practice

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1. Greetings and introductions

Frequently asked questions

When do you use Alphabet & Pronunciation?: Indonesian uses the Latin alphabet with 26 letters , the same as English. Spelling is phonetic — every letter is almost always pronounced.
How do you form Alphabet & Pronunciation?: The letter "e" has two sounds: é [e] as in sore , and e pepet [ə] as in empat . This difference is important but not marked in writing. Key consonants: 'c' is always [tʃ] (like English 'ch'), 'r' is rolled [r], 'h' is always pronounced. No silent letters!
What are common mistakes with Alphabet & Pronunciation?: The letter 'e' has two sounds ([e] and [ə]) but they are not distinguished in writing. The letter 'c' is always [tʃ], never [k] or [s]. 🇬🇧 English speakers: English speakers pronounce 'c' as [k] or [s] instead of [tʃ]. They also struggle with the rolled 'r'.

Letter

Pronunciation

Example

[a] — open

apa (what), nama (name)

[i]

ini (this), ikan (fish)

[u]

untuk (for), buku (book)

[e] or [ə] (pepet)

sore [e] (afternoon), semua [ə] (all)

[o]

orang (person), kota (city)

Digraph

Pronunciation

Example

[ŋ] — one sound!

dengan (with), ngarai (canyon)

[ɲ]

nyaman (comfortable), nyanyi (sing)

[x]

khusus (special)

[ʃ]

syarat (requirement)

Frequently asked questions

When do you use Alphabet & Pronunciation?

Indonesian uses the Latin alphabet with 26 letters , the same as English. Spelling is phonetic — every letter is almost always pronounced.

How do you form Alphabet & Pronunciation?

The letter "e" has two sounds: é [e] as in sore , and e pepet [ə] as in empat . This difference is important but not marked in writing. Key consonants: 'c' is always [tʃ] (like English 'ch'), 'r' is rolled [r], 'h' is always pronounced. No silent letters!

What are common mistakes with Alphabet & Pronunciation?

The letter 'e' has two sounds ([e] and [ə]) but they are not distinguished in writing. The letter 'c' is always [tʃ], never [k] or [s]. 🇬🇧 English speakers: English speakers pronounce 'c' as [k] or [s] instead of [tʃ]. They also struggle with the rolled 'r'.