Learn Indonesian with Babbel’s Quick, Fun Lessons

The Indonesian language is spoken by almost 200 million people around the world. The vast majority of speakers live in Southeast Asia, in Indonesia as well as in East Timor, Malaysia and Brunei. If you’re considering the language, you may already have a personal motivation, whether it’s connecting with your heritage or holiday plans.

One of the strongest reasons for learning Indonesian, or any language really, is that it allows you to connect with new people and new cultures. In Indonesia itself, Indonesian acts as a lingua franca, uniting the linguistically diverse country with a common tongue that most people speak as a second language. Learning the language will give you the most flexibility if you’re traveling around Indonesia’s islands. You can also connect with the artists and thinkers that make up Indonesian history. Though it only became the official language of Indonesia in 1945, the Indonesian language extends back millennia. 

With Indonesia gaining international attention because of its economic outlook, learning Indonesian is also a useful business proposition. For anyone looking to expand their business into Asia, the language will provide countless opportunities, and it’s projected to grow through the 21st century. 

So no matter if you’re booking a trip to Indonesia or planning a larger life change, learning Indonesian will offer a chance to expand your horizons. If you’re still on the fence, you can try a free lesson on Babbel right now! You’ll see how Babbel’s self-study app gets you speaking from the very start, and will be there for you on every step of your language journey.

Indonesian lessons: a quick intro to Indonesian course

You may be surprised to learn this, but Indonesian is considered one of the easier languages for English speakers to learn, particularly in comparison to other Asian languages. That doesn’t mean it’s something you can pick without any effort, but you may find that certain things that make learning other languages so challenging don’t happen with Indonesian. Here’s a brief overview of Indonesian to give you an idea of what to expect when you’re studying the language.

• Alphabet — Perhaps the biggest contributor to Indonesian being “easy” for English speakers to learn is that it uses the same alphabet that English does. Not having to learn another writing system automatically gives you a large advantage in understanding the language.

• Pronunciation — Indonesian pronunciation is also straight-forward. Unlike English, where certain letters can have several pronunciations, Indonesian is pronounced pretty much like it’s spelled.

• Vocabulary — When looking at Indonesian, the biggest difference might just be the vocab. English and Indonesian come from entirely different language trees, meaning there aren’t as many cognates as you would find in German or Spanish. 

• Verb Conjugations — This part is probably the most exciting to learners: the grammar of Indonesian is much easier than that of other languages. There are no verb conjugations, no grammatical genders and no complicated plural rules. Indonesian is dependent on context to get the point across, which makes learning the basics of the language simpler.

• Formality — A place where Indonesian does differ from English is that it has stronger differences in formality. Formal Indonesian is the language of newscasters, academia, and business, whereas the vast majority of Indonesian speakers converse with informal Indonesian. Which one is more important to learn is very reliant on why you’re learning, but both play important roles.

Our expert tips to learn Indonesian online

With more language resources at your fingertips than ever before, learning Indonesian is widely accessible. It can be a little overwhelming figuring out where to get started, however. Fortunately, we have a few of our best tips for mastering the language, using all of the tools at your disposal.

• Learn a little every day. When you’re learning a language, or really anything, you should keep in mind the importance of regular study. Doing a 5 to 10 minute Indonesian lesson with Babbel every day will contribute more to your progress than four hours every couple months or so.

• Practice your pronunciation. It’s a common mistake when you’re learning online to do a lot of reading and writing, but forget about speaking at all. If your goal is conversing in Indonesian, however, you’ll want to work on that as early as you can. That’s why Babbel starts you off in the very first lesson with words and phrases pronounced by native speakers, accompanied by a speech recognition AI that will let you know how your pronunciation is coming along.

• Engage with Indonesian culture. Except in rare cases, people learn a language because they want to engage with other people who speak it. That means there’s a lot more to learning Indonesian than vocab lists and grammar rules. Babbel includes some culture tips, and you can learn more by watching Indonesian movies, listening to Indonesian music, and (of course) talking to other Indonesian speakers.

• “Immerse” yourself from home. You have probably heard that immersion is one of the quickest ways to learn a language. Not everyone can necessarily move to Indonesia right away, though, which is why it’s so fortunate you can now immerse yourself — to some level — no matter where you are. Download Indonesian podcasts, connect with Indonesian speakers on forums, and even change the language on your phone to Indonesian (as long as you can figure out how to switch it back). Increasing the amount you’re exposed to the language on a day-to-day basis will build up your skills and keep you sharp in the language.

Learn Indonesian with the Babbel app

Still not sure if Babbel is the right choice for learning Indonesian? Here are a few more facts to know:

• Over 200 language experts designed Babbel to teach you the skills you need to have real-world conversations.

• With games, guided conversations and more, there have never been more ways to learn on Babbel’s self-study app.

• Babbel’s Review feature makes sure you remember vocabulary by using spaced repetition.

• Just 10 minutes a day is all you need to start speaking a new language, and Babbel was built to fit into even the busiest schedules.

What are you waiting for? Get started on your Indonesian learning journey today!