How To Talk About The Home In Indonesian

Great news for students of Indonesian, or travelers to Indonesia: a great deal of the Indonesian house vocabulary you’ll have to learn in order to talk about parts of the home, or communicate with your host effectively, are actually English cognates. “Apartment” is apartemen, “balcony” is balkon, “elevator” is actually just elevator, “sofa” is, well, sofa, and “microwave” is oven microwave. That’s not even the full list.

Still, there are plenty of essential words you won’t immediately recognize. If you want to feel secure in your ability to recall the words for “kitchen” or “bathroom” or “fridge,” here’s a list of all the essential Indonesian house vocabulary you’ll need, together with audio pronunciations voiced by a native speaker.

Essential Indonesian House Vocabulary

apartment — apartemen

house — rumah

room — kamar

kitchen — dapur

bathroom — kamar mandi

bedroom — kamar tidur

living room — ruang keluarga

toilet — kamar kecil

floor — lantai

wall — dinding

door — pintu

window — jendela

balcony — balkon

ceiling — plafon

roof — atap

stairs — tangga

elevator — elevator

furniture — mebel

table — meja

chair/armchair — kursi

bed — ranjang

sofa — sofa

bookshelf — rak buku

wardrobe — lemari

bench — bangku

shelf — rak

dresser — lemari berlaci

stool — dingklik

pantry — lemari dapur

decor — dekorasi rumah

curtain — gorden

carpet — permadani

mirror — cermin

lamp — lampu

indoor plant — tanaman hias

picture — gambar

vase — vas

cushion — bantal

scented candle — lilin wangi

coffee table — meja kecil

household appliance — perkakas rumah tangga

fridge — kulkas

freezer — freezer

washing machine — mesin cuci

dishwasher — mesin cuci piring

toaster — pemanggang roti

iron — setrika

dryer — mesin pengering

air conditioner — AC

microwave — oven microwave