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