Where's the toilet, the ATM, the entrance
"Di mana" is where, and it's half of every newcomer's questions. "Di mana toilet?" works literally everywhere — everyone knows "toilet", and "kamar kecil" is the polite version that also lands.
The answer comes as a gesture plus "kiri", "kanan", "lurus" — left, right, straight. Learn them not to speak but to understand: asking is easy, it's the answer that catches you out.
"Jauh?" — far? A one-word question that saves a walk. The local "dekat" — close — sometimes means a kilometre, so follow up with "berapa menit" — how many minutes.
On parking: nearly everywhere there's a man in a vest who takes two to five thousand and waves you out. That's not a scam, it's a job. "Bisa parkir di sini?" is a question for him.
Pronunciation below is written to be read out loud in English spelling. It isn't linguistically exact — it's meant to get you understood.
45 phrases
Is there a toilet here?
Ada toilet di sini?
AH-dah TOHEE-luht dee SEE-nee?
Politer: Permisi, ada toilet di sini? ·
Where's the entrance?
Pintu masuknya di mana?
PEEN-too mah-SOOK-nyah dee MAH-nah?
'pintu masuk' = entrance, literally 'entry door'
And where's the exit?
Kalau pintu keluar di mana?
KAH-lohw PEEN-too kuh-LOO-ahr dee MAH-nah?
Where's the cashier here?
Kasirnya sebelah mana?
kah-SEER-nyah suh-buh-LAH MAH-nah?
'sebelah mana' sounds more casual than 'di mana'
I need to pay, where's the cashier?
Mau bayar, kasirnya di mana?
mohw BAH-yahr, kah-SEER-nyah dee MAH-nah?
Where's the bike parking here?
Parkir motor di mana ya?
PAHR-keer MOH-tohr dee MAH-nah yah?
specify 'motor' since 'parkir mobil' is for cars
Can I park here?
Bisa parkir di sini, kah?
BEE-sah PAHR-keer dee SEE-nee, kahh?
Politer: Permisi, bisa parkir di sini, kah? ·
Where's the nearest ATM?
ATM terdekat di mana ya?
ahtm tuhr-duh-KAHT dee MAH-nah yah?
ATM is pronounced Indonesian-style: 'a-te-em'
Is there an ATM somewhere nearby?
Ada ATM yang dekat sini?
AH-dah ahtm yahng duh-KAHT SEE-nee?
Politer: Permisi, ada ATM yang dekat sini? ·
Can you tell me how to get to the beach?
Kalau ke pantai lewat mana ya?
KAH-lohw kuh PAHN-tehye LEH-waht MAH-nah yah?
'lewat mana' = which way
How do I get there from here?
Dari sini jalan ke sana gimana?
DAH-ree SEE-nee JAH-lahn kuh SAH-nah gee-MAH-nah?
'gimana' is the casual form of 'bagaimana'
Is it far to walk?
Kalau jalan kaki jauh, nggak?
KAH-lohw JAH-lahn KAH-kee JOHWH, nggahk?
'jalan kaki' = to walk
Straight and then left?
Jadi lurus terus belok kiri, ya?
JAH-dee LOO-roos tuh-ROOS buh-LOHK KEE-ree, yah?
Which direction is it?
Itu arahnya ke mana?
EE-too ah-RAH-nyah kuh MAH-nah?
Excuse me, I'm lost, where am I?
Maaf, saya nyasar, ini di mana ya?
MAH-ahf, SAH-yah NYAH-sahr, EE-nee dee MAH-nah yah?
'nyasar' is the casual word for 'getting lost'
Can you show me on the map?
Bisa tunjukkin di map?
BEE-sah toon-JOOK-keen dee mahp?
Politer: Permisi, bisa tunjukkin di map? ·
Is it far from here?
Itu jauh dari sini, nggak?
EE-too JOHW DAH-ree SEE-nee, nggahk?
How many minutes on foot to get there?
Jalan kaki berapa menit ke sana?
JAH-lahn KAH-kee buh-RAH-pah muh-NEET kuh SAH-nah?
Is there a car entrance here?
Ada pintu masuk buat mobil?
AH-dah PEEN-too MAH-sook BOO-aht MOH-beel?
Politer: Permisi, ada pintu masuk buat mobil? ·
Where can I leave my bike here?
Taruh motor di mana ya di sini?
TAH-roo MOH-tohr dee MAH-nah yah dee SEE-nee?
'taruh' = to put/leave, often used instead of 'parkir'
Excuse me, is this the entrance or the exit?
Maaf, ini pintu masuk atau keluar?
MAH-ahf, EE-nee PEEN-too MAH-sook AH-tohw kuh-LOO-ahr?
I need to find the cashier, where is it?
Saya cari kasir, itu di mana ya?
SAH-yah CHAH-ree KAH-seer, EE-too dee MAH-nah yah?
Is there a BCA ATM nearby?
Di sekitar sini ada ATM BCA nggak?
dee suh-KEE-tahr SEE-nee AH-dah ahtm bchah nggahk?
BCA is a popular bank, people often specify the bank name
Excuse me, where's the exit to the parking lot?
Maaf, jalan ke parkiran lewat mana?
MAH-ahf, JAH-lahn kuh pahr-KEE-rahn LEH-waht MAH-nah?
'parkiran' is the casual word for 'parking' instead of formal 'tempat parkir'
Is it far from here?
Jauh dari sini?
JOHW DAH-ree SEE-nee?
How long is the walk?
Jalan kaki berapa lama?
JAH-lahn KAH-kee buh-RAH-pah LAH-mah?
How long is the ride on a bike?
Naik motor berapa lama?
NEHYEK MOH-tohr buh-RAH-pah LAH-mah?
Is it close?
Dekat nggak?
duh-KAHT nggahk?
Show me where it is on the map
Coba tunjukin di map, di mana
CHOH-bah toon-JOO-keen dee mahp, dee MAH-nah
'map' has become common instead of 'peta'
Right here, where exactly is this?
Ini di mana ya?
EE-nee dee MAH-nah yah?
showing a phone with a pin dropped
I'm lost
Saya nyasar
SAH-yah NYAH-sahr
'nyasar' — casual word for 'getting lost', very common
I think I went the wrong way
Kayaknya saya salah jalan
kah-YAHK-nyah SAH-yah SAH-lah JAH-lahn
How do I get there from here?
Dari sini gimana caranya ke sana?
DAH-ree SEE-nee gee-MAH-nah chah-RAHN-yah kuh SAH-nah?
Straight and then what?
Lurus terus abis itu ke mana?
LOO-roos tuh-ROOS AH-bees EE-too kuh MAH-nah?
'abis itu' = 'setelah itu', lively slang
Right or left?
Kanan atau kiri?
KAH-nahn AH-tohw KEE-ree?
Is it that way?
Itu arahnya ke sana ya?
EE-too ah-RAH-nyah kuh SAH-nah yah?
Help, I don't know where I am
Tolong, saya nggak tau lagi di mana
TOH-lohng, SAH-yah nggahk tohw LAH-gee dee MAH-nah
Is it far from the beach?
Dari pantai jauh nggak?
DAH-ree PAHN-tehye JOHW nggahk?
Can I walk there or is it better to take a taxi?
Bisa jalan kaki atau lebih baik naik taksi?
BEE-sah JAH-lahn KAH-kee AH-tohw luh-BEE BEHYEK NEHYEK TAHK-see?
Politer: Permisi, bisa jalan kaki atau lebih baik naik taksi? ·
Where exactly is this address?
Alamatnya tepatnya di mana ya?
ah-lah-MAHT-nyah tuh-PAHT-nyah dee MAH-nah yah?
Can you walk me there, please?
Tolong antar saya ke sana
TOH-lohng AHN-tahr SAH-yah kuh SAH-nah
Politer: Permisi, tolong antar saya ke sana ·
This is my first time here, can you help me with directions?
Saya baru pertama kali ke sini, tolong kasih arah
SAH-yah BAH-roo puhr-TAH-mah KAH-lee kuh SEE-nee, TOH-lohng KAH-see AH-rah
Where's the bathroom?
Toilet di mana?
TOHEE-luht dee MAH-nah?
The most essential phrase of all. "Kamar kecil" is more polite, but you'll be understood either way.
What time is it?
Jam berapa sekarang?
jahm buh-RAH-pah suh-KAH-rahng?
Where's the exit?
Pintu keluar di mana?
PEEN-too kuh-LOO-ahr dee MAH-nah?
These phrases, out loud and in your pocket
Tokek has all of them with audio, offline, plus a translator that answers in the same transliteration. Free to start, no account needed.
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