Taxis and getting around
Nine trips in ten are closed by an app and need no words at all. The phrases are for the tenth: places where the apps don't work — and there are more of those on the island than you'd think, with a few villages where calling a car gets the driver a hard conversation.
The key word is "antar": take me. "Antar saya ke..." plus the place. Then "kiri" and "kanan", left and right — said to the driver on approach, they save you when the navigation lies.
"Berhenti di sini" — stop here. Not "stop": "stop" is understood, but "berhenti" sounds like a person talking, not a command to a dog.
On price: if there's no meter, agree before you get in. "Berapa ke..." plus the place. Bargaining after the ride is too late, and that's the one case where you're in the wrong.
Pronunciation below is written to be read out loud in English spelling. It isn't linguistically exact — it's meant to get you understood.
34 phrases
Take me here
Antar saya ke sini
AHN-tahr SAH-yah kuh SEE-nee
Show the address on your screen — it's more reliable.
How much to get there?
Berapa ke sana?
buh-RAH-pah kuh SAH-nah?
Politer: Permisi, berapa ke sana? ·
Please use the meter
Pakai argo, ya
PAH-kehye AHR-goh, yah
"Argo" means meter. Without it, they'll just guess a price.
Slower, please
Pelan-pelan, ya
puh-LAHN puh-LAHN, yah
Stop here
Berhenti di sini
buhr-huhn-TEE dee SEE-nee
Left
Ke kiri
kuh KEE-ree
Right
Ke kanan
kuh KAH-nahn
Straight ahead
Lurus terus
LOO-roos tuh-ROOS
Is it far?
Jauh tidak?
JOHW TEE-dahk?
Local: Jauh nggak? ·
There's traffic here
Di sini macet
dee SEE-nee MAH-chuht
Can you call a taxi, please?
Tolong panggil taksi
TOH-lohng PAHNG-geel TAHK-see
Politer: Permisi, tolong panggil taksi ·
Is it far to Ubud?
Ubud jauh?
OO-bood JOHWH?
Swap in any place instead of Ubud.
How long is the ride?
Berapa lama ke sana?
buh-RAH-pah LAH-mah kuh SAH-nah?
Politer: Permisi, berapa lama ke sana? ·
I live nearby
Saya tinggal dekat sini
SAH-yah TEENG-gahl duh-KAHT SEE-nee
I'm waiting for a friend
Saya nunggu teman
SAH-yah NOONG-goo tuh-MAHN
Take me to the airport
Antar ke bandara
AHN-tahr kuh bahn-DAH-rah
Can you help with my suitcase?
Tolong bantu bawa koper
TOH-lohng BAHN-too BAH-wah KOH-puhr
Politer: Permisi, tolong bantu koper ·
Take me to Ubud, please
Antar saya ke Ubud
AHN-tahr SAH-yah kuh OO-bood
antar — to drive/take someone somewhere, basic verb for drivers
Stop up there, please
Berhenti di depan itu, ya
buhr-huhn-TEE dee duh-PAHN EE-too, yah
ya at the end softens the request, sounds polite
Can we go a bit further?
Bisa lebih jauh sedikit?
BEE-sah luh-BEE JOHW suh-DEE-keet?
Politer: Permisi, bisa lebih jauh sedikit? ·
Can you do it a bit cheaper?
Bisa kurang sedikit?
BEE-sah KOO-rahng suh-DEE-keet?
Politer: Permisi, bisa kurang sedikit? ·
Would the meter be cheaper?
Pakai argo lebih murah?
PAH-kehye AHR-goh luh-BEE MOO-rahh?
argo — taxi meter, a word everyone knows
There's a big traffic jam here
Macet parah di sini
MAH-chuht PAH-rah dee SEE-nee
macet — basic word, must-know in Bali
Take another road, it's jammed here
Lewat jalan lain aja, ini macet
LEH-waht JAH-lahn LEHYEN AH-jah, EE-nee MAH-chuht
Please wait for me here
Tunggu saya di sini, ya
TOONG-goo SAH-yah dee SEE-nee, yah
I'll be quick, just wait
Sebentar aja, tunggu ya
suh-buhn-TAHR AH-jah, TOONG-goo yah
Can you go a bit faster, please
Tolong lebih cepat
TOH-lohng luh-BEE chuh-PAHT
Politer: Permisi, tolong lebih cepat ·
Not so fast, slow down
Jangan terlalu cepat, pelan-pelan aja
JAHN-gahn tuhr-LAH-loo chuh-PAHT, puh-LAHN puh-LAHN AH-jah
I need to be there by three
Saya harus sampai jam tiga
SAH-yah HAH-roos SAHM-pehye jahm TEE-gah
How long to the airport?
Berapa jam ke airport?
buh-RAH-pah jahm kuh EHYER-pohrt?
Politer: Permisi, berapa jam ke airport? ·
Do you know where this is?
Bapak tahu tempatnya di mana?
BAH-pahk TAH-hoo tuhm-PAHT-nyah dee MAH-nah?
Bapak/Ibu — respectful way to address the driver
I'll send you the location
Saya kirim lokasi, ya
SAH-yah KEE-reem loh-KAH-see, yah
sending a pin via WhatsApp is standard practice here
This isn't the right way
Ini bukan jalan yang benar
EE-nee BOO-kahn JAH-lahn yahng buh-NAHR
Including tip
Udah termasuk tip?
OO-dah tuhr-MAH-sook teep?
important to clarify for apps like Gojek/Grab
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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