Bahasa Indonesia’s Indian Connection

Indonesia as country has seen it being influenced by many religions, races and countries. History shows us that connection with India, Holland, China, Australia and Arab countries. This inter-cultural exchange has had a great impact on Bahasa – the national language of Indonesia, which has borrowed many words into its language from Arabic, Hindi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Chinese, Japanese, Dutch, Portuguese and the many Austronesian languages.

I knew about this even before I came to Indonesia, but my cousin wanted me to note down all the various Indian (Sanskrit, Hindi, Tamil, Urdu) words that I came across in my 2 months here in Indonesia. Today, Islam is a major religion of Indonesia, but once upon a time, it used to be Hinduism and hence Sanskrit (Samsakrutha in Bahasa) has had a great impact in today’s Bahasa. The name Bahasa in itself comes from the Indian word Bhasha, meaning language.

Below is a list of words that I have come across in Bahasa Indonesia with their meanings and related Indian word. I hope all the Indian readers will find this Indian connection very interesting. The thing to note is that some Indian words have also been borrowed from Arabic. Hence, the words that I might categorize as Indian can have an Arabic root. Many Hindi and Tamil words might have an original root in Sanskrit.

Word in Bahasa	Meaning in Bahasa	Original Indian Word	Indian Language
Bahasa	Language	Bhasha	Hindi
Utara	North	Uttar	Hindi
Asli	Original, Pure	Asli	Hindi
Masjid	Mosque	Masjid	Hindi
Apam	Kind of cake	Apam	Tamil
Kapal	Boat/Ship	Kappal	Tamil
Kuil	Temple	Koil	Tamil
Mangga	Mango	Manga	Tamil
Roti	Bread	Rotti	Tamil
Topi	Hat	Topi/Toppi	Hindi/Tamil
Yudha	War, Battle	Yuddha	Sanskrit
Warna	Colour	varna	Sanskrit
Warta	News	varta	Sanskrit
Akhir	End	Akhir	Urdu
Badan	Body	Badan	Hindi
Dunia	World	Dunia	Hindi
Fakir	Poor People	Fakir	Hindi/Urdu
Hewan	Animal	Haywan	Hindi
Halal	Religiously Lawful	Halal	Hindi
Haram	Religiously Unlawful	Haraam	Hindi
Jahanam	Cursed, Damned	Jahannam – hell	Hindi
Jail	Prank	Jahil – Ignorant	Hindi
Kitab	Book	Kitab	Hindi
Korban	sacrifice	Qurban	Hindi/Urdu
Kursi	Chair	Kursi	Hindi
Maaf	Sorry, to apologize	Maafi	Hindi
Maksud	Purpose	Maqsood	Hindi/Urdu
Maut	Death	Maut	Hindi
Menara	Tower	Minar	Hindi
Mungkin	Maybe	Mungkin	Hindi
Musim	season	Mausam	Hindi
Nikah	Marriage	Nikah	Urdu
Sabar	Patience	Sabarr	Hindi
Sabun	Soap	Sabun	Hindi
Sehat	Healthy	Sehat, - health	Hindi
Selamat	Safe, Well being	Salamat	Hindi
Waktu	Time	Wakt	Hindi
Anggur	Grapes	Angur	Hindi
Pahlawan	Hero	Pehalwan, - strong person	Hindi
Pasar	Market/Bazaar	Bazaar	Hindi
Piala	Cup	Pyala	Hindi
Medan	Field	Maidan	Hindi
Takhta	Throne	Takht	Hindi
Kedai	Food Stall	Kadai	Tamil
Agama	Religion	Agama – Vedic principles	Sanskrit
Aneka	Multifarious	Anek	Hindi
Anggota	Limb	Angh	Hindi
Angkara	Insolence	Aham Kara – Ego, prideta	Sanskrit, Tamil
Angka	Numerical Figure	Anka	Sanskrit
Angkasa	Sky	Akash	Hindi
Alpa	Negligent	Alpa	Sanskrit, Tamil
Antara	Among, in Between	Antar	Hindi
Anugerah	Honour, Award	Anugraham	Tamil
Raja	King	Raja	Hindi
Putera	Son	Putirran	Tamil
Putri	Daughter	Puttiri	Tamil
Bakti	Devotion	Bhakti	Tamil
Sakti	Magic	Shakti – Strength	Hindi, Tamil
Suami	Husband	Swamy	Tamil
Istri	Wife	Istri	Tamil
Bumi	Earth	Bhumi	Hindi
Jendela	Window	Jannal	Tamil
Dua	Two	Do	Hindi
Tiga	Three	Teen	Hindi
Sastra	Literature	Shastra	Sanskrit
Tirai	Curtain	Tirai	Tamil
Sate	Satay	Catai	Tamil
Kolam	Pond	Kulam	Tamil
Kera	Monkey	Korunggu	Tamil
Kari	Curry	Kari	Tamil
Jaya	Victorious	Jeyam	Tamil
Jiwa	Soul	Jeevan	Tamil
Ganja	Marijuana	Kanja	Tamil
Gajah	Elephant	Gajam	Tamil
Dirgahayu	Longevity	Dirgayu	Tamil
Desa	Village	Desam	Tamil
Derma	Charity	Dharmam	Tamil
Denda	Fine	Dhandam	Tamil
Catur	Chess	Caturanggam	Tamil
Candu	Opium	Candu	Tamil
Bayu	Wind	Vayu	Tamil
Bahaya	Hazard	Abayam	Tamil
Alun	Wave	Alai	Tamil
Kamar	Room	Kamra	Hindi
Aniaya	Abuse, Injustice	Anyay	Hindi
Asrama	Dormitory	Ashram	Hindi
Ayah	Father	Ayya	Tamil
Bahagia	Lucky, Blessed	Bhagya	Hindi
Bahu	Shoulder	Bahu – arms	Sanskrit
Barat	West	Bharat, India – located west of Indonesia	Sanskrit
Basmi	Destroy	Bhasmam	Tamil
Kabar	News	Khabar	Hindi
Biasa	Habitual	Abhya sa	Sanskrit
Biji	Seed	Bija	Hindi
Binasa	Death, destroyed	Vinash	Hindi
Bisa	Venom	Vesam	Tamil
Bijaksana	Wisdom	Vicakshana	Sanskrit
Budiman	Wise	Buddhiman	Hindi
Cakra	Disk, Sphere	Chakram	Tamil
Candi	Temple	Candika – another manifestation of Durga as goddess of death	Sanskrit
Chandra	Moon, Lunar	Chandra – Hindu Moon God	Sanskrit
Citra	Image	Chitra	Hindi
Dana	Donation, Funds	Dhana	Sanskrit
Dasawarsa	Decade	Dasa Varsha	Sanskrit
Dewa	God	Deva	Sanskrit
Dewi	Goddess	Devi	Sanskrit
Duka	Sadness	Dukh	Hindi
Gapura	Gate	Gopuram	Tamil
Guru	Teacher	Guru	Tamil, Hindi
Jelma	Incarnation	Janma – Birth	Sanskrit
Karunia	Blessing	Karuna	Sanskrit
Keluarga	Family	Kula-varga	Sanskrit
Kumba	Pot	Kumbha	Sanskrit
Lawang	Cinnamon	Lavanga	Sanskrit
Rani	Queen	Rani	Hindi
Siswa	College Student	Shishya	Hindi
Menteri	Minister	Mantri	Hindi
Mitra	Partner	Mitra	Hindi
Nama	Name	Naam	Hindi
Negara	Country	Nagara	Sanskrit
Negeri	City	Negeri	Sanskrit
Neraka	Hell	Narakam	Tamil
Nirwana	An ideal condition of harmony or joy	Nirvana	Sanskrit
Puasa	Fasting	Upawas	Hindi
Pustakadi	Book	Pustak	Hindi
Rahasia	Secret	Rahasya	Hindi
Raksasa	Monster	Rakshsam	Tamil
Ratna	Gemstone	Ratnam	Tamil
Rupa	Appearance	Roop	Hindi
Samudra	Ocean	Samudra	Hindi
Sakti	Powerful	Shakti	Hindi
Senopati	General, Military Leader	Senapati	Hindi
Singa	Lion	Singha	Sanskrit
Surya	Sun	Surya	Hindi
Suka	Like	Sukh	Hindi
Upacara	Ceremony	Uppakara	Sanskrit
Wahana	Vehicle	Vahana	Sanskrit

I am sure there are many other words in Bahasa Indonesia with a similar Indian connection. Either I have not come across those words or haven’t been able to connect the dots.

If you are more keen on finding the connection, you can start with this wikipedia article and then the rest of the internet.

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Learning Swahili

I always find it real exciting to learn a new language. Knowing even some words from the local language elicit a lot of warmth from the locals. And this principle applies to the entire globe. During my recent trip to Kenya, I did manage to learn some Swahili words especially around the activities that I was engaging in and to form my basic language survival kit. I did manage to listen to some audio tapes prior to reaching Kenya, but as always first-hand experience and a local connect is the best way to learn a new language. Here are some random words, phrases and sentences that I managed to learn and remember during my Kenya holiday. And if you look closely, you will find that some words are similar to Hindi. This could be either because a lot of Hindi speaking Indians migrated to Kenya two centuries back or the common Arabic/Persian influence into both our respective languages.

Chakula	Food
Asante	Thank you
Asante Saana	Thank you very much
Karibu	Welcome
Karibu Saana	Welcome very much
Thwende	Let’s go
Kapisaa	Put the gun to the metal or floor it or press the accelerator
Pole Pole	Slowly
Chakula Chamchana	Lunch
Samahani	Excuse me
Keeingereza	English
Hapana	No
Lala Salama	Sleep well/ Sleep tight/Good night
Safiri Salama	Have a safe journey
Duma	Cheetah
Simba	Lion
Chui	Leopard
Nyati	Cape Buffalo
Kifaroo	Rhinoceros
Ndorvoo	Elephant
Baynkee	Bank
Ni Bei gaani	How much is it?
Wapee	Where?
Polisi	Police
Asubuhi	Morning
Mchaana	Afternoon
Jioni	Evening
Pasipoti	Passport
Choo	Toilet
Maridadi	Beautiful
Hakuna Matata	No worries
Pesa	Money
Hakuna Pesa Hakuna Matata	No Money No Worries
Heka Pesa Heka Matata	More Money More Worries
Ni Sawa	That’s fine
Saawa	Okay
Sawa Sawa (2nd most common word)	OK OK
Bareedee	Cold
Dooka	Shop
Matatu	Public van
Bota Bota	Public Motorcycle Taxi
Jaambo (Most commonly used word)	Hello
Beema	Insurance
Kliniki	Clinic
Dawa	Medicine (also a vodka based drink)
Saboonee	Soap
Majee	Water
Choopa	Bottle
Sifuri	Zero
Mohja	One
Nyama	Meat
Nyama Choma	Meat grilled over charcoal
Chapati	Flat Indian Whole Wheat Bread
Chai	Tea
Pili Pili	Green Chillies (Hot Pepper)
Sukuma Wiki	Green Vegetables
Kachumbari	Mixed Vegetables
Ugali	Steamed Maize Cake
Mazeewa	Milk
Githeri	Dish that is made of mashed potatoes, maize and beans
Irio	Mashed Potatoes with greens
Sookaaree	Sugar

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Tamil Script’s Evolution

We all know that nearly all scripts have evolved over long periods of time, but I was not aware that there are many scripts across the world that have changed at least once every century. The Tamil script (Dravidian language for South India), is one such script that has changed every century for the last 2000 years. The older scripts are way different to what we read today.



I found this fact out while exploring the Brihadeeshwara Temple at Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, India. While explaining the inscriptions on the temple walls, my temple guide showed us this piece of paper and drew similes between current Tamil scripts and the then Tamil Script during the Chola era. I was so impressed by this piece of paper that I took its photograph for safekeeping and for ready reference. Hope this comes in handy to all those who are planning to explore the history of Tamil Nadu.

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