Pronouns in Bahasa Indonesia

Pronouns in Bahasa Indonesia can be varied and depends on the context of the conversation and who you are talking to in Indonesia. Some of the things you might wanna know is that, culturally, Indonesian are bound to be polite especially to elderly and people they are working with. With that being said, if you are speaking to someone with title (bosses, professors, workers, aunties, uncles, grandparents) you are supposed to be respectful in addressing them. 

So on this post, we will learn about those pronouns. To begin with, Indonesia have both formal and informal pronouns for I and You. Take a look at the box below: 

 This formal and informal pronouns only apply to "I" and "You" in Bahasa Indonesia, and does not work for others pronouns such as "We" or "They". To differentiate the formal and informal here, you have to imagine if you are speaking with your boss or your parents or strangers that you don't know, so you want to address them in most respectful manners and you want to use "Saya" and "Anda" to refer yourself and them. Take a look at the examples below:

Sandra: Siang Bapak. Apakah Anda/Bapak ada waktu? Saya mau bicara untuk presentasi sore ini. 

Sandra: Afternoon Mister. Do you have the time? I want to talk for this afternoon presentation. 

Bapak: Ya Sandra, silahkan. 

Bapak: Yes Sandra, please.

In English, it will be translated the same as "You" but in Bahasa Indonesia you'll have to choose or use the terms for the appropriate "you". On the example above, the one in bold, I also put 'Bapak' which means Mister as another option that you can use to address someone formally. Whenever you are unsure whether to call someone with "Kamu" or "Anda" you can always address them by their title like "Bapak", "Ibu" which means Madam. I would recommend to use all the above terms when speaking with boss, people from work/co-worker, people in academy/school, your professor, people that are older than you, parents. 

Now, when do we use "Aku" and "Kamu" or "Gue" and "Lo"? This one is not as tricky, "Aku" and "Kamu" usually use within co-workers that are in the same age or closer age in working space (because they/you want to be friendly), or family members at home like with your sisters/bothers, nephew or nieces, or friends. We will have conversation like: 

Sandra: Eh! Siang ini kamu mau makan bersama? Aku tau tempat baru di Jakarta Selatan.

Sandra: Hey! This afternoon you want to eat together? I know a new place in South Jakarta.

Ando: Ayo Sandra. Gue mau coba! Lo bisa WhatsApp nama tempatnya?

Ando: Let's do Sandra. I want to try! Can you WhatsApp the name of the place?

Like the example above, you can see that Sandra is addressing Ando using "Aku" and "Kamu" as I and You. However, Ando replied back by using "Gue" and "Lo", if you are in situation where the terms are mixed like this, it is okay. A lot of Indonesian mix the terms because they want to appear informal as if you are close with them, or they don't want to make too formal but still maintaining that respect and formality. I will note though that "Gue" and "Lo" are the most informal form in addressing yourself and the other person, so you might wanna start using "saya" and "anda" then "aku" and "kamu" at the beginning then move towards "gue" and "lo" in later time. 

In short, just know that when you want to be the most formal and respectful you want to use "Saya" and "Anda" or address someone by their title such as "Bapak" or "Ibu". Then when you want to be informal or set a more friendly vibes you can use "Aku" and "Kamu" but still being polite to the other person. Last, when you have been in Indonesia for so longgg or friends with the people for so long, they are in the same circle or age as you are, you can use "Gue" and "Lo". You can also see by the way the other person referring themselves and you when speaking, if they are using a different terms then it might a hint if they want to make the conversation/situation formal or informal with you. 

We have established now how to use I and You when to speak with someone, now we gonna move to plural pronouns in Bahasa Indonesia. That consist of: 

You might often find "Kita" and "Kami" a lot and confused when to use both terms as you don't have the difference of "we" in English. To put it simply, it depends on the audience when you use "Kita" and "Kami". 

Imagine that there are three people, You, I and Him. When you and him are going on a trip and you talked about it to me, you want to refer 'You and Him' as "Kami. So you will say to me: "Kami pergi ke Sea World kemarin." We went to Sea World yesterday. So I am not included in that sentence. However if I am also included, you will say "kita"; "Kapan kita mau pergi ke Sea World?" When are we going to Sea World?. 

Kalian and Kamu Semua would mean you all or you (plural). Semua means "All" so Kamu Semua literally means you all. Indonesian use both terms "kalian" and "kamu semua" equally a lot, so you might just as well remember or use both terms. With "Mereka" or they, we only have 1 term for it, so you are good for this one.