Voice of Indonesia presents Let’s Speak Indonesian, a program that introduces the Indonesian vocabulary and guides you to speak in the language. Mari Berbahasa Indonesia or Let’s Speak Indonesian is a joint initiative of Voice of Indonesia and the Language Development Agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture.  Today’s topic is still about Sakit which means Sick. 

Here is the conversation entitled “Kira-kira Pukul 14.30” which means “At About 14.30”. This dialog is between Kevin and a clinic staff. They talk on the phone. The clinic staff gives estimated time to Kevin to come to the clinic. Let’s listen to the conversation.

Having listened to the conversation, now I am going to introduce some vocabulary and expressions related to the topic of the day.

In the dialog, you listen to an expression Kira-kira pukul 14.30 (2x) which means At about 14.30. In the expression, there is the word kira-kira (2x) which means about. It is used to show estimated time.

Besides the word kira-kira (2x) which means about, the word sekitar (2x) which means around can be used to show estimated time.

Here are the other examples to show estimated time.

Kevin               : Pukul berapa saya harus tiba di klinik? (2x) which means What time should I arrive at the clinic?

Clinic staff: Kira-kira pukul 14.30 (2x) which means at about 14.30

Kevin               : Pukul berapa saya harus tiba di klinik? (2x) which means What time should I arrive at the clinic?

Clinic staff : Sekitar pukul 14.30 (2x) which means at around 14.30

In the dialog, you hear the clinic staff tells the time empat belas tiga puluh (2x) which means fourteen thirty. Indonesia uses 24-hour clock, which is zero zero until fifty nine minutes past twenty three. However, time telling may vary. Fourteen thirty can be said pukul empat belas lewat tiga puluh menit (2x) which means thirty minutes past fourteen, pukul dua tiga puluh siang (2x) which means two thirty and pukul setengah tiga siang (2x) which means half past two.

That was “Let’s Speak Indonesian” for today. Hopefully, this edition can be useful for those of you who want to know more about Indonesian language.