VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Voice of Indonesia presents “Let’s Speak Bahasa Indonesia,” a lesson in the Indonesian language on the Radio. We introduce some Indonesian vocabulary and tips on how to use it in a conversation. This segment is a joint initiative of Voice of Indonesia and the Language and Book Development Agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture.  Today’s topic is Ada yang Bisa Saya Bantu? in English ‘Can I Help You?’

Read to this conversation aboutAda yang Bisa Saya Bantu? Which means ‘Can I Help You?’Kevin wants to help the boarding house keeper plant sunflowers in the boarding house yard.

Now, I am going to introduce some vocabularies and expressions related to the topic today.

If you want to offer assistance to others, you can use sentences Bisa saya bantu? Ada yang bisa saya bantu? In English ‘can I help you? or Boleh saya bantu? In English ‘may I help you?’. These sentences are commonly used in formal or informal situations.  To respond to the sentence Bisa saya bantu? You can use the word bisa in English ‘sure’ to receive the help. But if you refuse the help you can say tidak, terima kasih in English ‘no, thank you’. 

Let’s follow the examples:

Kevin: Bisa saya bantu, Pak? In English ‘Can I help you, pak’.

Boarding House Keeper: O, bisa, Mas. Kebetulan saya sedang menanam bunga matahari. Tolong masukkan tanah ke dalam pot ya, Masin English ‘Sure. I am planting sunflowers. Can you/Please put the soil into the pot.

In addition to those expressions, in Indonesian language, you also can use the expression Butuh bantuan? In English ’do you need help? to offer help to familiar people, friends or younger persons. The words bisa (can), and boleh (may) are more polite than the word butuh (need), so that the use of the expression bisa saya bantu? (can I help you?)ismore often used than the expression butuh bantuan? (do you need help?).

That was “Let’s Speak Bhs Indonesia”, a lesson in Bahasa Indonesia or the Indonesian language on the radio. Hopefully, this edition will be useful for those who want to know more about Bahasa Indonesia.