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 (Ayo, makan di kantin) in English ‘Let’s eat at canteen’.

Read to this conversation about Ayo, makan di kantin which means ‘Let’s eat at canteen’. Siti invites Kevin to eat at canteen. Siti also tells Kevin that he can take the foods by himself.

Siti               : Ayo, kita pergi ke kantin!

Kevin         : Ayo, menunya apa?

Siti              : Ada banyak, Kevin, kita bisa ambil sendiri makanan itu.

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

Ayo, kita pergi ke kantin    which means      let’s go to canteen      

Mari kita ke kantin.                                          

makan siang                                                     lunch

makan malam                                                   dinner

kantin                                                                 canteen

makanan                                                            food

Meal time is the time to socialize. It is used to gather and talk. To offer invitations to eat together, you can use sentences, Ayo, kita pergi ke restoran or Mari kita makan ke restoran which means ‘let’s go to restaurant’.

To response the invitation, you can repeat the expression, for example:

Siti             : Ayo, kita pergi ke kantin!

Kevin         : Ayo!

There are two kinds of invitations in Indonesian language, namely formal and informal invitations. The formal invitation is used to invite older people, new people, and respected people. For the formal invitation, you can use the word mari in English ‘let’s’. While, the informal invitation is used to greet people who are already familiar, friends, or younger people. In the informal invitation, you can use the word, ayo or ‘come on’.

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.