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 Development Agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture.  Today’s topic is ‘Happy Birthday’ or Selamat Ulang Tahun.

Read to this conversation about Selamat Ulang Tahunwhich means ‘Happy Birthday’. Kevin wishes Rama a happy birthday. Rama treats Kevin to have lunch at the canteen.

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

To wish a happy birthday for someone, you can use some expressions such as Selamat ulang tahun, Selamat berulang tahun which means ‘happy birthday’. In the dialogue Kevin use the expression Selamat ulang tahun, Rama. After that he continue with Semoga panjang umur dan sehat selalu which means ‘Wish you a long life and good health always’.

Felicitation/congratulations are usually followed by wishes and prayers to the person who is being congratulated.

Rama wants to treat kevin, he says Aku mau mentraktir kamu makan siang which means ‘I will treat you for lunch’. Kevin thanks Rama for the treat by saying Terima kasih atas traktirannya which means ‘thank you for the treat’.

Traktiran or treat is something that someone buys or pays for others. In Indonesia, someone who celebrates birthday usually treats their friends. The treat can be a form of foods and drinks. At Campus or School someone usually treats their friends for lunch.

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.