VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The conversation is about "TRANSPORTASI UMUM" or in English ‘PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION’. The conversation is between Tony (A) a British man, and Sinta (C). They are on the plane on the way to Yogyakarta.

After the conversation, now I’ll introduce some vocabularies and idioms related to the topic today. 

To ask about whether the public transportation in Yogja is available or not, you can say “Apakah di Jogja ada transportasi umum?” in English “Is there any public transportation in Yogyakarta? If you want to ask about the existence of a kind of public transportation like express train, you can say “Apakah di Jogja ada kereta api cepat? in English “Is there any express train in Jogja”?

To answer the question, you just say,”Ya, ada.” or “Tidak ada”. You also can say in a complete answer “Ya, di Jogja ada transportasi umum” in English “Yes, there is public transportation in Jogja”. Or “Di Jogja tidak ada transportasi umum” in English “No, there is not public transportation in Jogja.”

To know about what kinds of public transportation, you can say “ada transportasi apa saja?”  In English “What kinds of transportation are there?”  To answer the question, you can say “Ada bus kota, ada taksi, ada kereta, ada becak” in English “There are city buses, taxis, trains and Becaks (pedicab)”.

There are many kinds of public transportation in Indonesia. So, you do not need to worry if you visit Indonesia, especially big cities like Bandung, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Medan and certainly Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia.

Welcome back to Let’s Speak Bahasa Indonesia, a segment which invites you to learn Bahasa Indonesia.  The program ‘Let's Speak Bahasa Indonesia’ is collaboration between Voice of Indonesia, RRI Foreign Broadcasting Station and the Agency for Language Development, the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia. Today’s topic is " DI BUS"  or in English,  “ON THE BUS ”. 

First, I’ll introduce some Indonesian vocabulary and idioms related to the topic today. I’ll say each word slowly, twice. You can follow after me.

Next is a conversation on   " DI BUS"  or in English,  “ON THE BUS”.

As usual, I’ll say every sentence slowly, twice, and you can follow after me.  The conversation is between Tono   (A) and   Dewi (B) on the Bus.

In the dialogue, Dewi said, " Maaf  Mas, permisi.” Which in English means simply “Excuse me". The word ‘Mas’ is usually used to address a relatively young man. To address a relatively young woman, you can call her ‘Mbak’. You can also add a  name after  Mbak or Mas, like Mbak Sinta, Mbak Rani, Mas Tony, or Mas Andi. The term ‘Mas’ and ‘Mbak’ are actually not Indonesian but Javanese, a regional language in Indonesia. The original meaning of Mas is older brother, and Mbak is older sister. However, Mas and Mbak are often used in Indonesian everyday  conversation, especially in Java, though not necesarily in other parts of Indonesia. The words are usually  used to address a relatively young man and young woman.