Bahasa Jawa
Learn Javanese with Vicki
Private online Javanese lessons. Javanese, known in Indonesian as Bahasa Jawa, is the most widely spoken regional language in Indonesia and a separate language from Indonesian rather than a dialect of it.
What Javanese is
Javanese is the language of Java, spoken as a first language by more people than any other regional language in Indonesia. In Indonesian it is called Bahasa Jawa, which simply means “the Java language”.
Javanese is not a dialect of Indonesian. This is the single most common misunderstanding about it. The two are separate languages within the same broad Austronesian family, in roughly the way that English and German are separate languages within the same broad family. They share some vocabulary, and almost everyone who speaks Javanese also speaks Indonesian, but knowing one does not give you the other. If you want the background on the national language and its name, see what to call the Indonesian language.
Speech levels
The feature that makes Javanese distinctive, and the reason people find it harder than Indonesian, is its speech levels. Javanese has more than one word for a great many everyday concepts, and which one you use depends on who you are speaking to and about. Ngoko is the everyday, familiar level used with people you are close to. Krama is the polite level used with strangers, elders and people owed respect. Krama inggil adds a further set of honorific words used about the person being respected.
This is not the same thing as choosing a polite tone in English. It changes the vocabulary itself, so learning Javanese properly means learning more than one word for many common things, and learning when each applies. It is also the part of the language that most rewards having a teacher, because the rules are social as much as grammatical.
Regional varieties
Javanese varies across the island. The Central Javanese of Yogyakarta and Surakarta is generally treated as the standard and is the variety most course material is based on. East Javanese, around Surabaya, is known for being blunter and has its own vocabulary. The western Banyumasan varieties, often called ngapak, differ enough in pronunciation and vocabulary to be recognised instantly by other Javanese speakers.
Which variety you want to learn is worth thinking about, especially if you have a particular family or place in mind.
Writing
Javanese today is normally written in the Latin alphabet. It also has its own script, aksara Jawa, sometimes called hanacaraka after the first letters of its traditional ordering. The script is still taught in schools in Java and appears on street signs and in ceremonial and decorative use, but it is not what people write to each other in.
Who learns it
Why people learn Javanese
Javanese is rarely a first language to study. People usually come to it for a specific person, place or family.
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Partners of Javanese speakers
Your partner switches to Javanese with their family, and Indonesian only gets you as far as the front room.
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People with Javanese family
Grandparents and older relatives often prefer Javanese, and some are much more comfortable in it than in Indonesian.
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Heritage learners
You grew up around Javanese, understand some of it, and want to be able to answer in it rather than in Indonesian.
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People living or working in Java
Indonesian works everywhere in Java, but Javanese is what people relax into. Using a little changes how you are received.
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Anyone drawn to the culture
Javanese carries a great deal that does not translate: the politeness system, the indirectness, the proverbs, the humour.
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Linguistically curious learners
A language with distinct speech levels built into its everyday vocabulary is genuinely unusual, and interesting to study on its own terms.
Before you book
What to agree with Vicki first
Javanese varies more than Indonesian does, by region and by how much of the politeness system you need, so a Javanese course means different things to different learners. Four things are worth settling in your first message.
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Which variety
Say which region your Javanese needs to work in, especially if there is a particular family behind the question, and ask which variety Vicki teaches.
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Which speech levels
Who you will actually be speaking to decides how much of the ngoko, krama and krama inggil system you need. Agree that before the first lesson rather than during it.
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Whether the script is included
Almost all Javanese you will meet is written in the Latin alphabet. If aksara Jawa matters to you, ask for it specifically.
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Starting level and lesson language
Whether you can start from nothing, and whether lessons run through English, Indonesian or a mix.
Common questions
Questions about learning Javanese
Is Javanese the same as Indonesian?
No. Javanese and Indonesian are two distinct languages, not a language and its dialect. Both belong to the Austronesian family, but they are not mutually intelligible: a speaker of Indonesian who has never learned Javanese will not follow a Javanese conversation. Indonesian is the national language and is used across the whole country; Javanese is a regional language of Java.
What does Bahasa Jawa mean?
Bahasa Jawa is simply the Indonesian name for the Javanese language: bahasa means “language” and Jawa means “Java”. It is the same language English calls Javanese.
Where is Javanese spoken?
Mainly in central and eastern Java, including Yogyakarta, Surakarta, Semarang and Surabaya, and by Javanese communities elsewhere in Indonesia and abroad. It is the most widely spoken regional language in Indonesia.
Do I need Indonesian before learning Javanese?
Not necessarily, though most learners come to Javanese with some Indonesian already, and having it makes some things easier because the two languages share vocabulary. If you want both, it is worth saying so when you get in touch so that they can be sequenced sensibly.
Can I find a Javanese tutor online?
Yes. Vicki teaches Javanese (Bahasa Jawa) alongside Indonesian, as private online lessons with a single tutor. Indonesian remains the main focus of her teaching, and Javanese lessons are arranged the same way, by message.
Is Javanese harder than Indonesian?
For most learners, yes, in one specific way. Indonesian has no equivalent of the Javanese speech-level system, where choosing between ngoko and krama changes the actual words you use rather than just the tone. That means learning more vocabulary for the same set of meanings, and learning when each set applies.
Ask about Javanese lessons
Tell Vicki who you want to speak Javanese with and where they are from. That is usually enough for her to say what she can offer and how to start.