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Practical guides to the parts of Indonesian that most often trip learners up, written by Vicki. Everything here is free, and none of it needs an account.
Begin with pronunciation, which is a short syllabus rather than a long project, then a handful of sentence patterns: the missing verb to be, tidak versus bukan, and the question words. Vocabulary lists can wait until you have somewhere to put the words.
For English speakers, Indonesian is one of the more approachable languages to start: no gender, no cases, no verb conjugation and no tenses. The difficulty arrives later, in the affix system, the distance between formal and spoken Indonesian, and understanding speech at natural speed.
Indonesian has two words for “we”. Kami means we but not you: it leaves the listener out. Kita includes the listener. The distinction is called clusivity, and it is held to in writing and in formal speech even where casual speech blurs it.
Start with a time-of-day greeting, terima kasih, permisi, maaf and saya tidak mengerti, then add the rest by situation. Expect Indonesians to greet each other with questions like Sudah makan? and Mau ke mana? far more often than with Apa kabar?
Bahasa means language in Indonesian, so Bahasa on its own is not the name of anything. In English, call the language Indonesian. In Indonesian, call it bahasa Indonesia, written with a small b inside a sentence and a capital B as a school subject or a title.
Written and spoken Indonesian differ enough that studying only the formal register leaves you unable to follow a normal conversation. Everyday speech drops the meN- prefix, contracts common words, swaps -kan for -in, changes the pronouns, and leans on particles like sih, dong and kok.
In progress
The next set of guides covers Indonesian affixes in detail, more of the everyday grammar that learners hit early, and a first group of Javanese guides covering ngoko and krama, basic phrases and pronunciation.
If there is something you keep getting stuck on and cannot find a clear explanation of, it is worth mentioning to Vicki. Questions from students are where most of these start.
These guides explain how Indonesian works. Using it with someone who can correct you is what makes it stick. Vicki teaches Indonesian online, one to one.