Learn Bahasa Indonesia for Beginner.

LEARN BAHASA INDONESIA FOR BEGINNER DICTIONARIES AND GRAMMARS FOR LEARNERS OF INDONESIAN By far the best Indonesian-English dictionary is A Comprehensive Indonesian-English Dictionary: 2nd Edition by Alan M. Stevens & A. Schmidgall-Tellings (Editors). However, it is quite expensive. A cheaper option, but still good, is Kamus Indonesia-Inggris: An Indonesian-English Dictionary by Hassan Shadily. There is also an English-Indonesian dictionary from the same author. Both are very good. Then there is the equally good Indonesian-English The Learner’s Dictionary of Today’s Indonesian by George Quinn. These are the only ones that we can recommend at the moment.

Grammars There are many grammars and all have their pros and cons. The one that we use all the time is the Indonesian Reference Grammar by James Neil Sneddon. The same author also published The Indonesian Language: Its History and Role in Modern Society.

Online Dictionaries The only one that we can recommend with caution (it contains a few mistakes) is Indodic (free).

Comparison of Indonesian with other Austronesian languages: As you can see, Malay, including its Indonesian and Malaysian variants, has a lot in common with other Austronesian languages as far away as Madagascar (Malagasy), or New Zealand (Maori). Given that East Timor is an enclave within Indonesia, it is not surprising that its national Language Tetum also has a lot in common with the Indonesian-Malay language.