Selamat is used in basic greetings and means something like ‘blessing’.

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It is common to greet people with selamat pagi (good morning), selamat siang (gooday), selamat sore (good evening) or selamat malam (which is literally 'good night' but is meant as 'good evening' and used anytime after nightfall).

 

Selamat is also used in response to someone sharing good news like ‘my son just graduated, ‘I just opened a new shop’, or ‘I just got a promotion’. When one faces a serious challenge or near catastrophe but manages to survive, one is selamat.

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Bapak/Ibu or Pak/Bu) literally mean Father and Mother but are used in the sense of Sir and Madam/Miss though considered less formal than in English.

 

It is extremely common to use such titles (and many others) when addressing anyone unless they are notably younger than you. When in doubt use these titles as in "selamt pagi bapak" (good morning sir) or "permisi Bu" (excuse me miss).

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Apa Kabar literally means ‘what is new?’ but is meant more as ‘how are you?’. It is common to ask ‘apa kabar?’ after the basic greeting of ‘selamat pagi (siang, sore, or malam). So "selamat pagi Pak, apa kabar?" (good morning sir, how are you doing?)

 

The common response to ‘apa kabar?’ is ‘baik' meaning ‘good’, followed by 'apa kabar bapak/Ibu', (and how are you sir/madam?).

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Baik/bagus both mean 'good', 'baik' generally refers to indisputable goodness, whereas 'bagus' generally refers to a matter of opinion.

 

So, when making a value judgment about someone work, surroundings, decor, or someone's behaviour or actions you would use the word 'bagus' whereas if you are referring to the goodness of someone or something you would say 'baik'.

 

The response to "apa kabar?" (How are you?) is usually 'baik' as in 'things are going well', rather than 'bagus' which would be in reference to something specific.

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Permisi- means 'excuse me' and is used to initiate any interaction with a stranger or when disrupting someone, so one would say 'permisi' to get a shopkeepers attention, before asking for directions or help or if you need to squeeze past someone.

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Ma’af means 'sorry' or 'forgive me' and is used in the same way we would use 'sorry; as in 'sorry I am late', or 'sorry I misunderstood', or 'sorry I don't understand' but is also commonly said if you need to bring up something uncomfortable (as in 'sorry to bring this up), or make a request ('sorry could I ask you..?) and also if you need to interrupt someone ('sorry to interrupt').

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Terima kasih means thanks you. Terima means 'to receive' and 'kasih' means both 'to give' as well as 'loving-kindness', so we can understand terima kasih as meaning "I acknowledge/receive the loving-kindness you share with me'. Makasih is a commonly used abbreviation. 

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Boleh means both 'may I?' and 'yes you may'. So you might ask 'boleh? gesturing to an action like entering a room or touching an object and the response might also be 'boleh' as in 'yes you may'.

Boleh mintah bantu? means 'may I ask for help or assistance'.

 

Mintah means 'to ask for' or 'request' and 'bantu' means to help or assist.

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So one might say 'permisi, selamat siang, pak, ma'af, boleh saya mintah bantu?' (Excuse me, gooday sir, sorry to trouble you, may I ask for some help?)

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Silahkan means please as in 'please go ahead'. It is common for people to say 'silahkan' as an invitation to begin eating or drinking the food or beverage has been served or silahkan get in the car. or silahkan have a seat etc. A response to a question of boleh, like "boleh I take I sit here? Could be "boleh"  (yes you may) or "silahkan" (yes, please do).

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Bisa/tidak bisa bisa means 'can' as in it is 'possible' or 'doable and "tidak"means "no". 

 

So the response to 'can I take a bus to Java?' would be 'bisa'.

 

Whereas the response to the question 'can I take a train from Jakarta to Sulawesi?' Would be 'tidak bisa' (because there is no train between these islands).

 

Similarly something that 'tidak bisa' (cannot be done) might also be due to social considerations. Sometimes 'bisa' is followed by 'but it is best not to'.

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Jangan means don't ( so someone might say 'bisa' or 'boleh' followed by 'but jangan' (yes you can, or yes you may, but best not to).

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Dilarang means 'not allowed' or 'forbidden', as in dilarang smoking in this area, dilarang enter this area etc

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Sudah/Belum  'belum' means 'not yet' and sudah means 'already'.

 

It is extremely common to ask questions about whether one has 'already' or 'not yet' done something -be it routine (eaten, bathed, prayed, finished doing something ) or something more broad (married, been somewhere in particular, done something in particular).

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In response to the question: 'sudah bisa Bahasa Indonesian?" ( do you (literally can you already) speak Indonesian? ) ,one might answer "ma'af belum bisa" (sorry, I cannot yet).

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Apa means 'what'

Ini means 'this'

Itu means 'that

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Apa ini? Means 'what is this?'. Like in English this phrase can have the connotation of disapproval.

 

Apa itu? means 'what is that?'. Like in English this phrase is more neutral.

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So in the market if you wanted to ask what something is you might say "permisi, ma'af ya, apa itu?" (Excuse me, sorry to trouble you, what is that?), gesturing with your thumb or full open hand.

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Ada means 'there is' or 'have'

Tidak ada means 'there is not'

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So in the market you might ask 'do you sell mangos' by saying 'permisi pak, ada manga' (excuse me sir, are there mangos here) and the response might be "ma'af, tidak ada" (i'm sorry there are none) or "ada" (yes there are). 

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