Balinese phrasebook
Balinese or simply Bali (known natively as Basa Bali) is a language spoken predominantly by the Balinese people, native to the Indonesian island of Bali and its adjacent islands.
It is a very tough language for non-Balinese to master, and while related to Javanese, is not mutually intelligible with it. You are unlikely to need to learn Balinese, as virtually every Balinese speaker is also able to speak Indonesian, and many can even manage some English. That being said, attempting to communicate in Balinese would almost certainly please the locals.
The language has three main registers depending on the status of those speaking:
- low (basa ketah)
- middle (basa madia)
- high (basa singgih)
This phrasebook will cover the low register only as that is the language spoken by the vast majority of Balinese, and the only one likely to be encountered by visitors.
Pronunciation guide
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | (IPA: i) | (IPA: u) | |
| Mid | (IPA: e) | (IPA: ə) | (IPA: o) |
| Low | (IPA: a) |
The official spelling denotes both (IPA: /a/) and (IPA: /ə/) by a. However, a is usually pronounced (IPA: [ə]) when it ends a word, and (IPA: [ə]) occurs also in prefixes ma-, pa- and da-.
Consonants
| Labial | Dental | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p | b | t | d | c | ɟ | k | ɡ | ||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ||||||
| Fricative | s | h | ||||||||
| Trill | r | |||||||||
| Lateral | l | |||||||||
| Approximant | w | j | ||||||||
Phrase list
Some phrases in this phrasebook still need to be translated. If you know anything about this language, you can help by plunging forward and translating a phrase.
Basics
- Hello.
- . ( )
- Hello. (informal)
- . ( )
- How are you?
- (Engken kabare?) (Sapunapi gatra?) (ken ken kabare?)
- Fine, thank you.
- . (Iyang becik-becik kewanten.)
- What is your name?
- (Sira pesengen ragane?)
- My name is ______
- (Tiang_____ .)
- Nice to meet you.
- . ( )
- Please.
- . ( )
- Thank you.
- . (Matur suksma.)
- You're welcome.
- . (suksma mewali )
- Yes.
- . (Inggih. Patut.)
- No.
- . (Tan. Nente)
- Excuse me. (getting attention)
- . ( )
- Excuse me. (begging pardon)
- . ( )
- I'm sorry.
- . ( )
- Goodbye
- . ( )
- Goodbye (informal)
- . ( )
- I can't speak Balinese [well].
- [ ]. ( Titiang nenten [ ])
- Do you speak English?
- (Bapa bisa basa Angrit??)
- Is there someone here who speaks English?
- ? ( ?)
- Help!
- ! (Tulung !)
- Look out!
- ! ( !)
- Good morning.
- . (Rahajeng semeng.)
- Good afternoon.
- . (Rahajeng sanja.)
- Good evening.
- . (Rahajeng peteng.)
- Good night.
- . (Rahajeng Wengi.)
- Good night (to sleep)
- . ( )
- I don't understand.
- . ( Titiang nenten nawang)
- Where is the toilet?
- ? ( Ring dija toiletne?)
- Where is... ...
- (Ring dija?)
- What is that?
- (Napi punika?)
- Are you already married?
- (Bapa suba makurenan?)
- I just came from Ubud
- (Tiang mara teka uli Ubud.)
Numbers
- ½ = -
- 0 = -
- 1 = satunggal
- 2 = kalih
- 3 = telu
- 4 = papat
- 5 = lima
- 6 = nenem
- 7 = pitu
- 8 = kutus
- 9 = sia
- 10 = dasa
- 11 = solas
- 12 = rolas
- 13 = telulas
- 14 = pat belas
- 15 = limo las
- 20 = duang dasa
- 21 = duu phulahu set
- 30 = tigi phulah
- 40 = empaat phulah
- 50 = lina phulah
- 100 = raatus
- 200 = duu rahatus
- 1000 = riba
- 2000 = duu rhiba
- 10000 = pulah rhiba
Days
Sunday: Monday: Tuesday: Wednesday: Thursday: Friday: Saturday:
Transportation
- I want to go to airport. (Tiang lakar ka airport.)
Eating
- Restaurant ( )
- Have you eaten (polite)
- Sampun ngajeng?
- Which dishes are they?
- Ajengan napi sane wenten?
- Do you have native Balinese dishes?
- Ada ajengan Bali ane tulen?
- Do you have pineapple?
- Wenten manas?
- Delicious
- Jaen
Bars
Digek - pretty
Shopping
- How much is this/that ? (Ajikuda niki/nika?)