The purpose of this list is to give a rough idea of the Indonesian language. The words listed below are not the most common Indonesian words, but a broad sampling of words. See the Word Lists page for more details.
| English | Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) |
| I | saya, aku |
| you (singular) | kamu, engkau |
| he | dia |
| we | kami *(exclusive)*, kita *(inclusive)* |
| you (plural) | kalian |
| they | mereka |
| this | ini |
| that | itu |
| here | di sini |
| there | di sana, situ |
| who | siapa |
| what | apa |
| where | di mana |
| when | kapan |
| how | bagaimana |
| not | bukan, tidak |
| all | semua |
| many | banyak |
| some | beberapa |
| few | sedikit |
| other | lain |
| one | satu |
| two | dua |
| three | tiga |
| four | empat |
| five | lima |
| big | besar |
| long | panjang |
| wide | lebar |
| thick | tebal |
| heavy | berat |
| small | kecil |
| short | pendek |
| narrow | sempit |
| thin | tipis |
| woman | perempuan, wanita |
| man (adult male) | lelaki (laki-laki), pria |
| man (human being) | manusia |
| child | anak |
| wife | istri |
| husband | suami |
| mother | ibu |
| father | ayah |
| animal | binatang |
| fish | ikan |
| bird | burung |
| dog | anjing |
| louse | kutu |
| snake | ular |
| worm | cacing |
| tree | pohon |
| forest | hutan |
| stick | ranting |
| fruit | buah |
| seed | biji |
| leaf | daun |
| root | akar |
| bark (of a tree) | kulit kayu |
| flower | bunga |
| grass | rumput |
| rope | tali |
| skin | kulit |
| meat | daging |
| blood | darah |
| bone | tulang |
| fat (noun) | lemak |
| egg | telur |
| horn | tanduk |
| tail | ekor |
| feather | bulu |
| hair | rambut |
| head | kepala |
| ear | telinga |
| eye | mata |
| nose | hidung |
| mouth | mulut |
| tooth | gigi |
| tongue (organ) | lidah |
| fingernail | kuku |
| foot | kaki |
| leg | telapak kaki |
| knee | lutut |
| hand | tangan |
| wing | sayap |
| belly | perut |
| guts | usus |
| neck | leher |
| back | punggung |
| breast | payudara |
| heart | jantung |
| liver | hati |
| to drink | minum (meminum) |
| to eat | makan (memakan) |
| to bite | gigit (menggigit) |
| to suck | hisap (menghisap) |
| to spit | ludah (meludah) |
| to vomit | muntah |
| to blow | tiup (meniup) |
| to breathe | nafas (bernafas) |
| to laugh | tawa (tertawa) |
| to see | lihat (melihat) |
| to hear | dengar (mendengar) |
| to know | tahu (mengetahui) |
| to think | pikir (berpikir) |
| to smell | cium (mencium) |
| to fear | takut |
| to sleep | tidur |
| to live | hidup |
| to die | mati |
| to kill | bunuh (membunuh) |
| to fight | kelahi (berkelahi) |
| to hunt | buru (berburu) |
| to hit | pukul (memukul) |
| to cut | potong (memotong) |
| to split | belah (membelah) |
| to stab | tusuk (menusuk) |
| to scratch | coret (mencoret) |
| to dig | gali (menggali) |
| to swim | renang (berenang) |
| to fly | terbang |
| to walk | jalan (berjalan) |
| to come | datang |
| to lie (as in a bed) | baring (berbaring) |
| to sit | duduk *(action, state)* |
| to stand | diri (berdiri) *(action, state)* |
| to turn (intransitive) | belok (berbelok) |
| to fall | jatuh |
| to give | beri (memberi) |
| to hold | pegang (memegang) |
| to squeeze | peras (memeras) |
| to rub | gosok (menggosok) |
| to wash | cuci (mencuci) |
| to wipe | hapus (menghapus) |
| to pull | tarik (menarik) |
| to push | dorong (mendorong) |
| to throw | lempar (melempar) |
| to tie | ikat (mengikat) |
| to sew | jahit (menjahit) |
| to count | hitung (menghitung) |
| to say | kata (berkata) |
| to sing | nyanyi (bernyanyi) |
| to play | main (bermain) |
| to float | apung (mengapung) |
| to flow | alir (mengalir) |
| to freeze | beku (membeku) |
| to swell | bengkak (membengkak) |
| sun | matahari |
| moon | bulan |
| star | bintang |
| water | air |
| rain | hujan |
| river | sungai |
| lake | danau |
| sea | laut |
| salt | garam |
| stone | batu |
| sand | pasir |
| dust | debu |
| earth | bumi |
| cloud | awan |
| fog | kabut |
| sky | langit |
| wind | angin |
| snow | salju |
| ice | es |
| smoke | asap |
| fire | api |
| ash | abu |
| to burn | bakar |
| road | jalan |
| mountain | gunung |
| red | merah |
| green | hijau |
| yellow | kuning |
| white | putih |
| black | hitam |
| night | malam |
| day | hari |
| year | tahun |
| warm | hangat |
| cold | dingin |
| full | penuh |
| new | baru |
| old | lama, tua |
| good | baik |
| bad | buruk |
| rotten | busuk |
| dirty | kotor |
| straight | lurus |
| round | bulat |
| sharp (as a knife) | tajam |
| dull (as a knife) | tumpul |
| smooth | licin |
| wet | basah |
| dry | kering |
| correct | betul |
| near | dekat |
| far | jauh |
| right | kanan |