There are many 'particles' that often be spoken while speaking Indonesian. A foreigner that has learnt Indonesian and comes to Indonesia will of course be confused with so many 'words' that he/she doesn't understand. Even when an Indonesian himself, if he/she never have thought about the particles, the meaning is also not understood. For example, while eating meatball soup, a friend comes from behind and asks, "Lagi makan apa sih? ("What are you eating sih?"). This "sih" has no certain meaning, it only expresses feeling. This is the advantage of using Indonesian than English, because there are so many words indicating feeling, as it is with Japanese.

Ada banyak 'partikel' yang suka diomongin waktu ngomong bahasa Indonesia. Orang asing yang belajar bahasa indo lalu datang ke indo pasti bingung ko banyak kata yang ga ngerti yah? Malah kalo kita sendiri ga pelajari, artinya pun ga tau. Misalnya, lagi makan baso, lalu temen nanya dari belakang, "Lagi makan apa sih?". Kata "sih" di sini gada arti kususnya, cuma menunjukkan perasaan. Inilah enaknya pake bahasa Indo daripada Inggris, soalnya banyak kata penanda perasaan, seperti bahasa Jepang juga.

Ada banyak 'partikel' yang suka diomongin waktu ngomong bahasa Indonesia. Orang asing yang belajar bahasa indo lalu datang ke indo pasti bingung ko banyak kata yang ga ngerti yah? Malah kalo kita sendiri ga pelajari, artinya pun ga tau. Misalnya, lagi makan baso, lalu temen nanya dari belakang, "Lagi makan apa sih?". Kata "sih" di sini gada arti khususnya, cuma menunjukkan perasaan. Inilah enaknya pake bahasa Indo daripada Inggris, soalnya banyak kata penanda perasaan, seperti bahasa Jepang juga.

There are many 'particles' that often be spoken while speaking Indonesian. A foreigner that has learnt Indonesian and comes to Indonesia will of course be confused with so many 'words' that he/she doesn't understand. Even when an Indonesian himself, if he/she never have thought about the particles, the meaning is also not understood. For example, while eating meatball soup, a friend comes from behind and asks, "Lagi makan apa sih? ("What are you eating sih?"). This "sih" has no specific meaning, it only expresses feeling. This is the advantage of using Indonesian than English, because there are so many words indicating feeling, as it is with Japanese.

Kemarin ada bule nanya lewat imel, dia mau bikin suatu artikel mengenai bahasa 'kasar' Indonesia, lalu minta ku cekin dulu dan minta saran2 dsb. Ternyata karena orangnya uda belajar indo cukup lama, bagus juga pembahasannya. Walaupun ada beberapa yang salah dan terasa aneh. Jadi ku bantuin dan tambah beberapa kata baru.

Yesterday a western asked me by email, she wanted to make an article about Indonesian slang, then she asked me to check it first and to give some suggestions etc. The fact that she has studied Indonesian for quite a long time, the article is good enough, although some are wrong and some feel unnatural. So I helped her and added a few new words.

Gara2 itu ku jadi tertarik dan mau coba bikin ulasannya di sini. Semoga lumayan nyambung dan berguna untuk orang asing yang belajar bahasa Indonesia. (Sebetulnya ku tulis artikel2 juga uda sedikit2 pake partikel itu yah?)

Because of that I become interested on it and now want to make an article about it. I hope it can be followed and is useful for foreigners that learn Indonesian (Actually I wrote the articles with some particles, didn't I?)

deh

• How about ...
  
  Coba dulu deh = How about trying it first?
  Lanjutin besok lagi deh = How about continuing it tommorow?
   
• I think ... / I decide ...
  
  Mau yang mana? ~ Yang biru deh = Which one do you want? ~ I think I'll choose the blue one.
  Aku pergi deh = I think I'm going now / Better if I go.

dong

• indeed / of course / You should have known that ...
  
  Kamu dapet kue gratis juga? Dapet dong = Did you get the free cake? Of course I got it.
  Suka yang mana? (choosing a girl) ~ Yang itu dong = Which one do you like? ~ Of course him/her (I think you think the same too)
   
• soften a prohibition or command
  
  Jangan keras-keras dong (lagunya) = Don't set it so loud please (the music)
  Eh, kertasnya masukin semua dong = Hey, please insert all the paper!

eh

• Hey (requesting attention)
  
  Eh, sini sebentar = Hey, come here for a minute!
   
• Correcting incorrectly spoken words / "I mean"
  
  Tadi kan aku kasih kamu dua ratus, eh dua ribu? = Didn't I give you two hundred... I mean two thousand?
   
• By the way (changing topic)
  
  Eh, inget ga tempat ini? = By the way, do you remember this place?

kan

• Isn't it (question tag to assert)
  
  Dia yang namanya Adi kan? = He is the one called Adi, right?
  Bagus kan? = Good, isn't it?
   
• Didn't you remember that ...
  
  Hah, dia mau datang? ~ Kan mu yang bilang, masa lupa? = Heh, he is coming? ~ Wasn't it you who said it to me, how can you forget?
   
• Because
  
  Kenapa ga masukin kulkas aja? ~ Mana cukup, kan kulkasnya kecil = Why don't you put it in the fridge? ~ It's not enough, because the fridge is small.

ko / kok

• Why (asking) / I wonder why (just expresses wonder)
  
  Ko kamu telat? = Why are you late?
  Ko bisa dia dipukul papanya, aneh = I wonder why he is attacked by his father, it's strange.
   
• Actually ... (denying assumption)
  
  Makan di sana enak ga? Aku ga pernah ke sana ko = Is it nice to eat there? Actually I haven't been there (I don't know)
  Tiap hari aku tidur 8 jam, lama yah ~ Aku juga ko = I sleep 8 hours every day, it's long isn't it? ~ Actually me too (I think that's not too long)

loh / lho / lo

• expressing surprise after hearing something
  
  Loh, katanya ga mau ikut? ~ Pikir-pikir pengen juga = What? Didn't you say that you didn't want to join us? ~ After thinking, I became more interested.
  Aku bolos aja deh ~ Loh, kenapa? = I think I will skip (the lecture) (for now) ~ What?! Why is it?
   
• You know? / I'll let you know that ...
  
  Ikut dong, Adi aja ikut loh = Please join us, even Adi joined us, you know?
  Jangan main api, nanti kebakar loh = Don't play with fire, you may be burned, you know?
   
• asserting / making sure
  
  Datang loh ke ultah Adi! = Don't forget to come to Adi's birthday party.
  Ingat loh pesan saya! = Make sure you remember my advice.

nih

• comes from "ini" meaning "this", indicating something related to here / current time
  
  Cape nih = I'm tired (now)
  Besok aja bikin kalimatnya, lagi sibuk nih = How if we make the sentences tomorrow, since I'm busy (now)
   
• Are you really ... ?
  
  Udah mau pergi nih? = Are you really going now?
   
• emphasizes the subject
  
  Adi nih yang masak = The one who cooks is Adi, you know?
  

sih

• I wonder ... (sometimes need answer, sometimes not)
  
  Tadi Pak Adi ngomong apa sih? = I wonder what Pak Adi said just now.
  Berapa sih harganya? = I wonder how much the price is.
   
• expressing annoyance
  
  Sebetulnya kamu lagi apa sih? = What are you EXACTLY doing?
  Kenapa sih selalu telat? = Why are you always late?
   
• Because
  
  Kamu sih datangnya lama, jadi semua telat = Because you came up late, everybody become late.
  Aku sedih, kamu jahat sih = I'm sad, because you are evil.
   
• selecting something different than the others
  
  Karyawan di sana bodo-bodo yah? ~ Adi sih pinter, ... = All staffs there are stupid, aren't they? ~ (All are stupid, except) Adi (which is) smart.
   
• But (sometimes the sentence stops there)
  
  Semua soal bisa? ~ Bisa sih, cuma ada 1 yang ga = Did you successfully do all the questions? Yes I did, but there is one that I didn't.
  Bisa main gitar? Bisa sih... = Can you play guitar? I can, but...

tuh

• See that! (I don't want to do anything about it from now)
  
  Makan tuh kuenya = Eat the cake (I don't want to eat anymore)
  Kamu tuh kerjanya tidur melulu = All you do is sleeping (I'm annoyed)
  
  

ya / yah

• Isn't it (question tag, wondering)
  
  Tadi itu Adi ya? = The one (you met) just now was Adi, wasn't it?
  Rapatnya mulai jam 8 ya? = The meeting starts at 8, isn't it?
   
• either .. or .. (if coupled with "kalau tidak" / "kalo ga")
  
  Aku pasti bawa sesuatu. Kalo ga sabun ya sampo = I will bring something. Either soap or shampoo.
  Kalo ga dimakan singa, ya digigit ular = You will be either eaten by a lion or bitten by a snake.
   
• then (used with "kalau (tidak)" / "kalo (ga)")
  
  Kalo ga bisa tidur ya baca buku telepon = If you cannot sleep, (then) read the telephone directory.
  Kalo bisa bawa catatan, kalo ga ya gapapa (tidak apa-apa) = If you can, bring a notepad, but if cannot it's okay.
  Kalo tetep mau antri ya silakan saja = If you still want to queue, it's okay with me.
   
• expressing dissatisfaction (in front of sentence)
  
  Yah, Juventus kalah lagi = Sadly, Juventus is again lost.
  Yah, kamu sih = It's because of you, you know? (softly)