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Directions, and the answer that means nothing

Ask the way, understand the reply, and learn why 'straight ahead' is sometimes just politeness.

a1Lesson 41 of 435 min

By the end of this lesson

  • Ask where something is and follow the answer
  • Recognise when a direction is a guess

Asking

Di mana pasar? ‘Where is the market?’
Pasar di mana, Pak? Same question, more natural word order, with a title.

The words in the answer

Lurus ‘straight ahead’
Belok kiri ‘turn left’
Belok kanan ‘turn right’
Dekat ‘near’, jauh ‘far’
Sebelah kiri ‘on the left-hand side’

Terus also means ‘keep going’, and you will hear lurus terus ‘just keep straight on’.

Distance

Berapa jauh? ‘How far?’
Lima menit dari sini. ‘Five minutes from here.’

Distances are given in minutes far more often than in metres, and the minutes assume a motorbike.

The part nobody tells you

Indonesians are helpful, and admitting they do not know feels unhelpful. If you ask someone the way and they are unsure, you may get a confident answer anyway, usually lurus.

This is not deception. It is the same instinct that softens refusals, applied to directions.

Two defences. Ask twice, in two different places, and compare. And phrase the question so that not knowing is an acceptable answer:

Bapak tahu pasar di mana? ‘Do you know where the market is?’

Asking whether they know, rather than demanding the location, gives them an easy and face-preserving way to say no.

Words from this lesson

lurusstraight ahead
belok kiriturn left
belok kananturn right
dekatnear
jauhfar
sebelahnext to, side