Language Learning

1. Kepiye carane ngomong "matur nuwun" ing basa Jawa?

   Ke-pi-ye ca-ra-ne ngo-mong "ma-tur nu-wun" ing ba-sa Ja-wa?

   How do you say "thank you" in Javanese?

   Usage

   Used to ask for a basic expression in Javanese

   Grammar Note

   Javanese has a speech level system (ngoko, madya, krama) used according to social context

2. Tulung ngomonga luwih alon.

   Tu-lung ngo-mo-nga lu-wih a-lon.

   Please speak more slowly.

   Usage

   A polite request to slow down speech

   Grammar Note

   "tulung" shares roots with Indonesian "tolong". This phrase is in the ngoko (casual) register

3. Sampeyan bisa nulis iku kanggo aku?

   Sam-pe-yan bi-sa nu-lis i-ku kang-go a-ku?

   Can you write that down for me?

   Usage

   Used to ask someone to write something down

   Grammar Note

   "sampeyan" is a mid-level respectful second-person pronoun, more polite than "kowe"

4. Apa tegese tembung iki?

   A-pa te-ge-se tem-bung i-ki?

   What does this word mean?

   Usage

   Used to ask the meaning of a Javanese word

   Grammar Note

   Javanese is an Austronesian language with approximately 80 million speakers

5. Aku lagi sinau basa Jawa — apa kita bisa latihan bareng?

   A-ku la-gi si-nau ba-sa Ja-wa — a-pa ki-ta bi-sa la-ti-han ba-reng?

   I'm studying Javanese — can we practice together?

   Usage

   Used when looking for a Javanese language practice partner

   Grammar Note

   "lagi" is a progressive aspect marker. Javanese is largely analytic with minimal verb inflection

6. Kepiye carane ngucapake iki?

   Ke-pi-ye ca-ra-ne ngu-ca-pa-ke i-ki?

   How do you pronounce this?

   Usage

   Used to confirm pronunciation of a Javanese word

   Grammar Note

   Javanese can be written in the traditional Aksara Jawa script, though Latin script is now predominant

7. Sampeyan bisa menehi saran sumber sinau basa sing apik?

   Sam-pe-yan bi-sa me-ne-hi sa-ran sum-ber si-nau ba-sa sing a-pik?

   Can you recommend a good language learning resource?

   Usage

   Used to ask for Javanese language learning resource recommendations

   Grammar Note

   "sing apik" is a relative clause meaning "that is good". "sing" is a relative clause marker

8. Kepiye logat lokal ing kene?

   Ke-pi-ye lo-gat lo-kal ing ke-ne?

   What is the local accent like?

   Usage

   Used to ask about regional variation in Javanese

   Grammar Note

   Javanese has regional varieties including Central Javanese, East Javanese, and Banten

9. Ana acara ijol-ijolan basa ing kene?

   A-na a-ca-ra i-jol-i-jo-lan ba-sa ing ke-ne?

   Is there a language exchange event here?

   Usage

   Used to look for language exchange events

   Grammar Note

   "ijol-ijolan" is the reduplication of "ijol" (exchange), implying mutual exchange

10. Aku isih pemula — tulung sabar karo aku!

    A-ku i-sih pe-mu-la — tu-lung sa-bar ka-ro a-ku!

    I'm still a beginner — please be patient with me!

    Usage

    Used to say you are a beginner and ask for patience in Javanese

    Grammar Note

    "sabar" (patience) is borrowed from Arabic. Javanese has many Arabic and Sanskrit loanwords

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