# Malay/Indonesian: friend



## kepulauan

Hello

I have found several words meaning "friend": kawan, teman, rakan, sahabat and penolong.
Which one is the most general to mean "friend" as in English? I suppose some of these words are more akin to "partner" or "someone I know", but that's not what I'm after.

Many thanks!


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## mignons

Kawan, rekan, and teman are the closest to the meaning of friend, we use those 3 words daily in Indonesia.

While "sahabat" means bestfriend, and "penolong" means helper.


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## kepulauan

I was guessing teman and kawan were the most common, but isn't _rekan_ a bit more distant?


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## spystalker

rekan = partner, colleague, associate.

teman is the most common word for friend in Indonesian.


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## kepulauan

Thanks all
I'll just use _teman_ as a general-purpose word and then get influenced by others with time.


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