# Indonesian: Tips for learning



## mimosa59

Hi everyone!

I'm thinking of studying Indonesian but first, I'd like to know what's difficult about this language. Anyone?

Thanks a lot!


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## kepulauan

Well I've studied a little bit of Malay and there are hardly any obstacles as long as you take it seriously (it's very easy to learn but still not zero-effort). This however only applies to the written standard. Dialectical differences are huge and so are the formal/colloquial ones. What you will learn from books will be quite different from what locals say and write, although the books try to help you as much as possible with that.


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## mimosa59

Thank you!


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## adrnstyd

Maybe I'm not the right person to talk about the difficulties of first time learning Indonesian since I've learned it since I was able to talk. 

But I know for a fact that Indonesian language doesn't have many rules for the grammar. If we want to say something in present tense or future tense we simply add the time set, and word akan (will) after subject before the object for future tense. If everyone already know when it happens we don't even have to say the time. So we say it like it happens in present.

The imbuhan (affixes) might trouble you a little. But after you get pass through that the rest will be easy.

To me personally, I think Indonesian learning english will face more obstacles than native english speaker learning Bahasa Indonesia. So never give up learning it! If you ever have something you want to ask about the grammar or anything, feel free to ask in this forum. Best of luck for you!


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## dhan

pollodia said:


> Dialectical differences are huge and so are  the formal/colloquial ones. What you will learn from books will be quite  different from what locals say and write, although the books try to  help you as much as possible with that.





adrnstyd said:


> The imbuhan (affixes) might trouble you a little. But after you get pass through that the rest will be easy.



I second those. Dialectical difference in Bahasa Indonesia is even bigger than Malay, and affixes is inconsistent in many cases.

Selamat belajar


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