English to Indonesian...

This post is for all you translators and interpreters out there who sometimes struggle to find the right word or context when moving between English and Indonesian. I received this from a good friend of mine, who in turn received it from a good friend of hers. I figured that I would post it here in my blog because some 24 hours later it still makes me laugh!

To all you non-Indonesian speakers out there, my apologies! But, let me assure you the things said in Indonesian are truly funny. Maybe you should all learn a little! Indonesians are great people and they live in a very beautiful country (kind of like all of us really).

Translation work is always fun. I kind of miss it, kind of.

To all my Indonesian friends, colleagues, acquaintances, or passers by....Enjoy!

And to those who created this fine piece, if you want me to add your names to give you proper credit for this then let me know. On that note, I have just realised that a great deal of these come from the Twitter timeline of Daniel Ziv (@DanielZiv). There are a lot more there so feel free to check them out.


Some say that Indonesian tends to be long winded and not concise. The example below proves otherwise ;)

Ternyata Bhs Indonesia jauh lbh simple dibanding Bhs Inggris.

In English: "Would you care to validate your previous statement?" In Indonesian: "SUMPE LO?!

In English: "Sorry, I think you miscalculated your own capabilities to handle the task at hand." In Indonesian: "Nenek lu kiper!

In English: "Would you care to elaborate on that statement?" In Indonesian: "MAKSUD LOH?!"

In English: "There's a 75% chance I won't make it, I'm far too busy for ur stupid event." In Indonesian: "Insya'allah gw dateng!"

In English: "The meeting will start at 9:15 AM. Please be there 15 minutes beforehand." In Indonesian: "Rapatnya jam 8!"

In English:"Let's try this new scam and see if those carbo-ladden brains buy it" In Indonesian: "Mama minta pulsa"

English: "Please stop by our outlet. There might be stuff you'll find interesting." Indonesian: "Giordanonya, Kakaaak!"

English: "I've stumbled upon something that might be of interest to you. You might find it useful." Indonesian: "CEKIDOT GAN!"

English: "I'm so overwhelmed by this turn of event that I'm speechless and in awe." | Indonesian: "ANJRIT!"

English: "This is a very interesting topic that everybody should stay updated about this." Indonesian: "Sundul, Gan!"

English: "I definitely won't make it. You guys go and have fun without me." | Indonesian: "Ntar gue nyusul."

English: "You're absolutely, positively 100% correct. But I knew that already." | Indonesian: "EMBEER!"

English: "That's so profound. I can't contribute anything further but I need to say something to sound equally smart." Indonesian: "Daleeem."

In english " I'm trying to find the right word for you to understand" In indonesian: " Capeekk deeehhh"

Good Interpreters and Translators

Have you ever wondered about the value of a good interpreter or translator? Well, here is your answer!

The normal point man for the President of Indonesia is Dino Patti Djalal, particularly when it comes to foreign affairs and press conferences related to foreign affairs issues. However, unfortunately for the President, Dino is down and out with Dengue Fever. Nevertheless, life goes on and with the Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, in town a press conference needed to be conducted with or without Dino present.

So, one of Dino's staff members stepped in and seems to have made a bit of an error in translating the President's response to a question regarding Australia's reluctance to lift its travel warning to Indonesia. The US have already lifted theirs and many think that Australia should do the same. Although, Australia is not one of those thinking that whatever the US does is good for Australia.

Well, it seems that the President speaking in Bahasa said something along the lines of, "Indonesia understood the Australian policy and the desire to protect its citizens from threats". The President also added that the security situation in Indonesia had already returned to normal and Australians were welcome to return to Indonesia. He then further added that the conditions in Bali had returned to normal as evidenced in the 37% increase in tourist arrivals during 2007.

Unfortunately for the interpreter this was translated as Indonesia requesting (perhaps demanding) that the travel warning be revoked!

The mistake is not one that is going to be fatal to the Indonesian and Australian relationship going forward. However, when it was pointed out that the translation had been a little different in the English version to that of the Indonesian version then the President felt the need to send in another of his spokespersons, Andi Mallarangeng, to provide a clarification to the earlier statements.

If there is a need for an Interpreter and Translator, then I am more than happy to offer my services for a mutually agreeable fee!