Consonant
By Iem Brown
How Letter ‘C’, ‘G’, ‘J’ and ‘R’ are Pronounced
| c | g | j | r |
| It is pronounced like the English /ch/ in ‘cheese’ and never as the /c/ in ‘car | It is pronounced like the English /g/ in ‘god’; ‘golf’, and never the /g/ in ‘giraffe’ | It is pronounced like the English /j/ in ‘Jill’; not the /j/ in ‘John’ | This is the rolled or trilled /r/ like the Italian or Spanish in ’signora’; ’senora’ |
| cuci - wash | gigi - tooth/teeth | juga - also | rasa - taste |
| cari - look for | guru - teacher | jari - finger | drama - drama |
| cucu - grandchild | gajah - elephant | jujur - honest | kabar - news |
/h/ is pronounced like the English /h/ in ‘hen’, ‘home’. This can occur in the initial, medial and final positions
| H in initial position | H in medial position flanked by the same vowels | H in medial position flanked by 2 different vowels | ‘H’ in final position |
| /h/ is pronounced clearly. In daily conversation is optionally audible | /h/ is pronounced clearly. | /h/ is optionally audible. | /h/ must be pronounced clearly otherwise the meaning changes. |
| hujan - rain | mohon - request | lihat - see/look | darah - blood |
| hari - day | leher - neck | lahir - born | basah - wet |
| handuk - towel | sihir - witchcraft | pahit - bitter | susah - difficult |
Combination of Consonants
| ng | ng + g = ngg | ny | sy | kh |
| It is pronounced like the English /ng/ in ’sing’; ‘king’. | It is pronounced like the English /ng/ in ‘tango’; ‘finger’. | It is pronounced like the English ‘ny’ in ‘canyon’. | It is pronounced like the English ’sh’ in ’shark’; ’she’. | It is pronounced like the Scottish ‘ch’ in ‘loch’. The words are mostly of Arabic origin. |
| ngantuk - sleepy | panggil - call | banyak - many | syarat - requirement | akhir - end |
| tangan - hand | tunggu - wait | nyamuk - mosquito | syair - verse | khayal - imagination |
| datang - arrive | enggak - no (informal) | nyanyi - sing | syukur - thank God | khusus - special |