Last updated on January 4, 2019
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 |
