Indonesian/Grammar/Adverbs

Kata keterangan (Adverbs)

Learning the Indonesian Adverbs is very important because its structure is used in every day conversation. The more you master it, the more you get closer to mastering the Indonesian language. But first, we need to know what the role of Adverbs in the structure of Indonesian grammar is. Indonesian adverbs are a part of speech. Generally, they're words that modify any part of language other than a noun. Adverbs can modify verbs, adjectives (including numbers), clauses, sentences and other adverbs.

Grammar Tips

While in English adverbs are usually formed by adding (-ly) to adjectives. In Indonesian many adverbs are formed this way:

pelan (slow) becomes pelan-pelan (slowly)

sempurna (perfect) becomes dengan sempurna (perfectly)

However, that’s not always the case. Some words are adverbs by nature. For example:

sekarang (now), benar-benar (really), segera (soon), malam ini (tonight), cantik (pretty), hampir (almost).

Here are some examples:

Saya membaca buku kadang-kadang.
I read a book sometimes.
Aku tidak akan pernah merokok.
I will never smoke.
Apakah kamu sendirian?
Are you alone?

Notice the structure of the Adverbs in Indonesian.

List of Adverbs in Indonesian


Indonesian Adverbs	English Adverbs
Kata keterangan waktu	Adverbs of time
Kemarin	Yesterday
Hari ini	Today
Besok	Tomorrow
Sekarang	Now
Kemudian	Later
Kemudian	Then
Malam ini	Tonight
Sekarang juga	Right now
Tadi malam	Last night
Pagi ini	This morning
Minggu depan	Next week
Sudah	Already
Baru-baru ini	Recently
Akhir-akhir ini	Lately
Segera	Soon
Segera	Immediately
Masih	Still
Masih	Yet
Silam	Ago


Indonesian Adverbs	English Adverbs
Kata keterangan tempat	Adverbs of place
Di sini	Here
Sana	There
Di sana	Over there
Mana-mana	Everywhere
Di manapun	Anywhere
Tidak dimanapun	Nowhere
Rumah	Home
Jauh	Away
Ke luar	Out


Indonesian Adverbs	English Adverbs
Adverbia ragam	Adverbs of manner
Sangat	Very
Agak	Quite
Cantik	Pretty
Benar-benar	Really
Cepat	Fast
Baik	Well
Keras	Hard
Segera	Quickly
Pelan-pelan	Slowly
Hati-hati	Carefully
Tidak	Hardly
Baru saja	Barely
Kebanyakan	Mostly
Hampir	Almost
Sama sekali	Absolutely
Bersama	Together
Sendirian	Alone


Indonesian Adverbs	English Adverbs
Adverbia frekuensi	Adverbs of frequency
Selalu	Always
Sering	Frequently
Biasanya	Usually
Kadang-kadang	Sometimes
Kadang-kadang	Occasionally
Jarang	Seldom
Jarang	Rarely
Tak pernah	Never