The explanation of personal pronoun in bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian) is almost identical with English. It simply refers to people (I, we, you, they, he, she) or thing (it). However, as each language is unique, some differences in terms of how each is used exists.
The standard term applied to refer to personal pronoun in Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) is "kata ganti orang". Here are the personal pronouns
| en | id |
|---|---|
| I | Saya, Aku (less-formal) |
| We | Kami |
| You (sing.) | Anda, Kamu (informal), Kau (informal) |
| You (pl) | Kalian |
| They | Mereka |
| He | Dia |
| She | Dia |
| It | Ini, itu |
In terms of its use both in spoken and written form, each Indonesian personal pronoun is not applied as written as Indonesians always priorotize politeness in verbal and non-verbal interaction. Based on setting and politeness, here are the use of each personal pronoun.
| en | id | Setting |
|---|---|---|
| I | Saya | formal speech |
| Aku | everyday conversation | |
| We | Kami | formal, less-formal, informal |
| You (sing.) | Anda | formal speech |
| Kamu | less-formal, only used with close friend, only used by older talking to younger | |
| Kau | conversation with very close friends | |
| You (pl) | Kalian | less-formal and informal interaction, only used by older talking to younger (e.g. teacher to students) |
| They | Mereka | Formal, less-formal, informal |
| He | Dia | only in less-formal and informal interaction |
| Ia | only in less-formal and informal interaction | |
| She | Dia | only in less-formal and informal interaction |
| Ia | only in less-formal and informal interaction | |
| It | Ini, itu | only in less-formal and informal interaction |
As you notice, each personal pronoun in Indonesian cannot be applied as what is written in major Indoensian grammar books you might have read. In terms of politeness, its use is culturally bounded. It is more likely to be an unwritten linguistic rule but it is universally practiced. Knowing how it works is very essential since it determines how you will be treated by your conversation partners.
