List of loan words in Indonesian

The Indonesian language has absorbed many loanwords from other languages, including Sanskrit, Tamil, Hindi, Arabic, Persian, Portuguese, Dutch, Chinese and other Austronesian languages.

Indonesian differs from the Malaysian language in a number of respects, primarily due to the different influences both languages experienced and also due to the fact that majority of Indonesians speaks their native language as their first. Bahasa Indonesia function as lingua franca that unites 200 various languages over the archipelago.

Vice versa, many words of Malay-Indonesian origin have also been borrowed into English. Words borrowed into English (e.g., bamboo, orangutan, dugong, amok, and even "cooties") generally entered through Malay language by way of British colonial presence in Malaysia and Singapore, similar to the way the Dutch have been borrowing words from the various native Indonesian languages. One exception is "bantam", derived from the name of the Indonesian province Banten in Western Java (see Oxford American Dictionary, 2005 edition). Another is "lahar" which is Javanese for a volcanic mudflow. Still other words taken into modern English from Malay/Indonesian probably have other origins (e.g., "satay" from Tamil, or "ketchup" from Chinese).

At its development stage, various native terms (mostly Javanese) from all over the archipelago made its way to the language. The Dutch adaptation of the Malay language during colonial period had resulted significant amount of Dutch loanwords and vocabulary. The event significantly affected the original Malay language which gradually developed into the modern Indonesian language.

The study on Indonesian etymology and loan words reflected its historical and social context. Examples are the early Sanskrit borrowings probably in the Srivijaya period, the borrowings from Arabic and Persian during the time of the establishment of Islam in particular, and the ones from Dutch during the colonial period. Linguistic history and cultural history are clearly linked.

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