Basi Meaning In Bahasa

Halo, apa kabar semuanya? Ketemu lagi sama saya, Iman Prabawa. In this article, I want to talk to you about the meaning of the Indonesian word [basi]. As always, we will watch examples, mostly from movies where the word [basi] is spoken by Indonesians.

If you have any questions regarding the Indonesian language, you can ask me directly. You can see how to do that on my About Me page. 

If you are a beginner in the Indonesian language, you can learn step by step with My Lesson Here.

So, without further ado, let's talk about this word.

Meaning of Basi In the Indonesian Language

According to Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, the meaning of basi is as follows.

Look at the red box above. So, basi means:

1. Starts to smell bad or sour because it has been decaying (food).
2. Something that has long been known or talked about.
3. Something that is not working (the mantra).

The word [basi] that is used by younger generations in Indonesia is considered a slang term and has meanings, such as something that is lame when you are telling something that is already too late, or something that is cheesy.

How to Pronounce Basi

Here is how you pronounce the word [basi] in the Indonesian language.

Moving on, I will give you three example sentences where the word [basi] is used.

Basi In Example Sentences

The first sentence using the word [basi] is below.

Makanan itu sudah basi, jangan kamu makan. Nanti kamu malah jadi sakit.

And here is how you pronounce it.

The English translation for this sentence is as follows.

Don't eat the food because it has spoiled. You might get sick if you eat it.

The second sentence using the word [basi] is below.

Basi deh loe! Baru ngomong sekarang kalau dia itu ternyata punya perasaan juga sama gue.

And here is how you pronounce it.

The English translation for this sentence is as follows.

Come on, why don't you tell me earlier that she also has a crush on me? Now, it's too late!

The third sentence using the word [basi] is below.

Ah, ini mah loe ngasih basian doang ke gue namanya.

And here is how you pronounce it.

The English translation for this sentence is as follows.

You just gave me something that you no longer want.

Moving on, we will see examples, mostly from movies where the word [basi] is spoken by Indonesians.

Examples of Basi In Use

The first clip we are about to watch is taken from a movie called Ada Apa Dengan Cinta (2002). Let's watch the clip below.

Below is the conversation from the scene with English translations.

Rangga: Bisa ngomong sebentar? Ngga bisa? (Can we talk? No?) 

Cinta: Masalahnya apa dulu, nih? Kita ngomong di luar. Ada apa? (What’s the problem? Let’s talk outside. What’s wrong?) 

Rangga: Maksudnya apa, nih? (What is this?) 

Cinta: Surat gue dibaca juga? Kirain cuma mo baca bacaan penting aja. Karya sastra. (Oh, so you read my letter? I thought you just want to read important things like literature works.) 

Rangga: Kamu ni kenapa sih? Tersinggung gara-gara saya ngga mau diwawancara? Ya udah, wawancara sekarang. Ngga usah manja! (What’s wrong with you? Were you mad because I refused being interviewed by you? Then, go ahead interview me now. Stop being clingy!) 

Cinta: Enak aja loe ngatain gue manja. Elo, mo diwawancara sekarang? Basi! Madingnya udah siap terbit! (What? Did you just say I was being clingy? So, you want me to interview you now? Too late! The wall magazine is ready to be published!)

In this scene, Rangga won the poetry contest; he was not the one who sent the poetry. Someone sent it under his name, and when Rangga won and the poetry committee wanted to interview him, Rangga refused.

Cinta then sent Rangga a letter, and then Rangga came to the poetry committee's office. He wanted to talk to Cinta and finally agreed to be interviewed by them. But then Cinta says this.

Elo mo diwawancara sekarang? Basi! (So, you want to be interviewed now? Too late!)

In this context, [basi] means too late, but it also means that Cinta does not want to interview Rangga because he refused to be interviewed before. She just makes up things by saying,

Madingnya udah siap terbit! (The wall magazine has already about to be published!)

In fact, the wall magazine is not yet ready to be published. Cinta just made it up because she was pissed at Rangga's behavior, refusing to be interviewed by her.

Vocabulary Explanations

[Bisa ngomong sebentar?] is a phrase used when you want to talk to someone.

[Masalahnya apa dulu, nih?] <--- Cinta says this because she wants to know before talking to him what it is that Rangga is going to talk about. 

[Ngomong] is the casual way of saying [berbicara] = to talk. We usually use [ngomong] in daily conversations instead of [berbicara].

[Ada apa?] is a phrase to ask when you want to know what happened.

[Gue] is informal for [saya] = I. For more about this, you can read my article, Gue Meaning In Bahasa.

[Loe] = [elo] = [lu] is an informal word for [Anda] = you. For more about this, you can read my article, Loe Meaning In Bahasa.

[Kirain] is used a lot in daily conversation. [Kirain] = [saya kira] = I guess.

[Mo] is informal for [mau] = want.

[Ni] is a common reduction for [ini] = this.

[Kamu kenapa sih?] is usually used when your friend acts strange and you want to know what happens to them.

[Enak aja] is used to deny something that is not true. In this context, Rangga calls Cinta [manja]. [Manja] means clingy, which has a negative connotation to it. And Cinta was offended by that. That's why she says, "Enak aja loe ngatain gue manja," to deny that she's not a clingy person. For more about this, you can read my article, Enak Aja Meaning In Bahasa.

[Ngatain] is when you call names to someone.

The second clip is taken from a movie called Cinta Dalam Dompet (2017). Let's watch the clip below.

Below is the conversation from the scene above with English translations.

Kinan: Haduh, kalian berdua ini! Masih aja ngomongin kaya gituan. Udah basi, tahu ngga? Basi! (Come on, you two! Still talking about those things. It was so yesterday, you know? So yesterday!)

Shinta: Ih, ngga percaya! Nanti lo liat aja sendiri kalo cowo gue dateng, dia bawa mobil baru. (Oh, you don't believe me? See it for yourself when my boyfriend comes, he'll bring his new car.)

In this scene, Kinan's friends are talking about how rich their boyfriends are, and Kinan is annoyed by the conversation about how rich they are. She doesn't want to hear it, but their friends keep talking and talking about it.

Here, Kinan says this.

Masih aja ngomongin kaya gituan? (Are you still talking about those things? Really?)

This is the key to understanding the meaning of the word [basi] Kinan says after this.

Udah basi, tahu ngga? Basi! (It was so yesterday, you know? It's uncool to talk about it again and again.)

So, [basi] in this context means something that has been talked about, but at the same time, it means uncool talking about it.

Vocabulary Explanations

[Ngomongin] is the casual way of saying [membicarakan], which means to talk about something.

[Kaya gituan] = things like that.

[Udah] is a common reduction for [sudah] = already.

[Lo] is informal for you. For more about this, you can read my article, Loe Meaning In the Indonesian Language.

[Liat] is informal for [lihat], which means [to look]. Native Indonesian speakers tend to drop some letters when they talk in daily conversation.

[Dateng] is informal for [datang] means [to come].

[Ngga] is informal for [tidak], means [no]. You will see sometimes it is written as [nggak], [engga], [enggak], [ga]. Those are the same and have the same meaning.

[Mobil] = car.

[Baru] = new.

The third clip we are about to watch is taken from a movie called Kukira Kau Rumah (2022). Let's watch the clip below.

Below is the conversation from the scene above with English translations.

Pram: Rumah loe yang mana? (Which one is your house?)

Niskala: Tuh! (That one!)

Pram: Kenapa ngga nyampe sana aja? (Why stop here? Why not there?)

Niskala: Berisik ah. Ntar bokap gue bangun. (Too noisy. I'm afraid we might wake up my father.)

Pram: Dih! Ngga pamit. (Hey! You're not saying goodbye to me?)

Niskala: Dih! Pamitan basi. (Oh, my God! That's so lame.)

In this scene, Pram walks Niskala home. In Indonesia, if somebody walks you home, you usually say goodbye or thank you, as we call it in Indonesia, as [pamit]. That's why Pram says this.

Dih! Ngga pamit.

It's like saying, "Are you just gonna go without saying goodbye to me?" and I guess Niskala is a person that doesn't like to do such a thing like [pamit], and that's why she says this.

Dih! Pamitan basi.

This means that doing such a thing as [pamitan] is a lame thing to do.

Vocabulary Explanations

[Rumah loe yang mana?] is a way asking which one is your house. [Rumah] = house; with this formula, you can change [rumah] with other nouns. For example, Buku loe yang mana? (Which one is your book?) or Tas loe yang mana? (Which one is your bag?)

[Tuh] = itu = that. For more about this, you can read my article here: Itu, Tu, and Tuh In Indonesian.

[Nyampe] is the casual way of saying [sampai] = until.

[Sana] = there.

[Aja] is a common reduction for [saja] = just. For more about this, you can read my article, Aja Meaning In Bahasa.

[Ntar] = nanti = later.

[Bokap] is a slang term for father. For more about this, you can read my article, Bokap Meaning In Bahasa.

     Read also: Amsyong Meaning In Bahasa

I think that's all for the updates. If I find another scene where this word is spoken, Insya Allah, I will update this article again. Bye now.