Meaning of Basa-Basi In Bahasa Indonesia

Halo semuanya. Apa kabar? Ketemu lagi sama saya, Iman Prabawa. Today, I want to talk to you about the meaning of [basa-basi] in bahasa Indonesia. We will also watch clips from movies and whatnot to better understand this.

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, let's talk about the meaning of this phrase.

Basa-Basi In Bahasa Indonesia

[Basa-basi] means talking about something that is not important. It's like you're doing small talk when you first get to know a new person. [Basa-basi] can also mean you don't talk straight to the point; you are wasting time talking about unimportant matters before talking to the main point.

Let's take a look at these three example sentences below.

Example Sentences:

1. Kalau ngomong sama dia langsung-langsung saja. Dia ngga suka basa-basi soalnya. (If you want to talk to him just be direct. He doesn't like small talk.)

2. Kebanyakan basa-basi deh loe! Sebenarnya tujuan loe ke sini mau ngapain sih? (Too much small talk! Actually, what is your purpose for coming in here?)

3. Pentingnya basa-basi dilihat dari kacamata ilmiah. (The importance of small talk from the scientific approach.)

How to Pronounce Basa-Basi

This is how you pronounce [basa-basi] in bahasa Indonesia.


Next, let's watch examples from movies and whatnot to better understand how Indonesians use this phrase.

Examples of Basa-Basi In Use

The first scene we are about to watch is taken from Tetangga Masa Gitu (2014). Let's watch the clip below.

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Below is the conversation from the scene with English translations.

Angel and Bintang: Itu siapa? Siapa tuh? (Who is that? Who is that?) 

Bastian: Masuk! (Come in!) 

Bintang: Silakan. (Please, come in.) 

Bastian: Caelah, ha! Mas Adi? (OMG, is that you, Adi?) 

Adi: Halo semua. Boleh saya masuk? (Hello everyone, may I come in?) 

Bintang: Tumben ngetok? (You don’t usually knock on the door before going inside.) 

Bastian: Ya elah, basa-basi! Biasanya main nyelonong bae aja, sekarang pake ketok. Nanya boleh masuk apa ngga, lagi! (Oh, please! Too much small talk! Usually, you just came inside without knocking. Now, you knocked on the door? And you also asked, “May I come in?”) 

Adi: Masa sih? (Was I?)

In this scene, Angel, Bintang, and Bastian are talking. And then, the door is knocked, and someone shows up. It is Adi, Angel's husband. Adi usually never knocks on the door if he wants to enter his neighbor's house. That's why it surprises Bastian when he knows that it is Adi who knocks on the door.

Vocabulary From the Scene

[Caelah], here, is an interjection, showing a kind of surprise. Let's take a look at this sentence,

Tumben ngetok?

If I change this sentence into a formal sentence, it will become like this.

Tidak biasanya Anda mengetuk pintu?

That's why I translated this sentence into,

You don't usually knock on the door before going inside.

[Tumben] means something that you don't usually do. For more about this, you can read my article here, Tumben Meaning In Indonesian.

Let's take a look at the next sentence,

Biasanya main nyelonong bae aja, sekarang pake ketok.

If I change this sentence into a formal sentence, it will become.

Biasanya Anda langsung masuk saja, sekarang Anda mengetuk pintu terlebih dahulu.

[Pake] is informal for [pakai]. 

[Ketok] also informal for [ketuk]. 

[Ngetok] is short for [mengetok] = to knock (on the door).

[Bae] has the same meaning as [aja]. 

[Aja] is short for [saja]. And I translated this sentence (biasanya main nyelonong bae aja, sekarang pake ketok) into,

Usually, you just came inside without knocking. Now, you knocked on the door?

And look at the last sentence here,

Nanya boleh masuk apa ngga, lagi!

If I change this sentence into a formal sentence, then it will be like this.

Anda juga bertanya pula, apakah Anda boleh masuk ke dalam.

[Nanya] is informal for [bertanya]. 

[Lagi] here is the same as [pula] in that formal sentence. 

[Ngga] is informal for [tidak].


The second scene is from Bertepuk Sebelah Friendzone, Episode 1 (2019). It is uploaded on YouTube with English subtitles, and you can watch it HERE. 

Let's watch the scene below.

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The conversation in this scene with English translations is as follows.

Rico: Konbanwa. (Good evening.)

Kim: Gila! Kok loe bisa ada di sini, sih? Bentar! Loe.. kenapa.. kenapa loe bisa tau gue ada di sini? (Oh my God! How come you're here? Wait! How do you know I'm here?)

Rico: Eh, loe tuh ye! Gue udah jauh-jauh nyampe sini. Loe tanya kek, "Apa kabar? Cape ngga? Mo makan ngga?" Apa gitu? Basa-basi. (Oh God, I've come all the way here, and this is what you say? At least, you can first ask me how I've been. Am I tired? Am I hungry? Or else. At least you can make small talk first!)

Kim: Iya, iya, iya. Apa kabar, jelek? Sahabat gue yang paling jelek. (Okay, okay, okay. How are you, ugly? My ugliest best friend.)

Rico: Sahabat? Sahabat tu ngga ngilang, tau ngga? Heh? Ngga ada kabarnya. Nomer telpon gue juga udah ngga punya. Eh, Kim! Udah enam bulan, lho. (You call me best friend? A best friend doesn't just disappear like that! Not even a single word or saying goodbye. You don't even have my number. Hey, Kim! It's been six months (since you've been gone).)

In this scene, those two are best friends, and they met in Japan. One of them just disappeared without a single word or saying goodbye.

Vocabulary From the Scene

[Gila] in literal meaning means crazy, but in this context, it is a word that Kim uses to show a surprise because, out of the blue, she meets her best friend Rico in Japan.

[Loe] is informal for [Anda] = you. For more about this, you can read my article here, Loe Meaning In Indonesia.

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

[Sih] falls into the phatic expression category. It has no meaning, but it transfers emotions. For more about this, you can read my article, Sih In Indonesian.

[Bentar] is short for [sebentar] = a brief moment, but in this context, it means, like, wait a minute, or hold on.

[Tau] is informal for [tahu] = know.

[Eh, loe tuh ye!] is usually used when you want to point out something from the person you are speaking to. In this scene, Rico uses this sentence when he points out his friend's behavior of not asking how he has been and instead directly asking how he knows she is in Japan.

[Udah] is short for [sudah] = already.

[Nyampe] is the conversation way of saying [sampai] = arrived.

[Tanya] = ask.

[Cape] = tired.

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

[Jelek] = ugly.

[Sahabat] = best friend.

The third scene we are about to watch is from DOA: Cari Jodoh (2018). Let's watch the clip below.

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Below is the conversation from the scene with English translations.

Pak Camat : Inget kata-kata saya tadi! Sekarang, angkat kaki. Pergi! Itu pintu keluarnya. (Remember what I just said to you! Now, go away! Leave! That’s the exit door.)

Doyok: Sudahlah, pak. Ngga usah basa-basi! Saya sudah tahu. (Enough, sir. No need to beat around the bush. I already know that.)

Pak Camat: Ha? Tahu opo? (What? Know what?)

Doyok: Saya tahu, pintu keluarnya di situ. (I know the exit door is over there.)

[Basa-basi] in this scene means to talk about something without coming to the point.

Vocabulary From the Scene

[Inget] is informal for [ingat] = remember.

[Kata-kata] = words.

[Angkat kaki] is a phrase used to ask someone to leave. For more about this, you can read my article, Angkat Kaki In Indonesian.

[Ngga usah] = [tidak usah] = no need.

[Opo] comes from the Javanese language. It has the same meaning as [apa] in Indonesian = what.

[Tahu] = know.

[Pintu keluar] = exit door.

     Read also: Ngga Enak Meaning In Indonesian 

That wraps up today's article. If I find another scene where the phrase [basa-basi] is used, I will update this article again. Thank you, and I'll talk to you soon. Bye now.