Sebel and Sebal In Indonesian

Halo semuanya, ketemu lagi sama saya, Iman Prabawa. Today, I'm going to talk about the meaning of the words [sebel] and [sebal] in bahasa Indonesia. We are also going to be watching examples from movies, YouTube videos, and whatnot where the word [sebel] is used 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, let's talk about this.

Sebel and Sebal In Indonesian

[Sebel] is informal for [sebal]. [Sebal] is a state where you feel annoyed, disappointed, or not happy with something or someone, and you also feel angry at the same time.

Example sentences using the word [sebel] or [sebal]:

1. Loe sebel-sebel sama dia tapi sekarang kangen. Gimana sih? (You said that you hated him, but now you miss him. How could that be?)
2. Jangan terlalu sebel sama dia, ntar loe jadi suka lho! (Don’t hate him too much, you would fall in love with him if you hate him so much.)
3. Pelayanan di sini bikin sebal! (The service here sucks!)

In daily conversation, you will hear it pronounced mostly as [sebel]. [Sebal] is usually used in a more formal setting or in your textbooks.

How to Pronounce Sebel and Sebal

Here is how you pronounce [sebal] in bahasa Indonesia.


And here is how you pronounce [sebel] in bahasa Indonesia.


Moving on, let's watch examples where Indonesians use the words [sebel] and [sebal].

Examples of Sebel In Use

The first example we are about to watch is taken from a movie called Ada Apa Dengan Cinta 1 (2002). Let's watch the clip below.

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A post shared by Pak Guru Iman (@pakguruiman)

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

Maura: Ta, emangnya loe diapain sih? (What’d he actually do to you, Ta?)

Karmen: Loe dipegang-pegang Ta ama dia? (Did he sexually harass you?)

Cinta: Gila, loe! Jangan ampe lah gue dipegang-pegang ama dia! (Hell no! I would have punched him in the face if he had done that!)

Alya: Ta, Ta! Tarik nafas dulu, Ta. Biar loe bisa ngomong yang bener. (Ta, you need to take a breath first! So you can speak clearly.)

Cinta: Sebel banget gue! Orangnya tu sok bintang, tau ngga loe? (I've had enough of him! That boy feels like a superstar, don't you know that?)

Milly: Kita lagi ngomongin siapa sih? (Who are we talking about, actually?)

In this scene, Cinta is upset with a boy named Rangga. That is why she says, "Sebel banget gue!" in that scene.

She wants to interview Rangga because he won the poetry competition held at their school, but Rangga refuses to be interviewed because he doesn't feel like he sent any poetry to that competition. It was Pak Wardiman who sent Rangga's poem to that contest because he thought Rangga's poem was amazing. Pak Wardiman is an office boy in their school, and Rangga is close to him.

Let's learn vocabulary from the short clip above.

Vocabulary From the Scene

[Emangnya] is short for [memangnya] and is used when you want to ask about something.

[Diapain] in this context has the same meaning as [diperlakukan seperti apa] = how are you being treated (by someone).

[Sih] has no meaning. Its function is just to emphasize. For more about this, you can read my article here: Sih In Indonesian.

[Ama] is short for [sama] = with. In daily conversation, it is common when native speakers to drop letters when speaking.

[Dipegang-pegang] literally means to be touched. In this context, it means that you are being sexually harassed by someone.

[Ampe] is short for [sampe]. [Sampe] is informal for [sampai] = until.

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

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

[Tarik nafas] = [tarik napas], but sometimes you will hear Indonesians say it as [tarik nafas] instead of [tarik napas], just like in the short clip above. [Tarik napas] = take a breath.

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

[Bintang] literally means star, but in this context, it means superstar.

[Ngomongin] is the colloquial way of saying [membicarakan] = talking about something.

[Gila] literally means crazy. For more about this, you can read my article here: Gila In Indonesian.

     Read also: Pegang In Indonesian

This wraps up today's article. If I find another example, Insha Allah, I will update this article again. Thank you, and I'll see you soon. Bye now.