How to Offer Help In Indonesian

Useful Indonesian Phrases—Halo semuanya. Ketemu lagi sama saya, Iman Prabawa. This time, I'm going to talk about phrases you can use to offer help to someone in the Indonesian language. We will also watch scenes from movies where these phrases are used.

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.

Conversational Phrases You Need to Know

When you want to offer help in the Indonesian language, you can use these phrases:

1. Ada yang bisa saya bantu? (What can I do for you?)
2. Mau saya bantu? (Do you want me to help you?)
3. Mau gue bantuin? (This phrase has the same meaning as the phrase number 2, but this phrase is used if you are in Jakarta and in an informal setting.)
4. Mau dibantuin ngga? (This phrase has the same meaning as the phrase number 2 and 3.)
5. Apa yang bisa saya bantu? (How can I help you?)
6. Mau saya ambilkan.. (minuman, makanan, sesuatu.) (Can I get you something?) Sesuatu means things. Minuman = drink, makanan = food.

You can use [gue] if you are in Jakarta or in cities surrounding Jakarta, like Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi. For more information about the meaning of [gue] in the Indonesian language, you can read my article, Gue Meaning In Indonesian.

Ada Yang Bisa Saya Bantu?

Let's hear how to pronounce this phrase in the video below.

That's how you pronounce ada yang bisa saya bantu.

Mau Saya Bantu?

Let's hear how to pronounce this phrase in the video below.

That's how you pronounce mau saya bantu.

Mau Gue Bantuin?

Let's hear how to pronounce this phrase in the video below.

That's how you pronounce mau gue bantuin.

Apa Yang Bisa Saya Bantu?

Let's hear how to pronounce apa yang saya bisa saya bantu in the video below.

That's how you pronounce apa yang bisa saya bantu.

Mau Saya Ambilkan... (Minuman, makanan, sesuatu.)

You can say specific things you want to get for the person you want to help in this phrase.

In this example, I choose the word [minuman] as an example, but you can use your own words depending on your situation.

Scenes From Movies

The first example is from a movie called Orang Kaya Baru (2019). Let's watch the scene down below.

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The conversation from the scene with English subtitles is as follows.

Tika's Friend: Mau gue bantuin ngga? (You want me to help you?)

Risha: Mungkin bagus yah. Kalau mata kuliahnya desain daur ulang. (Maybe it's okay. If the subject is recycled design.)

Sasha: Atau desain tempat penampungan sampah. (Or if the subject is trash shelter design.)

In this scene, Tika's friend wants to help her, and then she says this:

Mau gue bantuin ngga?

In my explanation earlier, I gave you an example sentence, that is:

Mau gue bantuin?

The difference is that in this scene, it uses an added word [ngga], which in literal meaning [ngga] means [no], but in this sentence, the function of this word [ngga] is just to emphasize that she wanted to help.

It has the same meaning, actually, but the one with [ngga] emphasizes it and asks whether you want to be helped or not.

The second example is also from the movie Orang Kaya Baru (2019). Let's watch the clip down below.

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A post shared by Pak Guru Iman (@pakguruiman)

The conversation from the scene with English translations is as follows.

Duta: Lah? Kursi dua lagi mana, bu? (Hey, where are those two chairs, mom?)

Ibu: Tuh! Bapak lagi benerin. (Over there! Your daddy is fixing it.)

Duta: Pak! (Dad!)

Bapak: He? (What?)

Duta: Mo dibantuin ngga? (You want me to help you?)

Bapak: Engga! Ngga usah. (Nope! No need.)

Duta: Beneran? (You sure?)

Bapak: Iya. (Yes.)

In this scene, Duta realizes that the two chairs are usually not there, and then he asks his mother about it. And then, when his mother said that his father was fixing those two chairs, he went to his father and said,

Mo dibantuin ngga?

This phrase is considered polite and is used in everyday Indonesian. Now, let's learn the vocabulary that is used in this scene.

Vocabulary From the Scene

[Lah] is just an expression when you are surprised, or you suddenly realize something.

[Kursi] = chair.

[Dua] = two.

[Bu] is short for [ibu]. It can be used to call your own mother, or it can also be used to address a married woman, older woman, or respected woman. In this case, Duta is used [bu] to call his own mother.

[Pak] is short for [bapak]. It can be used to call your own father, or it can also be used to address a married man, older man, or respected man. In this case, Duta used [pak] to call his own father.

[He] here is an expression used to reply to someone who is calling you. It's like [what] in English.

[Mo] is informal for [mau] = want. Usually, in a daily conversation where we say [mau] in normal speech, you will hear it morph into [mo]. That's why a lot of people write it [mau] as [mo].

[Ngga] = [enggak] = [engga] = [nggak] = [tidak] = [tak] = no. You will these variations in writing. It means no.

[Ngga usah] is usually used when you want to refuse help from others.

[Beneran] is usually used when you want to make sure about something. In this scene, Duta wants to make sure that his father doesn't need any help.

[Iya] = yes.

[Tuh] is used when you want to refer to something far away from you. [Tuh] can also mean [itu] = that.

     Read also: How to Say Have You Eaten

So, I think that's it for now. If I find another scene in other movies, Insha Allah, I will update this article again. Thank you, and I'll see you soon. Bye now.