Kalian means plural “you”: it addresses two or more people. That solves a number distinction that English usually leaves implicit, but it does not solve politeness. Kalian is most comfortable with friends, peers, children, students addressed by a teacher, or another group for whom familiar direct reference fits.
When the addressees are senior, unfamiliar, or institutionally respected, Indonesian commonly replaces kalian with titles, kin terms, or a respectful plural expression. This page covers that social choice while leaving demonstratives, full relative-clause syntax, and voice paradigms to dedicated pages.
Kalian identifies plural addressees
Unlike singular kamu, kau, or Anda, kalian itself says that more than one addressee is included. It does not distinguish gender.
Kalian sudah makan atau masih menunggu Rina?
Have you all eaten, or are you still waiting for Rina?
Saya akan mengirim jadwal baru kepada kalian sore ini.
I will send the new schedule to you all this afternoon.
Pendapat kalian penting bagi keputusan kelompok ini.
Your views are important for this group's decision.
As a full pronoun, kalian is written separately. It can be a subject (kalian sudah makan), an object (saya menunggu kalian), follow a preposition (kepada kalian), or be a possessor after a noun (pendapat kalian). It has no attached possessive form: write rumah kalian, not rumahkalian.
In the classroom
A teacher addressing school students can naturally use kalian. The teacher has an established role and speaks to a group whose members are socially junior in that setting.
Kalian sudah mengumpulkan tugas minggu lalu?
Have you all submitted last week's assignment?
Setelah istirahat, kalian akan bekerja dalam kelompok bertiga.
After the break, you will work in groups of three.
The direction cannot simply be reversed. A student speaking respectfully to several teachers would not normally call them kalian. Titles maintain the appropriate relationship:
Apakah Bapak dan Ibu sudah menerima undangan dari panitia siswa?
Have you received the invitation from the student committee? (addressing male and female teachers respectfully)
Capitalize Bapak and Ibu here because they directly replace the addressees’ names. In an adult language class with a deliberately relaxed peer atmosphere, an instructor may still negotiate kalian with participants. Status is a social fact of the particular interaction, not a biological property of the word.
Among friends
With a familiar group of equals, kalian is direct and ordinary (informal). It can carry affection, annoyance, or excitement depending on tone, just as English you guys or you all can.
Kalian mau ikut menonton film setelah makan malam?
Do you all want to go see a movie after dinner?
Aku sudah menyimpan tempat untuk kalian di dekat panggung.
I've saved seats for you near the stage.
Terima kasih, kalian benar-benar membantu aku melewati minggu yang berat ini.
Thank you; you all really helped me get through this difficult week.
Kalian semua is possible when the speaker emphasizes every member: Saya ingin kalian semua mendengarkan “I want every one of you to listen.” It is not required to make kalian plural; the base pronoun is already plural.
In the workplace
Workplaces reveal why plural number does not guarantee a safe pronoun. Among close peers, kalian may be entirely natural:
Kalian bisa memeriksa angka di tabel terakhir sebelum rapat?
Can you all check the figures in the last table before the meeting?
From a manager to a familiar team, the same sentence may sound ordinary but also makes the downward relationship audible. From a junior employee to a group of directors, kalian is normally too familiar. A title-based request is safer and more respectful:
Apakah Bapak dan Ibu berkenan memeriksa draf laporan ini sebelum rapat?
Would you be willing to review this draft report before the meeting? (addressing senior colleagues respectfully)
For peer-wide communication, rekan-rekan “colleagues” can address the group without the familiar force of kalian:
Rekan-rekan, mohon periksa jadwal terbaru sebelum meninggalkan kantor.
Colleagues, please check the latest schedule before leaving the office.
The label formal does not automatically make Anda sekalian warmer. It is respectful but can sound institutional or impersonal. Choose it for public instructions, surveys, or an audience addressed at professional distance.
Kami mengundang Anda sekalian untuk menyampaikan pertanyaan setelah presentasi.
We invite all of you to ask questions after the presentation. (formal)
Anda always begins with a capital letter, including inside Anda sekalian.
Respectful group alternatives
| Expression | Typical relationship | Register |
|---|---|---|
| kalian | friends, peers, children, familiar juniors | informal/neutral within that relationship |
| Bapak dan Ibu | respected adult or senior group | polite, workplace/service |
| Anda sekalian | public or institutionally distant audience | formal |
| rekan-rekan | colleagues framed as peers | neutral to formal |
| teman-teman | friendly group or community | informal/neutral |
Titles can also be repeated or coordinated: Dokter dan Perawat sekalian, Bapak dan Ibu dosen. Capitalization follows function: name-like direct address takes capitals, while ordinary category nouns remain lowercase. The Bapak and Ibu page develops this system.
Pronouns may be omitted
Indonesian frequently omits a recoverable addressee, especially in requests. Instead of choosing a plural pronoun at all, a meeting chair can say:
Silakan duduk dan matikan nada dering telepon sebelum acara dimulai.
Please sit down and silence your phones before the event begins.
The shared situation supplies plural reference. Omission can be both efficient and socially neutral, but it is not a universal escape hatch: use an explicit form when contrast, clarity, or direct group engagement requires one.
Bound forms are a different system
Do not invent a bound version of kalian. The EYD V attachment rule applies to ku-, kau-, -ku, -mu, and -nya, as in kubaca, kaubaca, bukuku, bukumu, bukunya. Full kalian remains separate in every function.
Pesan kalian sudah kubaca, dan jawabannya akan saya kirim besok.
I've read your messages, and I will send the answer tomorrow.
Common Mistakes
1. Addressing a senior group with familiar kalian
❌ Kalian sudah menyetujui usulan saya, Bapak dan Ibu Direktur?
Inappropriate upward address — kalian conflicts with the respectful titles and senior relationship.
✅ Apakah Bapak dan Ibu Direktur sudah menyetujui usulan saya?
Have you approved my proposal? (respectfully addressing the directors)
2. Using kalian for one addressee
❌ Rina, apakah kalian bisa datang lebih awal?
Incorrect — only Rina is being addressed, so plural kalian has no plural referent.
✅ Rina, apakah kamu bisa datang lebih awal?
Rina, can you come earlier?
3. Attaching a full pronoun as a possessive suffix
❌ Saya sudah membaca laporankalian.
Incorrect spelling — full kalian remains a separate word after the possessed noun.
✅ Saya sudah membaca laporan kalian.
I have read your report.
4. Writing Anda in lowercase in a formal plural expression
❌ Kami berterima kasih kepada anda sekalian.
Incorrect capitalization — Anda always begins with a capital letter.
✅ Kami berterima kasih kepada Anda sekalian.
We thank all of you.
Key Takeaways
- Kalian explicitly addresses two or more people and does not mark gender.
- It is natural with friends, peers, students, children, and familiar juniors.
- It can sound disrespectful upward; use Bapak dan Ibu, titles, or another negotiated alternative.
- Anda sekalian is respectful but formal and institutionally distant.
- Full kalian always remains a separate word; plural number does not determine politeness.
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Start learning Indonesian →Related Topics
- kamu and Second-Person FamiliarityA1 — Use kamu with familiar peers and younger people while choosing titles, names, or omission when a relationship requires more distance.
- Anda: Formal You and Its LimitsA2 — Use capitalized Anda for public and deliberately distant address while recognizing why titles or omission often sound warmer face to face.
- Bapak and Ibu as Respectful YouA1 — Use Bapak, Ibu, Pak, and Bu as respectful adult reference forms while distinguishing address from literal parenthood.
- Professional and Religious Titles as PronounsB2 — Use professional, religious, and office titles as grammatical person forms while respecting institutional norms and EYD V capitalization.
- Choosing I and You: A Social Decision TreeB1 — Choose Indonesian first- and second-person reference by relationship, setting, local practice, and medium rather than formality alone.
- Age, Rank, and Institutional HierarchyB2 — Encode Indonesian institutional relationships through person reference, titles, self-positioning, collective kami, and direction-sensitive requests and directives.