F, V, and P in Loanwords | Indonesian Grammar

The letters f, v, and p occur in many everyday Indonesian words, but much of the vocabulary with f and v entered through Arabic, Dutch, English, or other languages. Contemporary Standard Indonesian distinguishes the three letters in writing. In speech, however, v is often pronounced like f, and some regional backgrounds also favor p where careful Standard Indonesian has f.

The practical principle is simple: learn the standard written form separately from the range of pronunciations you may hear. This page explains the sounds and the most useful loan adaptations. The wider rules for adapting foreign spelling belong on the loanword spelling page, while a systematic map of local accents belongs in the regional overview.

The three lip sounds

Standard descriptions give f the sound /f/ and v the sound /v/. Both are labiodental: the lower lip approaches the upper front teeth. The difference is voicing. Air passes continuously without vocal-fold vibration for /f/, but the vocal folds vibrate for /v/. Put a finger on your throat while alternating fff—vvv to feel the contrast.

Indonesian p is different. Both lips close completely and then release, producing /p/. Unlike the strongly aspirated p at the beginning of English pin, Indonesian /p/ normally has little or no puff of air. This aspiration difference rarely changes meaning, but reducing the English-like puff makes a learner sound less foreign.

Letter	Careful target	Articulation	Example
f	/f/	lower lip + upper teeth, voiceless	fakta “fact”
v	/v/, often [f]	lower lip + upper teeth, voiced in a careful distinction	video “video”
p	/p/	both lips close, usually unaspirated	pikir “think”

Fakta itu baru diumumkan tadi pagi.

That fact was only announced this morning.

Saya pikir videonya belum diunggah.

I think the video hasn't been uploaded yet.

The target /f/ in fakta begins with friction, whereas /p/ in pikir begins with a complete closure. If someone says [pakta] for fakta (regional or speaker-specific), the substitution is part of that person's sound system; it does not create a second standard spelling.

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Use touch to distinguish the consonants: fakta begins with continuous friction at the lower lip, while pikir begins with both lips fully closed. To check aspiration, hold paper a few centimeters in front of your mouth and compare Indonesian pikir with English pin: the paper should move much less after the Indonesian /p/. Continuous airflow during /f/ may also move the paper, so the paper test by itself does not distinguish /f/ from /p/.

F is established, but P substitutions still occur

The sound /f/ is now normal in educated Standard Indonesian, especially in careful speech (formal) and national broadcasting (formal). It appears at the beginning of film, inside informasi, and at the end of aktif. It is therefore misleading to call /f/ merely “foreign” in present-day use. Nevertheless, not every Indonesian regional language historically had /f/. Speakers influenced by such a sound system may realize it as [p], especially in relaxed speech (regional: varies by first-language background).

Informasi lengkapnya ada di formulir ini.

The complete information is on this form.

Dia aktif mengurus komunitas film di kampus.

She is active in running the campus film community.

The standard form pikir shows a different result of loan history: the borrowed consonant was nativized as p in the established Indonesian word. Standard derivatives preserve that base, as in berpikir “to think” and pemikiran “thought; thinking.” Pronouncing or writing fikir may occur under Arabic or Malaysian influence, but pikir is the contemporary Standard Indonesian citation form.

Coba pikir dulu sebelum kamu menjawab.

Try to think first before you answer.

Kami sedang memikirkan cara yang lebih aman.

We're considering a safer way.

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A word's source-language consonant does not tell you its Indonesian consonant automatically. Learn the established Indonesian form: fakta has f, while pikir, berpikir, and pemikiran have p.

V in writing, [v] or [f] in speech

Careful speakers can pronounce v as voiced [v], particularly when enunciating a name, technical term, or spelling contrast (formal). A very widespread Indonesian realization is nevertheless [f]. Thus video may sound like [video] or [fideo], and variasi like [variasi] or [fariasi], without any difference in meaning. This is not the same as English /v/ becoming /b/: the relevant Indonesian variation is principally between the two labiodental fricatives [v] and [f].

Videonya tersedia dalam beberapa variasi warna.

The video is available in several color variations.

Kami merekam video pendek untuk acara sekolah.

We recorded a short video for the school event.

Learners do not need to exaggerate [v] in every word. A light [v] is appropriate in careful speech, and [f] is ordinary in the speech of many Indonesians. What must remain stable is the spelling: video and variasi keep v, no matter which of those pronunciations is used.

Why aktif becomes aktivitas

Loan adaptation sometimes gives related words different final letters. The standard adjective is aktif, with final f, while the standard noun is aktivitas, with v:

Rina sangat aktif dalam kegiatan lingkungan.

Rina is very active in environmental activities.

Aktivitas di stasiun meningkat tajam sejak subuh.

Activity at the station has increased sharply since dawn.

This alternation is part of the conventional forms in the lexicon, not a productive Indonesian rule that changes every f into v before a suffix. In particular, aktivitas is not formed in everyday Indonesian by simply attaching a native suffix to aktif. The two forms reflect how members of an international word family were standardized. They must be learned together.

Standard form	Meaning	Useful partner
aktif	active	aktif berdiskusi “actively participate in discussion”
mengaktifkan	activate	mengaktifkan akun “activate an account”
aktivitas	activity	aktivitas harian “daily activity”

Petugas sudah mengaktifkan kembali kartu saya.

The clerk has reactivated my card.

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Pronunciation varies more freely than standard spelling. Hearing [aktifitas], [fideo], or [pakta] does not authorize the spellings aktifitas, fideo, or pakta in edited Standard Indonesian.

Careful speech and accent variation

There is no single line dividing “correct” and “incorrect” everyday pronunciation. A speaker may distinguish [f] and [v] when reading aloud (formal), merge both as [f] in ordinary conversation (informal), and use [p] for some /f/ words under regional influence (regional: varies). Individual vocabulary, education, audience, and speaking speed all matter. Some highly integrated words may also have conventional nativized forms rather than a sound-by-sound copy of the donor language.

For learners, a robust production strategy is:

pronounce written p as an unaspirated [p];
pronounce f as [f];
aim for [v] when reading written v carefully, while recognizing [f] as a normal widespread realization;
preserve f, v, and p in standard writing exactly as the dictionary form requires.

That strategy maximizes intelligibility without pretending that Indonesia's multilingual accent landscape is uniform.

Common Mistakes

1. Writing a regional [p] instead of standard f

❌ Pakta itu belum terbukti.

Incorrect in Standard Indonesian — the established word is spelled fakta, even if some speakers pronounce initial f as [p].

✅ Fakta itu belum terbukti.

That fact has not been proven.

2. Respelling v according to the common [f] pronunciation

❌ Saya sudah menonton fideo itu.

Incorrect in standard writing — a spoken [f] does not change the v in video.

✅ Saya sudah menonton video itu.

I've already watched that video.

3. Restoring an etymological f in pikir

❌ Saya sedang berfikir tentang tawaran itu.

Nonstandard in Indonesian — do not restore f from Arabic or copy a Malaysian spelling.

✅ Saya sedang berpikir tentang tawaran itu.

I'm thinking about that offer.

4. Extending the final f of aktif into aktivitas

❌ Aktifitas di kantor tetap berjalan seperti biasa.

Incorrect spelling — aktif and aktivitas have different standardized consonants.

✅ Aktivitas di kantor tetap berjalan seperti biasa.

Activity at the office is continuing as usual.

Key Takeaways

F is /f/, p is normally unaspirated /p/, and careful v is /v/.
Many speakers pronounce written v as [f]; some accents also substitute [p] for /f/ (regional: varies).
Established nativized words must be learned individually: pikir has p, but fakta has f.
Aktif and aktivitas are both standard; their f–v difference is lexical, not a freely productive suffix rule.
Above all, variation in pronunciation never by itself licenses variation in standard spelling.

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