Indonesian has no single word that must replace English please in every request. Tolong presents an action as help, coba mitigates a directive by asking someone to try or consider it, boleh asks permission, and bisa frames compliance as possible. Politeness is distributed across those choices, address forms, omitted pronouns, intonation, and the amount of indirectness.
This page explains the core request architectures and their word order. Advanced clause linking, complete question paradigms, and detailed discourse-particle meanings belong on dedicated pages.
Four useful request frames
| Frame | Literal contribution | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| tolong + verb | help by doing | clear request for action |
| coba + verb | try/consider doing | mitigated suggestion or diagnostic instruction |
| boleh + actor + verb? | is it permitted? | requesting authorization |
| bisa + (tolong) + verb? | is it possible/can you? | indirect request for compliance |
Tolong tutup jendelanya sebelum hujan masuk.
Please close the window before the rain comes in.
Coba periksa kembali nomor rekening penerimanya.
Please check the recipient's account number again.
Boleh saya menggunakan pengisi daya ini sebentar?
May I use this charger for a moment?
Bisa tolong pegang pintunya sampai saya lewat?
Could you please hold the door until I pass?
The words remain separate. Their politeness does not come from a special verb form: Indonesian verbs do not conjugate for a polite second person.
Tolong: a clear request for help
Place tolong before the action requested. The addressee is normally omitted because the speech situation supplies “you.”
Tolong kirim alamat lengkapnya sebelum pukul lima.
Please send the full address before five o'clock.
Tolong tunggu di lobi sampai petugas memanggil nama Anda.
Please wait in the lobby until the officer calls your name. (polite)
Tolong bantu saya mengangkat kotak yang paling berat.
Please help me lift the heaviest box.
Bu, tolong tandatangani formulir di halaman terakhir.
Ma'am, please sign the form on the last page.
Tolong is direct but not automatically rude. Tone, relationship, and the scale of the favor matter. A brisk Tolong diam can function like an order; a warm Tolong tunggu sebentar is an ordinary polite request. In formal letters or highly deferential service language, mohon is often preferred (formal).
Mohon lampirkan salinan kartu identitas pada surel balasan.
Please attach a copy of your identity card to the reply email. (formal)
English puts please at several positions. Indonesian tolong most naturally precedes the requested predicate. It is not decorative punctuation that can be inserted anywhere.
Coba: mitigation through “try”
The basic meaning of coba is “try.” Before a directive, it can make the request exploratory: look, check, taste, ask, or attempt this and see what happens. It is common among peers, family, teachers, and people troubleshooting a problem (neutral; informal).
Coba buka aplikasinya sekali lagi setelah ponsel dimulai ulang.
Try opening the app again after the phone restarts.
Coba tanyakan kepada petugas apakah ruangannya masih tersedia.
Try asking the staff whether the room is still available.
Coba jelaskan bagian mana yang belum kamu pahami.
Try explaining which part you still do not understand.
Pak, coba lihat apakah semua tanda tangan yang diperlukan sudah ada.
Sir, please check whether all the required signatures are present.
Mitigation does not guarantee deference. A superior saying Coba kerjakan lagi can still issue a firm instruction. To an unfamiliar official, coba alone may sound as if the speaker is testing or directing them. Add an appropriate address form and a more indirect frame when hierarchy calls for it.
Bu, bisa tolong coba periksa data ini sekali lagi?
Ma'am, could you please try checking this data once more?
The combination is possible, but it is heavier: bisa adds indirectness, tolong frames assistance, and coba makes the checking exploratory. Do not stack softeners mechanically; choose them because each meaning is useful.
Boleh: permission for the speaker's action
Use boleh when the request is fundamentally “May I/we do this?” A common order is boleh + speaker + verb?
Boleh saya duduk di kursi dekat pintu?
May I sit in the chair near the door?
Boleh kami melihat contoh dokumen yang sudah diisi?
May we see an example of a completed document?
Pak, boleh saya mengajukan satu pertanyaan lagi?
Sir, may I ask one more question?
Bolehkah saya merekam penjelasan ini untuk catatan pribadi?
May I record this explanation for my personal notes? (neutral-formal)
With -kah, write bolehkah as one word. Without it, intonation and the question mark mark the request. The boleh guide develops the difference between permission, prohibition, and possibility.
Boleh minta ...? is a compact way to request an item or service (informal; neutral service encounter).
Mbak, boleh minta satu gelas air putih?
Miss, may I have a glass of water?
Boleh minta kuitansi untuk pembayaran tadi?
May I have a receipt for that payment?
Bisa: make compliance the question
Bisa + verb? literally asks whether an action is possible or within someone's ability. In context, it commonly functions as an indirect request, like English “Could you...?”
Bisa kecilkan suara televisinya sedikit?
Could you turn the television down a little? (conversational)
Mas, bisa bawakan menu minumannya?
Could you bring the drinks menu, please?
Bisa tolong jelaskan cara mengisi kolom ini?
Could you please explain how to fill in this field?
Apakah Bapak bisa mengirim jawabannya melalui surel?
Would you be able to send the answer by email, sir? (formal)
A literal answer such as Bisa may mean “yes, I can,” but in a service encounter it normally accepts the request as well. If permission rather than the listener's ability is at issue, use boleh.
Boleh saya membuka jendelanya?
May I open the window? (request for permission)
Bisa tolong buka jendelanya?
Could you please open the window? (request for the listener to act)
Address forms and subject order
Indonesian commonly addresses people through titles or kin terms: Pak/Bapak, Bu/Ibu, Mas, Mbak, Kak. As vocatives, they stand outside the core request and are normally followed by a comma.
Kak, tolong fotokan kami di depan gedung ini.
Could you please take our picture in front of this building?
Mas, bisa tunggu sebentar sementara saya mencari uang kecil?
Could you wait a moment while I look for some small change?
Bu Rina, boleh saya menyerahkan tugasnya besok pagi?
Ms. Rina, may I submit the assignment tomorrow morning?
Capitalize address forms in direct address and name-like use. Ordinary common-noun uses remain lowercase, as in ibu saya “my mother.” Avoid adding kamu after an address form unless contrast requires it; Pak, bisa... already identifies the addressee respectfully.
The same communicative goal across relationships
Suppose you need someone to explain a difficult section. The goal stays stable, but the relationship changes the architecture.
Coba jelaskan bagian ini ke aku dengan contoh lain.
Try explaining this part to me with another example. (to a friend; informal)
Mas, bisa jelaskan bagian menu yang memakai istilah asing ini?
Could you explain this part of the menu that uses a foreign term? (to a waiter)
Bu, bisa tolong jelaskan bagian ini sekali lagi setelah kelas?
Ma'am, could you please explain this part once more after class? (to a teacher)
Bapak, boleh saya meminta penjelasan tentang bagian formulir ini?
Sir, may I ask for an explanation of this section of the form? (to an official; formal)
The friend version uses shared familiarity; the waiter receives a service request with Mas; the teacher gets an address form plus bisa tolong; the official version turns the desired explanation into permission to make a request. No single form is universally “most polite.”
Common Mistakes
1. Translating every English please as tolong
❌ Tolong, saya boleh duduk di sini?
Awkward for a simple permission request — tolong asks the listener to help, while the speaker wants authorization.
✅ Boleh saya duduk di kursi ini sambil menunggu giliran?
May I sit in this chair while I wait for my turn?
2. Confusing who will perform the action
❌ Boleh saya buka pintunya?
Wrong for the intended ‘Could you open it?’ — this asks permission for the speaker to open it.
✅ Bisa tolong bukakan pintu untuk saya?
Could you please open the door for me?
3. Putting the modal after the requested verb
❌ Saya memotret dokumen ini boleh?
Marked and awkward as a neutral permission request.
✅ Boleh saya memotret dokumen ini untuk arsip pribadi?
May I photograph this document for my personal records?
4. Joining a request softener to its verb
❌ Tolongperiksa alamat penerima sebelum dikirim.
Incorrect spelling — tolong remains a separate word.
✅ Tolong periksa alamat penerima sebelum paketnya dikirim.
Please check the recipient's address before the package is sent.
5. Adding a second explicit addressee after a title
❌ Bu, kamu bisa menjelaskan aturan ini?
Inappropriately mixed address for a respectful teacher request.
✅ Bu, bisa tolong jelaskan aturan ini dengan contoh?
Ma'am, could you please explain this rule with an example?
Key Takeaways
- Tolong requests help through an action; coba makes an instruction exploratory.
- Boleh saya...? asks permission for the speaker; bisa (tolong)...? asks whether the listener can comply.
- Politeness comes from the whole design: address, participant roles, indirectness, tone, and context.
- Omit an obvious “you” rather than importing every English pronoun.
- Keep free request words separate; only the interrogative clitic in bolehkah attaches.
Now practice Indonesian
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Indonesian →Related Topics
- Positive CommandsA1 — Give direct and polite positive commands with bare verbs, verb roots, attached -lah, tolong, and silakan.
- Making Requests NaturallyB1 — Calibrate Indonesian requests through directness, address, reason, burden, and relationship rather than relying on tolong for every situation.
- How Indonesian Politeness Is Grammatically BuiltA2 — Build appropriate Indonesian utterances through address, omission, indirectness, particles, delivery, and reciprocal attention rather than one magic polite word.
- boleh: Permission and AcceptabilityA1 — Use boleh to grant or request permission, judge an option acceptable, and recognize the fixed possibility expression boleh jadi.
- bisa: Ability and PossibilityA1 — Use bisa for learned ability, situational feasibility, possibility, and pragmatic permission while recognizing its noun homonym meaning venom.
- Professional and Religious Titles as PronounsB2 — Use professional, religious, and office titles as grammatical person forms while respecting institutional norms and EYD V capitalization.