Asking for directions tests two systems at once. The speaker has to distinguish location, destination, and source, but also has to approach a stranger appropriately. In this Standard Indonesian exchange, di, ke, dari, lurus, belok, sampai, dekat, and the kin-derived address Pak create a complete route without repeatedly stating “you” or “go.”
Context and Complete Dialogue
Ari, a young visitor, asks Pak Hasan, an older man standing near a shop, how to reach a bus stop. Pak, short for Bapak, is a nationally widespread respectful address for an adult man; it does not claim an actual family relationship.
Ari: Permisi, Pak. Apakah ada halte bus di dekat sini?
Ari: Excuse me, sir. Is there a bus stop near here?
Pak Hasan: Ada. Dari sini, jalan lurus sampai lampu lalu lintas.
Pak Hasan: Yes. From here, go straight as far as the traffic light.
Ari: Setelah itu, saya belok ke kiri?
Ari: After that, do I turn left?
Pak Hasan: Bukan, belok ke kanan, lalu terus sampai persimpangan.
Pak Hasan: No, turn right, then continue as far as the intersection.
Pak Hasan: Haltenya di depan apotek, dekat bank.
Pak Hasan: The bus stop is in front of the pharmacy, near the bank.
Ari: Apoteknya di sisi kanan jalan, Pak?
Ari: Is the pharmacy on the right side of the road, sir?
Pak Hasan: Ya, betul. Dari persimpangan, apotek itu kelihatan.
Pak Hasan: Yes, that's right. The pharmacy is visible from the intersection.
Ari: Jauh dari sini, Pak?
Ari: Is it far from here, sir?
Pak Hasan: Tidak, kira-kira lima menit berjalan kaki.
Pak Hasan: No, about five minutes on foot.
Ari: Baik, terima kasih banyak, Pak.
Ari: All right, thank you very much, sir.
Pak Hasan: Sama-sama. Hati-hati di jalan.
Pak Hasan: You're welcome. Take care on the way.
A Natural Translation That Preserves the Encounter
Ari: Excuse me, sir. Is there a bus stop near here?
Pak Hasan: Yes. Go straight from here to the traffic light.
Ari: Then I turn left?
Pak Hasan: No, turn right and continue to the intersection. The stop is in front of the pharmacy, near the bank.
Ari: Is the pharmacy on the right-hand side?
Pak Hasan: That's right. You can see it from the intersection.
Ari: Is it far from here?
Pak Hasan: No, about a five-minute walk.
Ari: All right, thank you very much.
Pak Hasan: You're welcome. Take care.
English normally uses you throughout directions. Indonesian omits it because the addressee and intended traveler are obvious. The translation also uses sir less often than Ari uses Pak; repeated respectful address sounds much more natural in Indonesian than repeated sir does in everyday English.
Numbered Grammar Notes
1. Permisi opens the interaction before it requests information
Permisi asks permission to enter someone's attention or physical space. It is the appropriate opening before questioning a stranger. The following Pak selects a respectful relationship from the first turn.
Permisi, Bu, boleh saya bertanya arah ke stasiun?
Excuse me, ma'am, may I ask the way to the station?
Permisi, Pak, jalan menuju pasar lewat mana?
Excuse me, sir, which way is the road to the market?
Maaf can apologize or soften an interruption, but it does not replace every function of permisi. Here Ari is not admitting wrongdoing; he is courteously initiating contact.
2. Di, ke, and dari divide the route into location, goal, and source
The bus stop ada di dekat sini: di locates it. Ari must belok ke kanan: ke presents a direction or goal. The route begins dari sini and the pharmacy is visible dari persimpangan: dari gives the point of origin or viewpoint.
Taksi menunggu di depan hotel, bukan di belakang gedung.
The taxi is waiting in front of the hotel, not behind the building.
Dari terminal, naik bus nomor dua ke pusat kota.
From the terminal, take bus number two to the city center.
Kami berjalan dari museum ke alun-alun melalui taman.
We walked from the museum to the town square through the park.
English sometimes lets one preposition cover several spatial relations, but Indonesian requires this basic contrast. For fuller maps of the forms, compare location with di, goals with ke, and sources with dari.
3. Lurus, belok, and sampai package the path
Jalan lurus means “go/walk straight.” Belok ke kanan changes direction. Sampai gives a boundary: continue until the traffic light or intersection. It does not itself say whether the landmark is the final destination; in the dialogue it is an intermediate waypoint.
Jalan lurus dua ratus meter, lalu belok kiri setelah jembatan.
Go straight for two hundred meters, then turn left after the bridge.
Terus saja sampai melihat toko buku di ujung jalan.
Just keep going until you see a bookstore at the end of the road.
Sesudah belok kanan, masuk ke gang pertama.
After turning right, enter the first alley.
Indonesian often says belok kanan/kiri without ke. The version belok ke kanan/kiri explicitly casts the direction as the goal of the turn; both are standard and natural.
4. Omitted subjects make instructions direct, not rude
Pak Hasan says jalan lurus, belok ke kanan, and terus sampai... without Anda, kamu, or Ari. The imperative-like route sequence already identifies Ari as the person who should move. Adding a pronoun to every instruction would be heavier and can force an unnecessary choice of social label.
Keluar dari gedung, kemudian seberangi jalan di lampu merah.
Leave the building, then cross the road at the traffic light.
Naik ke lantai dua, lalu cari ruang nomor dua belas.
Go up to the second floor, then look for room twelve.
This omission is grammatical because the actor is recoverable. It is different from losing track of who should move in a complicated route; there, a noun or pronoun can be restored for clarity.
5. Dekat, di depan, and sisi kanan anchor the destination
Once the route reaches the intersection, relational phrases identify the stop: di depan apotek, dekat bank, di sisi kanan jalan. Dekat can stand directly before a noun (dekat bank) or occur in di dekat bank. The latter foregrounds location more explicitly.
Pintu masuknya di sebelah kiri loket tiket.
The entrance is to the left of the ticket counter.
Warung itu dekat sekolah, tepat di seberang masjid.
The food stall is near the school, directly across from the mosque.
Ada mesin ATM di dekat pintu keluar sebelah timur.
There is an ATM near the east exit.
6. Kin-derived address manages distance between strangers
Bapak/Pak historically and literally belongs to kinship vocabulary, but as an address it respectfully recognizes an adult man. Ibu/Bu does the same for an adult woman. Ari repeats Pak at points where he requests or confirms information, maintaining warmth without using kamu, which could sound overfamiliar.
Kalau boleh tahu, halte berikutnya di mana, Bu?
May I ask where the next bus stop is, ma'am?
Apakah jalan ini menuju kantor pos, Pak?
Does this road lead to the post office, sir?
Other address terms vary by region and community. This dialogue deliberately uses nationally widespread Pak and does not present a regional term such as Mas, Kang, or Daeng as universal Indonesian.
Vocabulary Glosses
| Expression | Meaning and use |
|---|---|
| permisi | excuse me; asks entry into attention or space |
| halte bus | bus stop |
| di dekat sini | near here |
| jalan lurus | go/walk straight |
| sampai | until, as far as; arrive |
| lampu lalu lintas | traffic light |
| belok ke kanan | turn right |
| persimpangan | intersection |
| di depan | in front of |
| berjalan kaki | to go on foot |
Common Mistakes
1. Using di for a destination
❌ Setelah lampu merah, belok di kanan menuju terminal.
Incorrect for the intended direction — di kanan locates something on the right rather than presenting the direction of the turn.
✅ Setelah lampu merah, belok ke kanan menuju terminal.
After the traffic light, turn right toward the terminal.
2. Using ke for a static location
❌ Halte busnya ada ke depan rumah sakit.
Incorrect — the stop is stationary, so the location takes di.
✅ Halte busnya ada di depan rumah sakit.
The bus stop is in front of the hospital.
3. Addressing an unfamiliar older adult as kamu
❌ Permisi, kamu tahu jalan ke pelabuhan?
Too familiar for this encounter — kamu can sound disrespectful to an unfamiliar older adult.
✅ Permisi, Pak, apakah Bapak tahu jalan ke pelabuhan?
Excuse me, sir, do you know the way to the harbor?
4. Treating sampai as if the landmark must be the destination
❌ Jalan sampai bank berarti perjalanan selalu berakhir di bank.
Incorrect interpretation — sampai bank can mark an intermediate boundary in a longer route.
✅ Jalan sampai bank, lalu belok kiri menuju kantor kecamatan.
Continue as far as the bank, then turn left toward the district office.
5. Switching address forms while repeating the traveler
❌ Anda berjalan lurus, lalu kamu belok kanan, kemudian Anda menyeberang.
Incorrect address consistency — the speaker abruptly switches from respectful Anda to familiar kamu within one route.
✅ Jalan lurus, lalu belok kanan, kemudian menyeberang di zebra cross.
Go straight, turn right, then cross at the pedestrian crossing.
Key Takeaways
- Di locates, ke gives a goal or direction, and dari gives a source or viewpoint.
- Lurus, belok, and sampai divide a route into manageable path segments.
- Directions normally omit the obvious traveler as subject.
- Pak/Bapak respectfully addresses an unfamiliar adult man; kamu is not the safe automatic equivalent of English you.
- This text uses nationally widespread address forms and labels the status of regional alternatives explicitly.
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- di: Static LocationA1 — Use the separate preposition di for static location at, in, or on a place, and distinguish it from destination ke and passive di-.
- ke: Direction and DestinationA1 — Use free ke for movement toward destinations and endpoints, contrasting it with static di and attached ordinal or derivational ke-.
- dari: Source, Origin, Material, and ComparisonA1 — Use dari to express where something begins, comes from, is made from, or serves as a point of comparison.
- Bapak and Ibu as Respectful YouA1 — Use Bapak, Ibu, Pak, and Bu as respectful adult reference forms while distinguishing address from literal parenthood.
- di mana, ke mana, and dari manaA2 — Choose di mana for static location, ke mana for destinations, and dari mana for origins while preserving Indonesian question order.