Indirect Speech in Indonesian

In Brief

Indonesian reports statements with bahwa “that” and yes/no questions with apakah “whether/if”: Dia mengatakan bahwa dia lelah and Dia bertanya apakah saya akan datang. Unlike English, Indonesian verbs do not change tense when moved into indirect speech. Pronouns, place words, and time expressions may still change when the speaker’s point of view changes.

Overview

Indirect speech, or kalimat tak langsung, tells someone what another person said, asked, thought, or knew without repeating the original words as a quotation. In Rina berkata, “Saya lelah”, the quotation gives Rina’s exact words. In Rina berkata bahwa dia lelah, the clause (a group of words containing a subject and a statement about it) reports the same message from the current narrator’s perspective.

This is an important B2 pattern because it combines familiar vocabulary into longer, more precise sentences. You will meet it in conversation, news reports, workplace communication, and narratives. The reporting verb can describe speech—mengatakan “say,” bilang “say/tell,” or bertanya “ask”—but it can also describe thought or knowledge, as in mengira “think/suppose,” tahu “know,” and menjelaskan “explain.”

For an English-speaking learner, the main relief is that Indonesian has no grammatical tense shift. English often changes “I am tired” to “she said she was tired.” Indonesian does not alter lelah or add a past-tense verb form. However, “no tense shift” does not mean “nothing changes”: you must report who is meant by saya, where di sini refers to, and whether besok is still tomorrow from the reporting moment.

How It Works

Reporting a statement with bahwa

The clearest neutral structure is:

subject + reporting verb + bahwa + reported statement

Dewi mengatakan bahwa rapat sudah dimulai.
“Dewi said that the meeting had already started.”

Here bahwa introduces the content being reported. It is a complementizer—a linking word that introduces a clause completing the meaning of a verb. It resembles English “that,” but Indonesian and English do not use it in exactly the same way.

Function	Common Indonesian verbs	Typical pattern
Saying	mengatakan, berkata, bilang	mengatakan bahwa ...
Explaining or reporting	menjelaskan, melaporkan, menyebutkan	menjelaskan bahwa ...
Thinking or believing	berpikir, mengira, percaya	berpikir bahwa ...
Knowing or realizing	tahu, menyadari	tahu bahwa ...

With formal or careful verbs such as mengatakan, menjelaskan, and melaporkan, bahwa is common and makes the clause boundary clear. In everyday speech, especially after bilang, it is often omitted:

• Mereka bilang bahwa mereka sudah pergi. — neutral and explicit
• Mereka bilang mereka sudah pergi. — natural in conversation

Do not confuse berkata and mengatakan. Berkata commonly introduces words or a message without a person directly after it: Dia berkata bahwa ... By contrast, mengatakan can report content, while mengatakan sesuatu kepada seseorang means “say something to someone.” Indonesian does not normally copy the English pattern “say me that.”

No tense backshift

Indonesian verbs do not conjugate for past, present, or future. The form in the reported clause therefore stays the same. Time is recovered from context or shown with an aspect or time marker such as sudah “already,” sedang “in progress,” masih “still,” or akan “will.”

Direct message	Indirect report	What happens
“Saya lelah.”	Dia mengatakan bahwa dia lelah.	lelah does not change form.
“Saya sudah makan.”	Dia bilang bahwa dia sudah makan.	sudah keeps the completed meaning.
“Saya sedang bekerja.”	Dia berkata bahwa dia sedang bekerja.	sedang keeps the ongoing meaning.
“Saya akan datang.”	Dia mengatakan bahwa dia akan datang.	akan still marks a later event.

An English translation may use “was,” “had,” or “would,” but that choice belongs to English grammar. Do not insert an Indonesian equivalent merely because English backshifts its tense. Keep or change an aspect marker only when the intended timing or viewpoint requires it.

Adjusting pronouns and viewpoint

A pronoun is a short word that stands for a person or thing, such as “I” or “they.” In indirect speech, choose pronouns from the current narrator’s viewpoint. Suppose Budi says, “Saya akan membantu kamu.” Different people can report it differently:

• Speaking to someone else: Budi mengatakan bahwa dia akan membantu saya. — “Budi said that he would help me.”
• Speaking to the original addressee: Budi mengatakan bahwa dia akan membantu kamu. — “Budi said that he would help you.”

The language does not perform this change automatically. The context determines whether saya, aku, kamu, Anda, dia, kami, or kita is correct. Be especially careful with kami “we, excluding the addressee” and kita “we, including the addressee.” A change of audience can change which one is appropriate.

Possessive suffixes also follow the new viewpoint. “Ini buku saya” may become Dia berkata bahwa itu bukunya—“She said that was her book.” The suffix -nya refers to the relevant third person, but context must make the owner clear.

Reporting yes/no questions with apakah

For a question that can be answered yes or no, use:

subject + bertanya/menanyakan + apakah + reported question

Dia bertanya apakah saya akan datang.
“He asked whether I would come.”

The reported clause is treated as embedded content, not as a direct quotation. It normally has no quotation marks, and the whole sentence is not necessarily a question. With bertanya, the person asked can be introduced with kepada: Dia bertanya kepada saya apakah toko itu buka. With menanyakan, the questioned matter can follow more directly: Dia menanyakan apakah toko itu buka.

In informal speech, apa can introduce this kind of embedded yes/no question, but apakah is the safest neutral choice for careful speech and writing. Do not use bahwa for a genuine whether/if question.

Reporting information questions

When the original question contains a question word, retain that word:

• di mana — where
• kapan — when
• mengapa/kenapa — why
• bagaimana — how
• siapa — who
• berapa — how many/how much

Direct: “Kapan kereta tiba?”
Reported: Dia bertanya kapan kereta tiba.

No apakah is needed because kapan already identifies the missing information. In many Indonesian questions, the word order already resembles statement order, so there is no English-style auxiliary inversion to undo. Never add English “do/did” logic to the Indonesian sentence.

Reporting thoughts with kira

Saya kira ... is extremely common for giving a belief or assumption: Saya kira kamu tahu means “I thought you knew” or, depending on context, “I think you know.” Because kira itself has no tense form, the surrounding situation determines whether English uses “think” or “thought.” Saya mengira bahwa ... is fuller and can sound more deliberate; saya kira ... is concise and conversational.

A negated opinion often places tidak in the reported content: Saya kira dia tidak datang—“I think he isn’t coming / I thought he wasn’t coming.” Saya tidak kira ... is possible in restricted contexts but is not the usual direct equivalent of English “I don’t think ...”; learners are generally safer with Saya rasa ... tidak ... or Saya kira ... tidak ....

Time and place expressions

Words such as sekarang “now,” hari ini “today,” besok “tomorrow,” kemarin “yesterday,” di sini “here,” and ini “this” depend on the speaker’s position in time and space. Keep them if the viewpoint is still valid; replace them if it is not.

Original viewpoint	Possible reported version	Reason
“Saya berangkat besok.”	Dia berkata bahwa dia berangkat keesokan harinya.	The report is made later; “tomorrow” has become “the next day.”
“Saya sibuk hari ini.”	Dia berkata bahwa dia sibuk hari itu.	The original “today” is now a past day.
“Tunggu di sini.”	Dia meminta saya menunggu di sana.	The report is made from another place.
“Buku ini mahal.”	Dia mengatakan bahwa buku itu mahal.	The object is no longer near the current speaker.

Forms such as keesokan harinya “the following day” and hari itu “that day” are useful in narratives. They are not compulsory substitutions. If you report the message on the same day and in the same place, hari ini and di sini may remain perfectly accurate.

Examples in Context

Indonesian	English	Note
Dia mengatakan bahwa dia lelah.	He said that he was tired.	Neutral statement with bahwa; no Indonesian tense shift.
Mereka bilang sudah pergi.	They said they had left.	Conversational bilang; both bahwa and the repeated subject are understood.
Manajer menjelaskan bahwa jadwalnya sudah berubah.	The manager explained that the schedule had changed.	Formal reporting verb and completed event with sudah.
Saya kira kamu tahu jawabannya.	I thought you knew the answer.	Context gives kira a past interpretation in English.
Kami percaya bahwa keputusan ini tepat.	We believe that this decision is right.	A reported belief rather than spoken words.
Dia bertanya apakah saya akan datang.	She asked whether I would come.	Embedded yes/no question with apakah.
Ibu bertanya kepada Rani apakah dia sudah makan.	Mother asked Rani whether she had eaten.	kepada Rani identifies the person asked.
Petugas menanyakan apakah kami membawa paspor.	The officer asked whether we had our passports.	menanyakan introduces the matter being asked about.
Mereka ingin tahu kapan hasilnya diumumkan.	They wanted to know when the result would be announced.	The question word kapan is retained.
Tolong jelaskan mengapa pesanan ini dibatalkan.	Please explain why this order was canceled.	An embedded mengapa clause, not a direct question.
Rina berkata bahwa dia sedang menunggu bus.	Rina said that she was waiting for the bus.	sedang explicitly marks an ongoing action.
Ayah bilang dia akan pulang malam itu.	Dad said he would come home that evening.	Informal omission of bahwa and adjusted time reference.
Saksi melaporkan bahwa dia melihat mobil itu di sana.	The witness reported that he had seen the car there.	English may backshift; Indonesian melihat remains unchanged.
Saya tidak tahu apakah mereka masih tinggal di Bandung.	I do not know whether they still live in Bandung.	masih marks continuation.

Common Mistakes

Copying English tense backshift

• Wrong: Dia mengatakan bahwa dia adalah lelah.
• Right: Dia mengatakan bahwa dia lelah.
• Why: Indonesian adjectives such as lelah do not require a form of “be,” and reported speech does not create a past form. English “was tired” is simply lelah here.

Using bahwa for a yes/no question

• Wrong: Dia bertanya bahwa saya akan datang.
• Right: Dia bertanya apakah saya akan datang.
• Why: Bahwa introduces reported statements. Apakah introduces an embedded choice between yes and no.

Leaving the original pronoun unchanged

• Wrong: Budi said “Saya sibuk,” and you report: Budi berkata bahwa saya sibuk.
• Right: Budi berkata bahwa dia sibuk.
• Why: In Budi’s words, saya refers to Budi. From your viewpoint, Budi is dia. The wrong version says that you, the reporter, are busy.

Translating “said me” directly

• Wrong: Dia mengatakan saya bahwa rapat dibatalkan.
• Right: Dia mengatakan kepada saya bahwa rapat dibatalkan.
• Also natural: Dia memberi tahu saya bahwa rapat dibatalkan.
• Why: Use kepada to mark the recipient after mengatakan, or use memberi tahu “inform/tell.”

Using apakah together with a question word

• Wrong: Dia bertanya apakah kapan kereta tiba.
• Right: Dia bertanya kapan kereta tiba.
• Why: Kapan already introduces the information being requested. Apakah is for yes/no alternatives.

Changing every time word mechanically

• Wrong: Reporting this morning’s promise later the same morning as Dia berkata bahwa dia akan datang keesokan harinya when the visit is still tomorrow.
• Right: Dia berkata bahwa dia akan datang besok.
• Why: Change besok only when the reporting time makes “tomorrow” point to the wrong day. Meaning, not a conversion chart, controls the choice.

Usage Notes

Bahwa and register. Bahwa is especially useful in formal writing, news, official explanations, and sentences with long reported content. Everyday speakers frequently omit it after bilang, kira, rasa, and sometimes tahu: Aku rasa dia benar “I think she is right.” Omitting it is not careless when the sentence remains clear.

Bilang versus mengatakan. Bilang is common and natural in conversation. Mengatakan is more neutral or formal and is frequent in edited prose. Berkata often focuses on the act or words of speaking. These distinctions are tendencies, not absolute rules.

Aku, saya, kamu, and Anda. Reporting speech requires attention to social relationships as well as grammar. Aku is personal and informal; saya is neutral or polite. Kamu can be too familiar in some settings, while Anda is formal and somewhat impersonal. Preserve the intended relationship when changing viewpoint rather than replacing every first person with the same fixed third-person form.

Punctuation. Direct speech uses quotation marks because it presents the words themselves. Indirect speech normally does not. A sentence such as Dia bertanya apakah toko itu buka reports a question but is grammatically a statement, so it normally ends with a period, not a question mark. If the whole sentence is itself a question—Apakah dia bertanya kapan toko itu buka?—then a question mark is appropriate.

Beyond the Basics: Commands, Evidence, and Ambiguity

Commands cannot usually be reported by inserting bahwa after “said.” Indonesian instead chooses a reporting verb that expresses the social action: meminta “ask/request,” menyuruh “tell/order,” melarang “forbid,” menasihati “advise,” or mengingatkan “remind.” The requested action may follow directly or be introduced by untuk, agar, or supaya, depending on the verb and style:

• Dia meminta saya menunggu. — “She asked me to wait.”
• Atasan menyuruh kami segera berangkat. — “The boss told us to leave immediately.”
• Dokter menyarankan agar saya lebih banyak beristirahat. — “The doctor advised me to rest more.”
• Ibu melarang anak-anak bermain di jalan. — “Mother forbade the children to play in the street.”

In careful reporting, the verb also signals how the information was obtained. Compare mengatakan “said,” mengaku “admitted/claimed about oneself,” menyangkal “denied,” menegaskan “emphasized/affirmed,” and melaporkan “reported.” Choosing one of these adds the reporter’s framing; it may not be a neutral paraphrase of the original words.

Because Indonesian pronouns do not mark gender and often disappear when context is clear, an indirect report can become ambiguous. Rina memberi tahu Sari bahwa dia akan pindah may mean that Rina or Sari will move. If the identity matters, repeat the name or restructure the sentence: Rina berkata kepada Sari, “Saya akan pindah” preserves the original wording, while Rina memberi tahu Sari tentang rencana Rina untuk pindah explicitly names Rina’s plan.

Long formal sentences may contain several layers of reporting: Menteri mengatakan bahwa pemerintah memperkirakan bahwa harga akan turun. This is grammatical, but repeated bahwa clauses can become heavy. Good writing may divide the information into two sentences or replace one layer with a noun phrase, provided the source and meaning remain clear.

Finally, indirect speech is not necessarily an exact quotation. Dia mengatakan bahwa rapat dibatalkan reports the content, perhaps in condensed form. If the precise wording matters—for a definition, promise, legal statement, or disputed claim—direct quotation may be the better choice.

Practice Tips

1. Transform one message from three viewpoints. Start with Rina berkata, “Saya akan menemui kamu di sini besok.” Report it as Rina, as the original listener, and as a third party. Check saya/dia, kamu/saya, di sini/di sana, and besok/keesokan harinya each time.
2. Sort reports by connector. Collect short examples and label them “statement” (bahwa or no connector), “yes/no question” (apakah), or “information question” (kapan, mengapa, and so on). This prevents the common bahwa/apakah mix-up.
3. Listen for what speakers omit. In interviews or podcasts, note phrases such as dia bilang ..., saya kira ..., and aku rasa .... Rewrite each one in a more formal style with mengatakan bahwa or another precise reporting verb, without adding an English-style tense change.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Relative Clauses — builds confidence with clauses embedded inside larger Indonesian sentences.
• Next step: Advanced Reported Speech — develops more nuanced reporting verbs, layered reports, commands, and shifts in viewpoint.