Days, Months, and Dates in Indonesian

Overview

Indonesian days and months are straightforward to learn, especially because many month names are similar to their English counterparts. Days of the week start with Monday (Senin) rather than Sunday, reflecting international conventions. The date format follows a day-month-year pattern, with the word tanggal (date) introducing the day number.

Unlike many Asian languages, Indonesian calendar vocabulary requires no special counters or classifiers. The words are simply used as-is, making scheduling and date-related conversations very accessible for beginners.

How It Works

Days of the Week

Indonesian	English
Senin	Monday
Selasa	Tuesday
Rabu	Wednesday
Kamis	Thursday
Jumat	Friday
Sabtu	Saturday
Minggu	Sunday

Months

Indonesian	English
Januari	January
Februari	February
Maret	March
April	April
Mei	May
Juni	June
Juli	July
Agustus	August
September	September
Oktober	October
November	November
Desember	December

Date Format

Pattern	Example	English
tanggal + day + month + year	tanggal 17 Agustus 1945	August 17, 1945
hari + day name	hari Senin	Monday
bulan + month name	bulan Juni	June (the month of June)

Useful Time Phrases

Indonesian	English
minggu ini	this week
minggu depan	next week
minggu lalu	last week
bulan depan	next month
tahun ini	this year

Examples in Context

Indonesian	English	Note
Hari ini hari Selasa.	Today is Tuesday.	Stating the day
Bulan Juni sangat panas.	June is very hot.	Talking about months
Tanggal 17 Agustus.	August 17th.	Indonesia's independence day
Minggu depan saya pergi.	Next week I'll go.	Future planning
Dia lahir tanggal 5 Mei.	He was born on May 5th.	Birthday
Hari Jumat kami libur.	On Friday we have a day off.	Schedule
Bulan Desember dingin.	December is cold.	Weather and month
Tahun depan saya lulus.	Next year I graduate.	Future plans
Rabu atau Kamis?	Wednesday or Thursday?	Scheduling
Dua minggu lagi.	In two more weeks.	Future time

Common Mistakes

Confusing Minggu (Sunday) and minggu (week)

• Wrong: Thinking Minggu depan means "next Sunday"
• Right: Minggu depan = "next week"; hari Minggu depan = "next Sunday"
• Why: Minggu means both "Sunday" and "week." Add hari before it to specify Sunday.

Using English date order (month-day)

• Wrong: Agustus 17 (English order)
• Right: tanggal 17 Agustus (day then month)
• Why: Indonesian follows day-month-year order, like most of the world outside the US.

Forgetting tanggal before the date number

• Wrong: 17 Agustus (in formal writing)
• Right: tanggal 17 Agustus
• Why: The word tanggal introduces the date number in standard Indonesian.

Practice Tips

1. Practice saying today's date in Indonesian every morning: Hari ini hari [day], tanggal [number] [month]. This builds calendar vocabulary through daily repetition.
2. Memorize the days of the week as a sequence — many Indonesians learn them as a chant: Senin, Selasa, Rabu, Kamis, Jumat, Sabtu, Minggu.

Related Concepts

• Numbers and Time — the number system used in dates