Indirect Speech in Indonesian

Overview

Indirect (reported) speech in Indonesian is simpler than in English because there is no tense backshifting. When you report what someone said, the verb stays the same. The word bahwa (that) introduces the reported clause, similar to English "that." Common reporting verbs include mengatakan (to say), bertanya (to ask), and bilang (to say, casual).

Since Indonesian verbs do not change for tense, the reported sentence often looks identical to the original. This makes indirect speech much easier to construct than in languages with tense-based backshifting rules.

How It Works

Reporting Statements

Pattern	Example	English
Subject + mengatakan + bahwa + clause	Dia mengatakan bahwa dia lelah.	He said he was tired.
Subject + bilang + clause	Dia bilang sudah pergi.	He said he had gone.
Subject + menyebutkan + bahwa	Dia menyebutkan bahwa akan datang.	He mentioned he would come.

Reporting Questions

Pattern	Example	English
Subject + bertanya + apakah + clause	Dia bertanya apakah saya akan datang.	She asked if I would come.
Subject + bertanya + question word	Dia bertanya siapa yang datang.	He asked who came.

Reporting Commands

Pattern	Example	English
Subject + meminta + object + untuk + verb	Dia meminta saya untuk datang.	He asked me to come.
Subject + menyuruh + object + verb	Dia menyuruh saya pergi.	He told me to go.

Common Reporting Verbs

Indonesian	English	Register
mengatakan	to say	formal
bilang	to say/tell	casual
bertanya	to ask	neutral
menyebutkan	to mention	formal
bercerita	to tell (a story)	neutral
mengaku	to claim/admit	neutral
menyangkal	to deny	formal

Examples in Context

Indonesian	English	Note
Dia mengatakan bahwa dia lelah.	He said he was tired.	Formal reporting
Dia bertanya apakah saya akan datang.	He asked if I would come.	Reported question
Mereka bilang sudah pergi.	They said they had gone.	Casual, bahwa omitted
Saya kira kamu tahu.	I thought you knew.	Belief/assumption
Dia berkata bahwa akan kembali.	She said she would return.	Formal
Guru bilang harus belajar lebih keras.	The teacher said we must study harder.	Command in speech
Dia mengaku tidak tahu.	He admitted he didn't know.	Admission
Ibu bertanya mau makan apa.	Mother asked what we want to eat.	Embedded question
Katanya dia sakit.	He said (reportedly) he's sick.	Hearsay with katanya
Dia menyebutkan bahwa harganya mahal.	He mentioned that the price is expensive.	Formal

Common Mistakes

Backshifting tenses like English

• Wrong: Changing verb forms when reporting past speech
• Right: Keep the same verb: Dia bilang "saya lelah" → Dia bilang dia lelah. (same verb)
• Why: Indonesian has no tense conjugation, so no backshifting is needed.

Always including bahwa

• Wrong: Thinking bahwa is required in every reported speech sentence
• Right: Dia bilang sudah pergi. — bahwa is often omitted, especially in casual speech
• Why: Bahwa is optional in many contexts, especially with casual verbs like bilang.

Forgetting to change pronouns

• Wrong: Dia bilang "saya lelah" kept as is in indirect speech
• Right: Dia bilang dia lelah. (saya → dia, since the speaker changed)
• Why: While tense does not shift, pronouns must be adjusted to reflect the perspective of the reporter.

Usage Notes

Katanya (literally "he/she said" or "reportedly") is an extremely common way to report speech or hearsay in casual Indonesian. It does not require a specific subject: Katanya besok hujan (They say it will rain tomorrow). In formal writing, mengatakan bahwa is standard. In news reporting, menyatakan (to state), menegaskan (to affirm), and mengungkapkan (to reveal) are commonly used.

Practice Tips

1. Report what people around you say: Dia bilang..., Ibu bertanya..., Guru mengatakan bahwa... This builds the reporting pattern naturally.
2. Practice the difference between reporting statements (bahwa), questions (apakah), and commands (untuk/supaya).

Related Concepts

• Relative Clauses — another type of embedded clause using yang
• Advanced Reported Speech — complex speech verbs and embedded structures