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TheIndonesian language has absorbed manyloanwords from other languages,Sanskrit,Tamil,Chinese,Japanese,Arabic,Hebrew,Persian,Portuguese,Dutch,English,French,Greek,Latin and otherAustronesian languages.

Indonesian differs from the form ofMalayused in Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore in a number of aspects, primarily due to the different influences both languages experienced and also due to the fact that the majority of Indonesians speak another language as their mother tongue. Indonesian functions as the lingua franca for speakers of 700 various languages across the archipelago.

Conversely, many words ofMalay-Indonesian origin have also beenborrowed into English. Words borrowed into English (e.g., bamboo, orangutan, dugong, amok, and even "cooties") generally entered through Malay language by way of British colonial presence in Malaysia and Singapore, similar to the way the Dutch have been borrowing words from the various native Indonesian languages. One exception is "bantam", derived from the name of the Indonesian provinceBanten in Western Java (see Oxford American Dictionary, 2005 edition). Another is "lahar" which is Javanese for a volcanic mudflow. Still other words taken into modern English from Malay/Indonesian probably have other origins (e.g., "satay" from Tamil, or "ketchup" from Chinese).

During development, various native terms from all over the archipelago made their way into the language. The Dutch adaptation of the Malay language during the colonial period resulted in the incorporation of a significant number of Dutch loanwords and vocabulary. This event significantly affected the original Malay language, which gradually developed into modern Indonesian. Most terms are documented inKamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia.^[1]

The study of Indonesian etymology and loan words reflects its historical and social context. Examples include the early Sanskrit borrowings, probably during theSrivijaya period, the borrowings from Arabic and Persian, especially during the time of theestablishment of Islam, and words borrowed from Dutch during the colonial period. Linguistic history and cultural history are clearly linked.^[2]

• Early Hindu and Buddhist influence from India results in manySanskrit words in Indonesian (and especially adopted throughJavanese influence). Indian traders may have contributed words as well, inTamil and Sanskrit-related languages.
• Indonesian has evolved through trade with China since ancient times, including through significant numbers of Chinese immigrants migrating to Indonesia. As a result, some of theChinese language, especially theHokkien dialect, has been incorporated into Indonesian.
• Muslim influence, originally through Arabic and Persian traders over a number of centuries, resulted in an extensive influence from theArabic andPersian.
• Portuguese contact, trade and colonization in the 16th century was the first contact between Indonesia and European culture, and had an influence that remains today, in spite of the relatively short time period of that influence.
• Dutch colonization and administration, lasting from the 17th century to the 20th, extensively affected the vocabulary. As Dutch-trained linguists determined the rules for the official Indonesian language, Dutch thus affected the structure of the language as well. For example, suffixes such as "-asi" (e.g., administrasi = administrative) and "-if" (e.g., fiktif = fictief) were applied with consistency. Some loan words are still intensively used today, although Indonesian equivalents exist.
• Modern Indonesian regularly adopts new words from other languages, particularlyEnglish. In contrast to the large number of mechanical terms borrowed from Dutch (e.g., automotive parts), hi-tech words are typically taken from English (e.g., internet) and some informal greetings such ashai,he (probably from Javanese),yo, etc.

But the processes may also be ‘out of period’; for example, Indonesian words are still being concocted from Sanskrit, and the influence of the Dutch language certainly continued after the Dutch themselves left.^[2]

Indonesian has also generalized brand names into common (lower-case) nouns as generic name. For example, "sanyo" refers to any electrical well pump, regardless of manufacturer, "odol" as all of toothpastes, or “aqua” for mineral water. This is similar to the type of generalization that occurs in English words like "xerox" or "tampax" or "polaroid".

Most of Indonesian's vocabulary is natively derived from Malay, as Indonesian is after all a standardized form of Malay, but some might ultimately be loanwords from theMinang language. Yet it is unclear, since Malay and Minang are closely related, and some might consider Minang to have been descended from a dialect of Malay due to sheer similarity.^[3]

Compared to theMalay language spoken as the native regional language in Sumatra and the Malay peninsula or the standardized version of Malaysian, Indonesian differs profoundly by the large number ofJavanese loanwords incorporated into their already rich vocabulary. This is mostly contributed byJava's position as the center of Indonesian politics, education, and culture, since the capital is located inJakarta on Java island, albeit in the area where the Javanese are not the majority. The disproportionate number of Javanese that dominate Indonesian politics is reflected by the fact that all of eight Indonesian presidents have been ethnic Javanese or half Javanese (Habibi and Prabowo, both are half Gorontalo and Minahasa respectively).

The result is that the Javanese began to shape their own vocabulary into Indonesian to describes terms and words that do not have exact counterparts in the Malay language. It is also important to note that most of Indonesian'sSanskrit loanwords have been transmitted throughOld Javanese, a language whose Sanskrit borrowings number almost 50% of the total vocabulary. Javanese loanwords, unlike those from other native languages, have entered the basic vocabulary of Indonesian to such an extent that, for many, they are no longer perceived to be foreign.

Besides Javanese, Sundanese is another local language that has influenced Indonesian's vocabulary, albeit to a lesser extent. This can be attributed to the fact that the capital, Jakarta, was formerly a part ofWest Java, a province which, together withBanten, before it too was divided, constituted thePasundan (Sundanese world), the most significant non-Javanese region in an otherwise Javanese-dominated Java island. Some of the most populous cities in Indonesia are also located in thePasundan, including West Java's capital,Bandung, and Jakarta's four satellite cities (Bekasi,Bogor,Depok, andTangerang).

Betawi is a Malay-basedcreole that arose from influences by foreign traders who stopped at the capital, Jakarta, including those from China and Arabia. Most of its speakers are inhabitants of Jakarta, and its influence upon Indonesian is attributed to its frequent usage in Indonesian mass media, including radio and television. Its status as a "hip" language by other portions of Indonesian society is another contributing factor as well.

Balinese, or simply Bali, is a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken by 3.3 million people (as of 2000) on theIndonesian island ofBali as well as northernNusa Penida, westernLombok and easternJava.

AlthoughHinduism andBuddhism are no longer the major religions of Indonesia,Sanskrit, the language vehicle for these religions, is still held in high esteem, and its status is comparable with that ofLatin inEnglish and other Western Indo-European languages. The main reason is that Indian Muslims left big legacy in Southeast Asia. Sanskrit is also the main source forneologisms; these are usually formed from Sanskrit roots. For example, the name ofJayapura city (former Hollandia) andJayawijaya Mountains (former Orange Range) in the Indonesian province of Papua were coined in the 1960s; both are Sanskrit origin name to replace its Dutch colonial names. Some Indonesian contemporary medals of honor and awards, such as Bintang Mahaputra medal, Kalpataru award and Adipura award, are also Sanskrit derived names.

The loanwords from Sanskrit cover many aspects ofreligion,art and everyday life. TheSanskrit influence on Indonesia came from contacts withIndia long ago before the 1st century.^[30] The words are either directly borrowed from India or through the intermediary of theOld Javanese language. In the classical language of Java, Old Javanese, the number of Sanskrit loanwords is far greater. The Old Javanese — English dictionary by Prof.P.J. Zoetmulder,S.J. (1982) contains no fewer than 25,500 entries. Almost half are Sanskrit loanwords. Sanskrit loanwords, unlike those from other languages except Arabic and Persian, have entered the basic vocabulary of Indonesian to such an extent that, for many, they are no longer perceived to be foreign.

Pali (Pāli) is aPrakrit language and belongs to theIndo-Europeanlanguage family together withSanskrit. As Sanskrit is the language vehicle ofHinduism, Pali is the language vehicle forBuddhism, especially theTheravada tradition which is mainly adhered to by Buddhists withinIndosphereSoutheast Asia. Virtually every word in Pāḷi has cognates in the other Middle Indo-Aryan languages, the Prakrits. The relationship to Vedic Sanskrit is less direct and more complicated; the Prakrits were descended from Old Indo-Aryan vernaculars.

Hindi (Devanagari: हिन्दी, IAST: Hindī) is a standardised andSanskritised register of theHindustani language. Hindi is an Indo-European, and specifically an Indo-Aryan language. It is descended from Sanskrit and is considered part of the Central Indo-Aryan subgroup.

Loanwords from Tamil, while also an Indian language (though not Indo-European like Sanskrit), mainly exist in cuisine, like Chinese and unlike Sanskrit. It is aDravidian language and not anIndo-Aryan language. However,Hinduism had great impact inTamil, there are severalIndo-Aryan loanwords in Tamil and they are possibility to list them in Indo-Aryan loanwords, such asSanskrit.

Interaction between Tamil speakers and Malay speakers has been established from ancient time. Tamil influence has been around such asPalava usage as ancient script in Indonesia (Palava dynasty was existed on 275 CE–897 CE) andChola invasion of Srivijaya in 1025. It mainly entered the lexicon of Malay (and by extension, Indonesian) with the immigration of South Indian traders who settled around theStrait of Malacca.

The loanwords fromArabic are mainly concerned with religion, in particular withIslam.Allah is the word forGod even inChristianBible translations. Many early Bible translators, when they came across some unusualHebrew words or proper names, used the Arabic cognates. In the newer translations, this practice has been discontinued. They now turn toGreek names or use the original Hebrew word. For example, the nameJesus was initially translated as 'Isa, but is now spelt asYesus.

Arabic loanwords, including those from Persian, have entered the basic vocabulary of Indonesian to the point that they are no longer perceived to be foreign.

Persian is an Indo-European language under the Indo-Iranian branch, wherein Sanskrit and Hindi belongs.

Chinese loanwords into Indonesian often involve cuisine, trade, or Chinese culture. According to the 2000census, the relative number of people ofChinese descent in Indonesia (termed theperanakan) is almost 1% (totaling to about 3 million people, although this may likely be an underestimate due to an anti-Chinese sentiment that exists in some circles of the population), yet theperanakan are the most successful when it comes to business, trade, and cuisine.^{[citation needed]} Words ofChinese origin (presented here with accompanying Hokkien/ Mandarin pronunciation derivatives as well as traditional and simplified characters) includepisau (匕首 bǐshǒu – knife),mie (T:麵,S:面, Hokkien mī – noodles),lumpia (潤餅 (Hokkien = lūn-piáⁿ) – springroll),teko (T:茶壺,S:茶壶 = cháhú [Mandarin], teh-ko [Hokkien] = teapot), 苦力 kuli = 苦　khu (bitter) and 力　li (energy) and even the widely used slang termsgua andlu (from the Hokkien 'goa' 我 and 'lu/li' 你 – meaning 'I/ me' and 'you'). Almost all loanwords in Indonesian of Chinese origin come fromHokkien (福建) orHakka (客家).

Japanese is an East Asian language spoken by about 126 million people, primarily inJapan, where it is the official language and national language. The influx of Japanese loanword can be classified into two periods,Japanese colonial administration period (1942–1945) and globalisation ofJapanese popular culture (1980–now). As Indonesian is written using Latin script,Japanese romanisation systems influence the spelling in Indonesian.

In contrast withChinese andJapanese, Korean loanwords are mostly related to Korean culture. These loanword is attributed to increasing popularity ofSouth Korean culture. Since the turn of the 21st century, South Korea has emerged as a major exporter of popular culture and tourism, aspects which have become a significant part of its burgeoning economy. This phenomenon is calledKorean Wave.

The European influence on Indonesian is largely related to European intervention and colonialism. The most significant consequence is the continued use of the Latin alphabet instead of various local scripts.

The Portuguese arrived first in the archipelago and influenced the original Malay language after their conquest of Malacca. Portuguese dominance over trade in the region and control of the spice islands of Moluccas significantly increased Portuguese influence, as did the introduction of Christianity in the region.

However, Dutch has had the most influence on the language, as a result of the Dutch having controlled Indonesia for 300 years after eliminating Portuguese influence in the archipelago. The Dutch language itself was not introduced into the archipelago before 1799, when the Dutch government took over the colony from the already bankrupt VOC (Dutch East India company). Previously, the Malay language had adopted by the VOC due to its trade and diplomatic benefit, which led to large numbers of loanwords being introduced into the language.

English has also exerted a certain influence on the archipelago's language, being the third most favored foreign language by the educated in colonial days. More recently, English has played an increasingly large role in the nation's official language as a result of globalization.

AlongsideMalay,Portuguese was thelingua franca for trade throughout the archipelago from the sixteenth century through to the early nineteenth century. The Portuguese were among the first westerners to sail east to the "Spice Islands". Loanwords fromPortuguese were mainly connected with articles the early European traders and explorers brought to Southeast Asia.^[39]

The former colonial power, theNetherlands, left an extensive imprint on Indonesian vocabulary. TheseDutch loanwords, as well as other non Italo-Iberian European language loanwords which were introduced via Dutch, cover all aspects of life. Some Dutch loanwords possessing clusters of multiple consonants pose difficulties for speakers of Indonesian. This problem is usually solved by the insertion of theschwa. For example, Dutchschroef[ˈsxruf] →sekrup[səˈkrup]. The months from January (Januari) to December (December) used in Indonesian are also derived from Dutch. Although Dutch loanwords are normally no longer newly developed, there is some sort of derivation using Dutch-loaned suffixes, like-si "-tion" ← Dutch-tie,-ase "-age" ←-age, and-is "-ic, -ish" ←-isch.

It is estimated that 10,000 words in the Indonesian language can be traced back to the Dutch language.^[40]

Many English words are adopted in Indonesian through globalization, due to this however many Indonesians mistake words that were originally adopted from Dutch with English due to the Germanic traces that exist in the two languages (both are Indo-European Germanic languages from the same branch, the West Germanic).However, many English words in Indonesian too are borrowed via Malay (such as:sains (science),enjin (engine),botol (bottle),gaun (gown), etc.).

It is notable that some of the loanwords that exist in both Indonesian and Malaysian languages are different in spelling and pronunciation mainly due to how they derived their origins: Malaysian utilizes words that reflect the English usage (as used by its former colonial power, the British), while Indonesian uses a Latinate form reflected in the Dutch usage (e.g. aktiviti (Malaysian) vs. aktivitas (Indonesian), universiti (Malaysian) vs. universitas (Indonesian)).

The North Germanic languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages, a sub-family of the Indo-European languages, along with the West Germanic languages and the extinct East Germanic languages. The language group is sometimes referred to as the "Nordic languages", a direct translation of the most common term used among Danish, Swedish, Icelandic and Norwegian scholars and laypeople.

• List of English words of Indonesian origin
• List of loanwords in Malay
• Loan words in Sri Lankan Tamil
• Indonesian history
• Differences between Malay and Indonesian