If you had to identify a list of no more than 10 Indonesian words that are absolutely essential for communicating with anyone in Indonesia, what would they be?

We have been working on this list all year and hope to complete our first draft of it during the upcoming July school holidays. No doubt the list will be constantly tweaked as we progress along the TCI road.

My list includes:

1. punya – to have/own
2. kasi – to give
3. suka – like
4. ada – there is/are
5. bisa – can
6. mau – want
7. pakai – wear/use
8. ke -to
9. di – in/at/on
10. ambil – get

Other words that I believe are also important (although could largely be communicated using body language) include:

1. sudah/belum
2. ya/tidak/bukan
3. sedikit/banyak

What do you think of the first list? I would love to hear your comments if you are an Indonesian teacher/learner.

Once the top 10 list is finalised…