Vowel

A/a
"a" is pronounced more or less like the English "a" in "father" or "u" in "but".

ada = available
anjing = dog
buka = open
saja = only
jalan = road, street, way
apa = what

E/e

• when unstressed is pronounced as the "a" in "about".

depan = front

sekolah = school

kertas = paper

kelas = class

pelayan = waiter, waitress
pembantu = servant

• when stressed it sounds like the "e" in "economical".

hebat = great, amazing

meja = table

enak = tasty, nice

sore = afternoon

in the words "sepeda" (bicycle) and "jendela" (window), the first "e" is unstressed, while the second "e" is stressed.

• pronounced as "a" in "at" or the first "e" in "elephant"

bensin = petrol

teh = tea

ojek = private motorcycle for public transportation service

pendek = short

leher = neck

the first "e" in the word "ember" (bucket)

 I/i
"i" is pronounced as "i" in "skin" or "ee" in "bee".

supir = driver
polisi = policeman
roti = bread
ibu = mother
itu = that
ini = this

O/o

• "o" is pronounced like "o" in "both",

orang = people, human

polisi = policeman

sekolah = school

toko = shop

kotak = box

cokelat = chocolate, brown

• or "a" in "all".

mobil = car

pohon = tree

roti = bread

bodoh = stupid, silly

kantor = office

U/u
"u" is pronounced like "oo" in "boom".
buku = book
kursi = chair
guru = teacher
kebun = garden
kucing = cat