Indonesian begini, begitu and sini, situ, sana

Level: Beginner. Besides ini (this) and itu (that) for objects, Indonesian has a second pointing set for how something is done and where it is. begini and begitu point to a manner; sini, situ and sana point to a place. Learn these and you can say “like this”, “like that” and “over there” without a dictionary.

The rule

Deixis is the grammar of pointing words — words whose meaning depends on where the speaker and listener are. You already know the object pair in Indonesian demonstratives ini and itu. This lesson adds two more kinds of pointing:

• Manner — begini (like this / this way) and begitu (like that / that way). They come from bagai + ini/itu and mean the same as seperti ini and seperti itu.
• Place — sini (here), situ (there, near you or just mentioned) and sana (over there, far from both).

The big difference from ini / itu is that begini, begitu and the place words replace a whole phrase, so they stand on their own. begitu is a complete answer to “how?”; sana is a complete answer to “where?”. You never put a noun after them the way you do with ini and itu.

Forms

The three place words combine with a preposition to show position, destination or origin:

begini and begitu: pointing to a manner

Use begini when you are showing or about to show the way yourself — it points to what is close to you right now:

• Lipat kertasnya begini. — Fold the paper like this.
• Begini caranya. — This is how it’s done.

Use begitu for a way that is further off, already mentioned, or one you are commenting on:

• Jangan begitu. — Don’t (do it) like that.
• Dia selalu bicara begitu. — He always talks like that.

For formal writing and speeches there is a third, careful word, demikian (thus, in that way): Demikian ketentuan yang berlaku (Such are the rules that apply). In everyday speech begitu is the natural choice.

sini, situ, sana: pointing to a place

The three place words map to the same near–mid–far scale as the pronouns:

• di sini — here, by me.
• di situ — there, by you, or at a spot just pointed out.
• di sana — over there, far from both of us.

Keep the preposition separate: di sini, not disini. Swap di for ke to show movement toward, and dari to show movement from: Saya datang ke sini (I came here), Dia pulang dari sana (She went home from over there).

How to say it

Indonesian spelling is regular — one steady sound per letter. For this lesson:

Example sentences

1. Lakukan begini.
   Do it like this.
   begini = this way, speaker shows it
2. Begini caranya.
   This is how it's done.
   begini opening an explanation
3. Jangan begitu.
   Don't do it like that.
   begitu stands alone as 'that way'
4. Dia selalu bicara begitu.
   He always talks like that.
   begitu = in that manner
5. Mengapa kamu begitu sedih?
   Why are you so sad?
   begitu = so / very before an adjective
6. Kue ini begitu enak.
   This cake is so delicious.
   begitu as intensifier
7. Kalau begitu, kita pergi sekarang.
   In that case, let's go now.
   kalau begitu = in that case
8. Saya tinggal di sini.
   I live here.
   di sini = here, near me
9. Tasmu ada di situ.
   Your bag is there.
   di situ = there, near you
10. Mereka bekerja di sana.
    They work over there.
    di sana = far from both
11. Ayo ke sini!
    Come here!
    ke sini = to here
12. Jangan taruh di situ.
    Don't put it there.
    di situ = that spot by you
13. Dia baru pulang dari sana.
    She just got back from over there.
    dari sana = from far away
14. Dari sini ke stasiun dekat.
    From here to the station is close.
    dari sini = from here
15. Tolong jelaskan begini saja.
    Please just explain it like this.
    begini saja = just like this
16. Begitu juga adik saya.
    My younger sibling too / likewise.
    begitu juga = likewise
17. Rumahnya begitu besar.
    His house is so big.
    begitu = so, intensifying besar
18. Taruh buku ini di sana.
    Put this book over there.
    ini for the thing, di sana for the place

Common mistakes

• ❌ buku begini (for “this book”) → ✅ buku ini. begini is a manner, not a thing; a book is buku ini.
• ❌ di ini (for “here”) → ✅ di sini. “Here” is the place word sini, not ini.
• ❌ Jangan ini (for “Don’t do it like this”) → ✅ Jangan begini / Jangan begitu. A manner needs begini / begitu.
• ❌ disini, disana → ✅ di sini, di sana. Keep di a separate word in place phrases.
• ❌ ke sana ke sini used for “this and that thing” → ✅ keep sana / sini for places; use ini / itu for objects.
• ❌ begitu buku → ✅ buku itu for “that book”; begitu never modifies a noun.

A short conversation

— Permisi, bagaimana cara melipatnya? (Excuse me, how do I fold it?) — Begini. Lipat sudutnya, lalu tekan. (Like this. Fold the corner, then press.) — Oh, begitu! Terima kasih. (Oh, like that! Thank you.) — Sama-sama. Buku panduannya ada di situ, dekat kamu. (You’re welcome. The manual is there, near you.)

Usage notes

• Standalone answers. begini, begitu, sini, situ and sana can each be a full reply: “How?” → Begini. “Where?” → Di sana. You do not need a noun after them.
• kalau begitu / begitu juga. Two very common set phrases: kalau begitu (in that case, so then) and begitu juga (likewise, the same goes for).
• situ for “you”. In casual speech some speakers use situ to mean “you” at a slight distance; as a beginner, keep situ for “there” and use kamu / Anda for “you”.
• Distance is flexible. The near–mid–far line is about focus, not metres. di situ often just means “at that spot”, even when it is not literally beside the listener.
• Movement words. Remember the trio: di for position, ke for going toward, dari for coming from — di sini / ke sini / dari sini.

Compared with ini and itu

ini and itu point to things and sit after the noun (buku ini = this book); begini and begitu point to a manner and stand alone (Lakukan begitu = do it that way); sini, situ and sana point to a place and take a preposition (di sana = over there). They share the same near-and-far feeling but never swap jobs. For the object pair and the full ini / itu rules, see Indonesian demonstratives ini and itu, and for where these words sit in a sentence, see Indonesian word order.

Quick recap before the quiz.

Practice

Practice

begini, begitu, sini, situ, sana practice

Try each one, then press Check. No sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere — it all runs in your browser.

1 How do you say 'Do it like this'?

Lakukan ini. Lakukan begini. Lakukan sini. Lakukan itu.

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Lakukan begini. — A manner needs begini (like this), not ini.

2 'I live here': Saya tinggal di ____

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Hint: place near me

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sini — di sini = here, near the speaker.

3 Build: 'Come here!'

siniAyoke

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Ayo ke sini — ke sini = to here: Ayo ke sini!

4 Match each word to its job.

• begini Match for begini — choose — like this (manner)over there (place)so kind (intensifier)this book (thing)
• di sana Match for di sana — choose — like this (manner)over there (place)so kind (intensifier)this book (thing)
• buku ini Match for buku ini — choose — like this (manner)over there (place)so kind (intensifier)this book (thing)
• begitu baik Match for begitu baik — choose — like this (manner)over there (place)so kind (intensifier)this book (thing)

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• begini → like this (manner)
• di sana → over there (place)
• buku ini → this book (thing)
• begitu baik → so kind (intensifier)

begini = manner, sana = place, ini = thing, begitu = so/very.

5 Which means 'over there, far from both of us'?

di sini di situ di sana di ini

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di sana — di sana is the far place word.

6 'In that case, let's go': Kalau ____, kita pergi.

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Hint: set phrase 'in that case'

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begitu — kalau begitu = in that case.

Quiz

Check yourself

Indonesian begini, begitu, sini, situ, sana

12 questions · pick an answer and you'll see straight away if it's right.

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1. 1'begini' means…

   A this (thing) B like this (manner) C here (place) D so/very
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   like this (manner) — begini = like this / this way.

2. 2'begitu' means…

   A that book B like that / that way C over there D this one
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   like that / that way — begitu = like that / that way (also 'so').

3. 3Which points to a place, not a thing or a manner?

   A ini B begitu C sana D itu
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   sana — sana (over there) is a place word.

4. 4'Here, near me' is…

   A di situ B di sana C di sini D di ini
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   di sini — di sini = here.

5. 5'There, near you' is…

   A di sini B di situ C di sana D ke sini
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   di situ — di situ = there, by the listener.

6. 6'This book' (a thing) is…

   A buku begini B buku sini C buku ini D buku begitu
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   buku ini — A thing takes ini/itu: buku ini. begini/sini are not for nouns.

7. 7In 'Rumahnya begitu besar', begitu means…

   A that house B like that C so / very D over there
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   so / very — Before an adjective, begitu = so/very: so big.

8. 8'Come here!' is…

   A Ayo ke sana! B Ayo ke sini! C Ayo di sini! D Ayo begini!
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   Ayo ke sini! — ke sini = to here: Ayo ke sini!

9. 9'Don't do it like that': Jangan ____
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   begitu — Jangan begitu = don't (do it) like that.

10. 10Why is 'di ini' wrong for 'here'?

    A it should be di itu B 'here' is the place word sini: di sini C it needs begini D di must be dropped
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    'here' is the place word sini: di sini — Place = sini; ini is 'this'. So 'here' is di sini.

11. 11'from over there' is…

    A di sana B ke sana C dari sana D sana dari
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    dari sana — dari = from: dari sana.

12. 12The formal word for 'in that way' in speeches is…

    A begini B begitu C demikian D situ
    Show answer

    demikian — demikian is the formal manner word; begitu is the everyday one.

Recap cheat-sheet

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