Hari Ini / Besok / Kemarin
Today / Tomorrow / Yesterday
'Hari' means 'day.' These three time words will help you make plans and talk about when things happened.
Learn "Today," "Tomorrow," and "Yesterday" in Indonesian with "Hari Ini," "Besok," and "Kemarin." These fundamental time words in Bahasa Indonesia are essential for making plans, booking activities, and talking about events during your time in Indonesia.
💬Example Sentences
Hari ini saya mau ke pantai.
Today I want to go to the beach.
Besok kita bertemu, ya?
We meet tomorrow, okay?
Kemarin saya makan nasi goreng.
Yesterday I ate fried rice.
🏭Cultural Context
Indonesians have a wonderfully practical approach to time references. "Lusa" means "the day after tomorrow" and "kemarin lusa" means "the day before yesterday" — concepts that require whole phrases in English but are single words in Indonesian. When making plans, Indonesians often use these words rather than specific dates, especially in casual conversation. You might hear "besok ya!" (tomorrow, okay!) as a casual way to confirm plans, though "besok" can sometimes be used loosely to mean "sometime soon" rather than literally tomorrow. If you need to be specific, pairing the day word with a time helps: "besok jam sepuluh" (tomorrow at ten o'clock).