Good evening in Indonesian is selamat malam (suh-LAH-mat MAH-lahm), used from dark onwards. Before the sun goes down, roughly 3 to 6 pm, the greeting is selamat sore (suh-LAH-mat SO-ray). And when you are the one leaving to sleep, good night is not selamat malam but selamat tidur (sleep well). In conversation the selamat is usually dropped: Malam! on its own is the greeting you will hear.
Here is the quick version, then the details.
- Selamat sore: good afternoon or early evening, mid-afternoon to sunset.
- Selamat malam: good evening, after dark, as a greeting when you arrive or meet.
- Selamat tidur (TEE-door): good night, when someone is going to bed.
- Malam! / Sore!: the spoken forms.
- Selamat beristirahat: have a good rest. The formal sign-off at the end of an evening event.
1. Selamat malam as a greeting
Malam means night, and the greeting covers the whole evening and night. Arriving for dinner, walking into a shop at 8 pm, answering the door: selamat malam. The reply is selamat malam or malam.
- Selamat malam, Pak. Permisi. Good evening, sir. Excuse me. (entering)
- Malam! Udah makan? Evening! Eaten yet?
- Selamat malam semuanya. Good evening, everyone.
On the equator the sun sets around 6 all year, so malam begins at about the same time every day. Our page on selamat pagi, siang and sore has the full clock.
2. Selamat sore: the evening before dark
English "good evening" often starts at 5 or 6 while it is still light. In Indonesian that is still sore. If the sun is up, say selamat sore; if it is down, selamat malam. Sore is also a pleasant word on its own: sore-sore means "in the late afternoon", the time people go out for a walk or a snack once the heat has gone.
- Selamat sore, Bu. Good afternoon, ma'am.
- Nanti sore ketemu, ya. See you later this afternoon.
3. Good night: selamat tidur, and what not to say
When you are leaving to sleep, or wishing someone a good sleep, say selamat tidur. Selamat malam at that moment is understood but sounds like a greeting rather than a farewell. Close friends and family also say mimpi indah (sweet dreams) or the shortened texting form met bobo (bobo is the children's word for sleep).
- Aku tidur dulu, ya. Selamat tidur. I am off to bed. Good night.
- Selamat tidur, mimpi indah. Good night, sweet dreams.
Leaving a group in the evening without going to bed, you say goodbye as usual: duluan ya (I'll go first) or sampai jumpa. See how to say goodbye in Indonesian.
Common mistakes
Selamat malam at 5 pm. Still light, still sore.
Selamat malam as "good night" at bedtime. Say selamat tidur.
Selamat sore after dark. Once the sun is down it is malam, even if it feels early.
Malam as "evening" in time expressions. Jam tujuh malam is 7 pm, jam tujuh pagi is 7 am. Indonesian uses a 12-hour clock with the part of the day attached, so the word matters.
FAQ
How do you say good evening in Indonesian?
Selamat malam once it is dark. Before sunset, selamat sore.
How do you say good night in Indonesian?
Selamat tidur when someone is going to sleep. Selamat malam is the greeting for the evening, not the farewell at bedtime.
What is the difference between selamat sore and selamat malam?
Daylight. Sore is the late afternoon up to sunset, malam is after dark.
What time does selamat malam start?
At nightfall, which in Indonesia is around 6 pm all year.
How do you reply to selamat malam?
Selamat malam or just malam, then apa kabar? if you want to continue. The replies to that are on our apa kabar page.
From the greeting to the conversation
Greetings are the easy part of Indonesian. The hard part is what people say next, because spoken Indonesian is not the Indonesian in the book. Our list of 50 basic Indonesian phrases gives the textbook form and the spoken form for each.
JADI teaches the spoken forms from the first lesson: every one is written by Yohana, a native Indonesian teacher, with audio for every sentence and spaced repetition so it stays. The first 6 lesson days are free.
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