Udah is the everyday spoken form of sudah, and it means "already" or "done". You will hear it in almost every Indonesian conversation, usually several times: udah makan? (eaten yet?), udah (yes, done), belum (not yet). If you learn one word from this page, learn that udah and sudah are the same word, one for talking and one for writing.
It is pronounced OO-dah, with the first syllable like the "oo" in "food". Sudah is SOO-dah.
Here is the quick version, then each use with examples.
- Already, done: Aku udah makan. (I've already eaten.)
- Yet, in a question: Udah makan? (Have you eaten yet?)
- Yes, done: Udah. (Yes, I have. / It's done.)
- The opposite, not yet: Belum. (Not yet.)
- Enough, stop: Udah, udah. (That's enough. / Stop it.)
1. Udah means "already" or "done"
The core meaning. Udah goes in front of a verb or adjective and tells you the thing has happened. Indonesian has no past tense, so this little word does a lot of the work that "-ed" and "have" do in English.
- Aku udah bayar. I've already paid.
- Dia udah pulang. She's already gone home.
- Filmnya udah mulai. The film has already started.
- Udah malam. It's late already. (Literally: it is already night.)
In a textbook or a news article you will see sudah in exactly the same spot: Presiden sudah tiba. (The president has arrived.) Say udah out loud and nobody will blink; write sudah in anything formal.
2. Udah in a question: "yet?"
Put udah at the front of a sentence with a rising tone and it becomes a question: has it happened yet? The most famous one is the greeting every learner in Indonesia hears within a week.
- Udah makan? Have you eaten yet?
- Udah sampai? Have you arrived yet?
- Udah siap? Are you ready?
- Udah lama di Indonesia? Been in Indonesia long?
Udah makan? is not really a question about food. It is small talk, the Indonesian "how are you". The honest answer is fine, but so is udah whether you have eaten or not. Our podcast episode on basa-basi, Indonesian small talk, walks through this with a native speaker.
3. The two answers: udah and belum
This is the part that trips up English speakers. An udah question is not answered with ya (yes) or tidak (no). It is answered with udah (already) or belum (not yet).
- Udah makan? Udah. Eaten yet? Yes, I have.
- Udah makan? Belum. Eaten yet? Not yet.
- Udah nikah? Belum. Married yet? Not yet.
Notice that belum means "not yet" even when "yet" makes no sense in English. Belum nikah is simply how you say you are not married; it does not promise a wedding. Indonesians use belum for almost anything that could still happen, and tidak or nggak only for things that are flatly not the case. Saying nggak to udah makan? sounds oddly final, as if you have given up eating.
4. Udah as "enough" or "stop"
Said on its own, often twice, udah means "that's enough" or "stop it". The tone does the work.
- Udah, udah, jangan nangis. There, there, stop crying.
- Udah, nggak usah bayar. Leave it, no need to pay.
- Udah ah. I'm done. / Enough of this.
Nggak usah (no need) often comes right after it, which is how a friend waves off your money at a warung.
5. Udah with other words you will hear
- Udah lama: a long time already. Udah lama nggak ketemu. (Long time no see.)
- Udah tahu: I already know. Udah tahu, kok. (I know, I know.)
- Udah gitu: on top of that, what's more. Mahal, udah gitu jauh. (It's expensive, and it's far too.)
- Belum udah: not finished yet. Children say this about homework.
- Udah jadi: it's done, it's ready. See our guide to what jadi means.
Udah vs sudah vs telah
Three words, one meaning, three levels of formality.
| Word | Where you meet it | Example | |---|---|---| | udah | speech, chat messages, social media | Aku udah makan. | | sudah | textbooks, news, work emails, polite speech | Saya sudah makan. | | telah | formal writing, speeches, official notices | Acara telah dimulai. (The event has begun.) |
A learner who only knows sudah will understand everything but sound like a textbook. A learner who only knows udah will sound natural but should switch to sudah in an office. Most apps teach only the middle row, which is why people who have finished a course still miss what their neighbours say. We wrote about that gap in Duolingo Indonesian: is it enough?.
Common mistakes
Answering udah questions with ya or tidak. It is understood, but it marks you as a beginner. Answer with udah or belum.
Using nggak when you mean belum. Belum leaves the door open; nggak closes it. Belum punya anak (no kids yet) is the normal thing to say; nggak punya anak sounds like a decision.
Writing udah in anything formal. A message to a friend, fine. A job application, use sudah.
Hearing "udah" as "oo-dah" and "sudah" as a different word. It is the same word with the s dropped, the way nggak comes from tidak and gimana from bagaimana. Indonesian clips a lot of words in speech, and the clipped forms are the ones you need to recognise by ear.
FAQ
What does udah mean in English?
"Already" or "done". It is the spoken form of sudah. In a question it means "yet", as in udah makan? (have you eaten yet?).
What is the difference between udah and sudah?
None in meaning. Udah is casual and spoken; sudah is standard and written. Use udah with friends and sudah at work or in writing.
What does udah makan mean?
Literally "have you eaten yet?", but it works as a friendly greeting, like "how are you". Answer udah (yes) or belum (not yet), and the conversation moves on.
What does belum mean?
"Not yet". It is the natural opposite of udah, and Indonesians use it for anything that could still happen, so belum nikah just means "not married".
How do you pronounce udah?
OO-dah. Two short, even syllables, with the first like the "oo" in "food". The h at the end is soft but there.
Learn the words people actually say
Udah is the kind of word a dictionary buries under sudah and a course never teaches, and it is in the first sentence anyone will say to you in Indonesia.
That is why every lesson in JADI is written around spoken Indonesian. Yohana, our native Indonesian teacher, writes each one from the language people use, with audio for every sentence, word families and spaced repetition so it sticks. If you are starting from zero, begin with our guide to learning Indonesian. The first 6 lesson days are free.
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