“Baik” and “Bagus” (good)

Posted byMsFixerPosted inArticles, CEFR-A1, WhatsTheDiff

MsFixer

Question

What is the difference between “baik” and “bagus” (good)?

Question Category

, ,

Table of Content

  1. Question
  2. Question Category
  3. Table of Content
  4. Debunk misunderstandings
  5. TL;DR (short answer)
  6. Long answer with example sentences
  7. References and Further readings
  8. Related sentences/exercises
  9. Revisions
  10. Credentials and Copyright information

Debunk misunderstandings

  • FALSE — “Baik” means “good”, and “bagus” means “great” (very good).
  • FALSE — “The best” in English should be always translated as “terBAIK” in Indonesian.

TL;DR (short answer)

Both “baik” and “bagus” means “good” in English. However, they are NOT interchangeable in many of the cases.

BAIK is used

  1. to describe human beings/animals & their inner quality
  2. to describe situations or relationships
  3. particularly when human beings are the beneficiaries of the quality, or
  4. when the values are assessed subjectively

BAGUS is used

  1. to describe inanimate objects & their quality
  2. to describe intangible things & their quality
  3. particularly when the values are assessed objectively

For example, “Andi is a good/kind person” should be BAIK. It sounds rude if you rephrase it with BAGUS because you treat Andi like an inanimate object (or slave).

“Buku ini BAGUS” means “this book has a great value as a literature” (good choice of words, suspenseful plot etc.) If you replace BAGUS with BAIK, it implies that “this book is beneficial for children etc.”, for instance. As explained, BAIK is often related to human beings, and thereby there is a beneficiary (target readers of the book).

Long answer with example sentences


QUIZ — You have 13 sentences here. Which one do you use for the meaning of “good”, BAIK or BAGUS? Do they mean the same?

  1. I cannot play guitar very well. = Saya tidak bisa bermain gitar dengan B***. (sentence source)
  2. He has a good luck. He is now in a good position. = Ia bernasib B***. Ia mendapat kedudukan yang B***.
  3. The game is pretty good. = Permainannya B*** sekali.
  4. This book is good to read. = Buku ini sangat B*** untuk dibaca.
  5. That guy is warm-hearted. = Orang itu B*** sekali.
  6. Thank you for asking. We are in good shape. = Keadaan kami B*** saja.
  7. The scar is already healed (has become better.) = Lukanya sudah lebih B***.
  8. That medicine is very good for headaches. = Obat itu sangat B* untuk mengobati sakit kepala.
  9. They were in good hands. = Mereka diterima dengan B***.
  10. We should be nice to our parents. = Kita harus berbuat B*** kepada orang tua.
  11. The butcher serves great quality of meat. = Kualitas daging di toko itu memang B***.
  12. The dog is well tamed and obedient. = Anjingnya B*** dan tidak nakal.
  13. It’s the best route. = Itu adalah rute yang terB. (sentence source)
  1. I cannot play guitar very well. = Saya tidak bisa bermain gitar dengan B***.

ANSWER — BAIK and BAGUS are interchangeable, but BAGUS is more natural.

REASON — Someone’s ability is a description of human beings. However, it is not the person’s inner quality that is inherited from their parents, but acquired through learning. Abilities of music instruments or language skills, for example, can be objectively measured or observed. (source)

  1. He has a good luck. He is now in a good position. = Ia bernasib B***. Ia mendapat kedudukan yang B***.

ANSWER — BAIK and BAGUS are interchangeable, but BAIK is more natural.

REASON — The subject is “he”, a human being. And he is the beneficiary under such a lucky circumstance.

  1. The game is pretty good. = Permainannya B**** sekali.

ANSWER — BAIK and BAGUS are interchangeable, but they have different connotations.

REASON — First off, I need to apologize for you. “Permainan” is translated as “game” in the Duolingo course. However, “permainan”, converted from “bermain” to a gerund (noun), also means “the way/process of playing”.

“Permainannya BAIK sekali” means that the skills of athletes are very good. They are human beings to be praised with BAIK.

“Permainannya BAGUS sekali” means “the (video) game is very good.”

NOTE — “Permainan” and “pertandingan” are both translated as “game” in the Duolingo course. However, they are not interchangeable. For more information, read this Duonesia Article.

  1. This book is good to read. = Buku ini sangat B**** untuk dibaca.

ANSWER — BAIK and BAGUS are interchangeable, but they have different connotations.

REASON — BAIK in this context means “good for children (or children’s education)”, for instance. BAIK bears the nuance of “for the sake of you” (“demi kamu”). There is a beneficiary behind BAIK. On the other hand, BAGUS merely means that the quality of the book is good (e.g. best-seller or good choice of words).

NOTE — ILC, a Sydney-based language school, argues that “It is almost impossible to use ‘baik’ in this context”. However, it is very possible if the sentence is followed by “untuk anak kecil” etc.

  1. That guy is warm-hearted. = Orang itu B**** sekali.

ANSWER — Only BAIK makes sense. Don’t use BAGUS in this context.

REASON — Rephrasing with BAGUS sounds rude because you do not want to tread that guy as a human being, but an object or a slave.

NOTE — BAIK HATI is a set phrase, and it means “warm-hearted”.

  1. Thank you for asking. We are in good shape. = Keadaan kami B**** saja.

ANSWER — Only BAIK makes sense. Don’t use BAGUS in this context.

REASON — The same as number 5. We are human beings.

NOTE — “Keadaan kami baik saja” literally means “our condition is exactly good”. Inserting “keadaan” (ada = to exist, and ke-an affix converts it into a noun) seems to be redundant in English. However, this is very frequent expression in Indonesian, actually.

  1. The scar is already healed (has become better). = Lukanya sudah lebih B****.

ANSWER — Only BAIK makes sense. Don’t use BAGUS in this context.

REASON — The same as number 6 (our condition). Although a scar is not technically a human being, it is part of the body. Let’s memorize this pattern as a conversation like “How are you?” (= Apa kabar?) ==> “I’m fine.” (= Baik-baik saja.)

  1. That medicine is very good for headaches. = Obat itu sangat B**** untuk mengobati sakit kepala.

ANSWER — BAIK and BAGUS are interchangeable, but they have different connotations.

REASON — This is a tricky one. If you simply say “that medicine is very good”, BAGUS works but BAIK does not. “That medicine is very good” suggests that you compare medicine A and B, and A is better in quality/efficacy. This is an objective fact. And the medicine is an inanimate object. So, use BAGUS.

However, “that medicine is very good” is followed by “for headaches“. In this particular case, BAIK sounds natural too. This is the same pattern as 4. Buku itu sangat baik untuk anak kecil”. There is a nuance of “beneficiary”.

  1. They were in good hands. = Mereka diterima dengan B***.
  2. We should be nice to our parents. = Kita harus berbuat B*** kepada orang tua.

ANSWER — Only BAIK makes sense. Don’t use BAGUS in this context.

REASON — The same as number 5 (the guy is warm-hearted). They are human beings.

  1. The butcher serves great quality of meat. = Kualitas daging di toko itu memang B****.

ANSWER — BAIK and BAGUS are interchangeable, and they have basically the same meaning.

REASON — This is also a tricky one. The word-for-word translation of the Indonesian sentence is “The quality of meat at that shop is really good.” The central agenda here is “the quality”, not “meat” nor “that shop”. The quality is described with both BAIK and BAGUS. No reason. We just need to swallow it.

NOTE — Remember “the main thought comes first, adjunct follows” principle. Indonesian speakers always put the most important thing first. Therefore, “kualitas” (quality) is the central agenda here.

  1. The dog is well tamed and obedient. = Anjingnya B*** dan tidak nakal.

ANSWER — Only BAIK makes sense. Replacing it with BAGUS will change the meaning.

REASON — “Well tamed and obedient” (not naughty) is the dog’s inner quality. So, BAIK is the right word. Then, what is “anjingnya BAGUS dan tidak nakal.”? This altered sentence means the fur is good etc. (i.e. not talking about the inner quality but the look/shape). As we learned from example #1 (playing guitar), the quality of dog’s fur can be objectively observed and evaluated. In this context, BAGUS is the right word.

  1. It’s the best route. = Itu adalah rute yang terB****.

ANSWER — Only BAIK works. Replacing it with BAGUS is incorrect.

REASON 1 (re: BAIK v. BAGUS) — If you say “it’s a GOOD route”, not “the BEST”, both BAIK and BAGUS work. BAIK in this context means that the route will save your time to transit, or it will give you a great ocean view. So, there is a beneficiary. On the other hand, BAGUS means the road is well maintained. It’s like a safety inspection.

REASON 2 (re: TER- prefix v. PALING) — There are two ways to convert an adjective into a superlative form: 1) attaching “ter-” prefix with an adjective and 2) inserting “paling” in front of an adjective. Both ways are completely interchangeable except good ==> best case. Indonesian native speakers don’t say “terBAGUS”, It should be “paling BAGUS”. It’s a matter of liaison and collocation. No logical reason.

Do you like this article? You can leave comments at the bottom of this page.

References and Further readings

  • Q/A on HiNative (in September 2021 posted by MsFixer and answered by 3 native speakers)
  • Explanation by Indonesian Language Consultancy (ILC, a Sydney-based school) (in June 2014)

Revisions

  • Version 1: October 1, 2021
  • Version 2: March 30, 2022 — In accordance with the input from hasnadinar (native speaker), example sentence #1 was replaced.
  • Version 3: October, 2022 — Migrated from the old blog domain (as a part of rebranding project).
  • Author(s) of the article: MsFixer (September 2021)
  • Native Indonesian review: hasnadinar (September 2021 & March 2022)
  • English proofreading: not yet
  • Copyright and licensing (text): CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
    • Author of the example sentences: example number 2 to 12 were originally written and distributed by hasnadinar via HiNative. MsFixer obtained its permission for non-exclusive remix for non-commercial use.
    • Author of the example sentences: example number 13 was retrieved from the Duolingo English course for Indonesian speakers, and modified by MsFixer.
    • Author of the example sentences: example number 1 was retrieved from Tatoeba.
    • The rest of the text (explanation) was written by MsFixer
  • Copyright and licensing (image): the featured image is created by Tumisu and distributed via Pixabay under the “no attribution required” license

Leave a comment

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started