In Reply to: Tidak Terima Kasih posted by LeanneK on Thursday, 3. February 2005 at 08:37 Bali Time:
The word Tidak "NO" Naturaly pops up in speech all the time although you usually wouldnt recognise it, Its regulary shortened to "TAK" or somehow pronounced a gurgling "ngggaaak" but also the word "Tidak" also means that you wont ever do, say for instance for a question , Are you married? the common answer is Sudah- Already or Belum-Not yet, Answering ya - YES or Tidak - NO is not incorrect but it suggest that you wont ever Marry, and with terimah kasih its implied meaning can be confusing. If you are offered something, a drink or some food and you accept with Terimah Kasih, you'll probably go hungry, as indonesians use Terimah Kasih as a polite term of refusal. To accept an offer say, YA - YES or "Boleh" . Apart from being used to refuse an offer, Terimah Kasih is used as you would expect- to show appreciation, That is the real meaning of these words but being westerners they know what you mean so dont stress too much, they know your not being inpolite if you use tidak as a term of polite refusal, Hope this helps
Ben :-)