How to Say 'Mengatakan' in Casual Indonesian (Bilang, Ngomong)

Your textbook teaches you mengatakan. It means "to say" or "to tell." Perfectly valid. Also.. perfectly stiff. The kind of word you'd hear in a news broadcast or a courtroom. Not at a coffee shop.

In daily Indonesian, you need two words. Bilang and ngomong. They cover slightly different territory, but between them you'll handle about 90% of what mengatakan is supposed to do.

Bilang — The Everyday "Say/Tell"

Bilang is the casual replacement for mengatakan. It means "to say" or "to tell." Short, punchy, and everywhere.

Compare:

• "Dia mengatakan bahwa dia tidak bisa datang." (formal) = He said that he can't come.
• "Dia bilang dia nggak bisa datang." (casual) = He said he can't come.

Same meaning. But the first one sounds like a press release. The second is just.. how people talk.

Here are some phrases you'll hear constantly:

"Bilang apa?" = What did they say?

"Gue udah bilang." = I already told you.

"Jangan bilang siapa-siapa." = Don't tell anyone.

See how natural those feel? You can't swap mengatakan into any of them without sounding robotic. Bilang is one of those words you'll use 20 times a day without even thinking about it. It's that fundamental to casual Indonesian.

Ngomong — More "Speak" Than "Say"

Then there's ngomong. It overlaps with bilang, but the nuance is different. Ngomong leans more toward "to speak" or "to talk." It's about the act of producing words, not about relaying information.

• "Ngomong apa?" = What did you say? / What are you saying?
• "Jangan ngomong gitu." = Don't say that. / Don't talk like that.

Both bilang and ngomong can translate to "say." But bilang emphasizes the message. Ngomong emphasizes the speaking.

Think of it this way. "She told me" is bilang territory. "She was talking about.." is ngomong territory.

Quick Comparison

Word	Vibe	Best translation
Mengatakan	Formal	To say/tell
Bilang	Casual	To say/tell (the message)
Ngomong	Casual	To speak/say (the act of talking)

The Simple Rule

Reporting what someone said? Bilang. Describing the act of speaking? Ngomong. Writing an essay for school? Fine, use mengatakan.

Bilang is the one that'll transform your Indonesian the fastest. It's short. It's everywhere. And once you start using it, you'll wonder how you ever survived with mengatakan.

So.. which bilang phrase are you going to try first? 💬