Sangat vs Banget: How to Say 'Very' in Casual Indonesian
You learn sangat in your first week of Indonesian class. "Sangat bagus" - very good. Simple. Clean. You feel great about it.
Then you land in Jakarta and nobody is saying sangat.
They're saying banget. And it's everywhere.
The basics
Sangat is the formal, textbook word for "very." It goes before the adjective:
Sangat mahal. (Very expensive.)
Banget is the casual version. It goes after the adjective:
Mahal banget! (So expensive!)
Read that again. The word doesn't just change. The position flips too. 🤯
This is the part that trips everyone up
Every learner I've met does the same thing at first. They swap the word but keep it in the same spot. "Banget mahal." Nope. Or worse, "sangat mahal banget" - doubling up like that sounds.. off.
The rule is dead simple:
- Sangat goes BEFORE the adjective (formal)
- Banget goes AFTER the adjective (casual)
That's it. No exceptions.
Examples side by side
| Formal | Casual | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| sangat mahal | mahal banget | very expensive |
| sangat enak | enak banget | super delicious |
| sangat capek | capek banget | so tired |
| sangat bagus | bagus banget | really good |
In real life, you'll hear banget about 50x more than sangat. It's one of the most used casual Indonesian words. Period.
Texting shorthand
In chats, Indonesians shorten banget to bgt. You'll see it constantly:
Enak bgt! (So good!) Capek bgt 🙈 (So tired)
If you're texting an Indonesian friend and you type out the full banget, you'll sound.. overly formal. Which is kind of funny for a slang word.
Bonus: banget as a standalone reply
Here's something the textbooks won't tell you. Banget works on its own as enthusiastic agreement:
"Enak ya?" (Good, right?) "Banget!" (Totally!)
It's like saying "SO much" or "absolutely" - pure emphasis, no adjective needed.
Quick recap
Formal: sangat + adjective. Casual: adjective + banget. The word order flips. Don't mix them up. And when texting, just write bgt like everyone else. 😬
Now here's my question for you - what's the first adjective you'd pair with banget? Drop it below.