What does “kode” mean in Indonesian slang?
Candaan Andre dan dokter di Ini Talk Show
B1 Indonesian listening practice · Jakarta Colloquial Indonesian · Curated for intermediate learners
On the comedy talk show Ini Talk Show, a guest mock-scolds a doctor for being cryptic: «jangan pakai sandi morse... kok sebagai kode-kode» (“don’t use Morse code... why speak in codes?”). Kode means “code,” but in everyday Indonesian it also means a hint or signal.
To ngasih kode (“give a code”) is to drop a hint, especially a romantic one, and a kode keras is a “strong hint” nobody could miss. Note the doubling, kode-kode: Indonesian repeats words for plural or a casual, scattered feel. A small word at the center of a lot of flirting and teasing.
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Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · OpenSubtitles 2018 (HermitDave) (spoken). Buckets approximate; exact ranks not stored.
- ▸On Indonesian comedy and talk shows like Ini Talk Show.
- ▸In Indonesian dating slang: ngasih kode, kode keras.
- ▸Among friends teasing someone for dropping hints.
- ▸In Indonesian memes about crushes and mixed signals.