What does “wacana” mean in Indonesian slang?

Ariel menggerakkan comeback Peterpan lewat obrolan santai

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B2 Indonesian listening practice · Jakarta Colloquial Indonesian · Picked for people who know more

💡 Did you know?
wacana
noun · slang sense
(Slang) all talk; a plan that stays just talk and never happens

Ariel explains that the band’s reunion started as “cuman obrolan, wacana-wacana,” just chatter and wacana. Formally wacana means “discourse” or “discussion,” but in everyday Indonesian slang it means a plan that’s only ever talk and never actually happens. Friends tease each other: “ah, wacana doang” (“you’re all talk”).

The punchline of the clip is the opposite: this wacana finally bergerak (got moving) and became a real comeback. Notice too the careful word choice, comeback, not reuni (reunion), because “reuni itu komplit” (a reunion means everyone), and not all the members returned. A great window into how Indonesians borrow and bend words.

How common are the words?

How common are the words in this B2 Indonesian listening practice video?

77.9%
of words are in the top 2,000 most common Indonesian words
Most of the words in this video are common Indonesian words.

How common in Indonesian

66.2%
Top 1,000
77.9%
Top 2,000
86.9%
Top 5,000

How common in spoken Indonesian

74.1%
Top 1,000
89.7%
Top 2,000
100%
Top 5,000
👄 Words for talking
This video uses words people often say in Indonesian.

Harder words in this video

These words are harder than B2. Here is what they mean.

ajakin
1×
Not in top 5,000
gaspol
1×
Not in top 5,000
(slang) full throttle
keun
1×
Not in top 5,000
(slang) keep it
menginisiasi
1×
Not in top 5,000
ngisi
1×
Not in top 5,000

Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · OpenSubtitles 2018 (HermitDave) (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.

★Where you hear this
  • ▸In Indonesian social media and podcasts
  • ▸Teasing a friend whose plans never materialise: “wacana mulu”
  • ▸In Indonesian music and entertainment news (NOAH / Peterpan)
  • ▸In casual obrolan santai (relaxed chat)
  • ▸Any time Indonesians distinguish big talk from real action

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