Chat in English with someone who speaks Indonesian

With Piou, you write in English and your contact writes in Indonesian. With Piou Premium, every Indonesian message appears in English on your phone, translated on the device itself, and the original stays one tap away. For your contact to read you in Indonesian, they need Premium too, or you can gift it to them.

How it works between English and Indonesian

Piou detects the language of each message on the sender's phone and stores it exactly as written. Translation happens on the recipient's device, into the recipient's language: you read English, your villa manager reads Indonesian, and nobody has to change the way they type.

The engine depends on the device:

• iPhone: Apple's built-in translation, on iOS 18 or later.
• Android: ML Kit by Google, with models downloaded to the phone.
• Web app: the open source Bergamot engine with Firefox Translations models running in the browser, or Chrome's built-in translation on a computer when available. English and Indonesian form a direct pair on the web.

A translated message carries the label Translated. Tap Show original to see exactly what was written, useful for an address or a price. Translations never leave your device; the messages themselves are stored on Piou's servers in their original language so they can be delivered and synced.

Language packs download once, ideally over Wi-Fi; after that, translation and Face to face mode work offline. The free plan is a complete messenger, with messages shown in their original language. Premium adds automatic translation, voice messages transcribed and translated, translated subtitles during calls and Face to face mode.

What an exchange looks like

Chloe rents out a villa in Canggu. Her manager, Pak Wayan, writes in Indonesian. Here is roughly what each of them sees:

• Wayan writes: “Bu, tamu dari Australia sdh check in jam 2. Pompa kolam bunyi lagi, sy panggil tukang besok pagi ya. Biayanya kira2 350rb.” → Chloe reads: “Ma'am, the guests from Australia checked in at 2. The pool pump is making noise again, I'll call a repairman tomorrow morning. The cost is about 350rb.”
• Chloe replies: “Thanks, Pak Wayan! Yes, please call him, and send me a photo of the invoice.” → Wayan reads: “Terima kasih, Pak Wayan! Ya, tolong panggil dia, dan kirimkan saya foto tagihannya.”

“Bu”, short for “Ibu”, is the respectful way to address a woman; a translation may turn it into “Mom”. Shorthand like “sdh” (sudah) and “sy” (saya) went through this time, but “350rb” didn't: rb stands for ribu, thousand, so the repair costs about IDR 350,000. When an amount matters, ask for the full figure.

Tips for chatting with Indonesian speakers

• Pak and Bu. “Pak” (from Bapak) for a man and “Bu” (from Ibu) for a woman, followed by the first name, is the polite default with staff, landlords and elders. In Jakarta you'll also hear “Mas” and “Mbak” for younger adults.
• Balinese birth-order names. Many Balinese are named by birth order, so you may know several Wayans, Mades, Nyomans and Ketuts. Save contacts with a full name or a role.
• Confirm the specifics. A friendly “nanti” (later) or “besok” (tomorrow) can be vague. Ask for a day and a time in digits, and confirm the price before work starts.
• Time zones. Bali is on WITA (UTC+8) and Jakarta on WIB (UTC+7), an hour apart, so mention the zone when you schedule across islands.
• Religious calendar. During Ramadan, many people fast from dawn to sunset and schedules may shift; around Lebaran, many staff travel home for days. In Bali, temple ceremonies can also call people away. Plan ahead.
• Money formats. Indonesian uses dots for thousands: “Rp1.500.000” is one and a half million rupiah, and “1,5 jt” means the same.

Where translation can stumble

• Shorthand and slang. Abbreviations like yg, gk, bgt, udh or blm, laughter like “wkwk”, and Jakarta slang such as “gue” (I) and “lo” (you) often come out wrong.
• Formal or informal. The translation picks “Anda” or “kamu” for your “you”, and the choice may change from one message to the next.
• He or she. Indonesian “dia” means both “he” and “she”, so the translation guesses. Add the name when it matters.
• Regional languages. Balinese, Javanese and Sundanese aren't supported, and messages mixing them with Indonesian translate poorly.
• Mixed messages. Sentences like “meeting-nya di-reschedule” blend English and Indonesian and can come out garbled.
• Numbers and dates. Decimal and thousands separators are the reverse of English, and dates are written day first: 5/11 is November 5. Check amounts and dates in the original.

Getting started

1. Install Piou on iPhone (iOS 18 or later) or Android (8.0 or later), or use the web app at app.piou.chat.
2. In Settings → Language & translation, choose English, then download English and Indonesian, ideally over Wi-Fi.
3. Invite your staff or partner with a link, a QR code or from your address book. They need Piou to message you.
4. Start the 7-day free trial to turn on translation. A card is required, nothing is charged for 7 days, and the subscription then starts automatically at the price shown unless you cancel before the trial ends.
5. Use Gift Piou to someone so your manager or partner reads you in Indonesian, and send door codes with Disappearing messages, set to 24 hours, 7 days or 90 days.