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- Topic: Indonesian >
- "Dia minta sambal dan kecap."
29 Comments
"Minta" has been translated three different ways in these tests: order, request and ask. How do I know which is the right one to use in which context?
1599
The Indonesian word "kecap" and the English "ketchup" come from the same source (most likely from the Min Nan Chinese 鮭汁, meaning something like "fish sauce"), but they mean different things now.
On another note, is both "ketchup" and "tomato sauce" referred to as "saus tomat" in Indonesian?
Underrated comment. All you English speakers wondering where the word "ketchup" came from, this Indonesian word is connected to it.
- 894
No... ketchup is soy sauce.. ketchup is made from soy bean. Saus tomat is tomato sauce. Here we have salted ketchup (kecap asin) and sweet ketchup/ sweet soy sauce (kecap manis).
Shouldn't it be sweet soy sauce for kecap? ...or kecap asin of just soy sauce?
Sweet soy sauce is "Kecap manis" and salty soy sauce is "Kecap asin". Kecap just means soy sauce, but since in Indonesia they mostly use sweet soy sauce people just call it Kecap.
When I lived in Indonesia my students referred to soy sauce as kecap asin and their sweet soy sauce as kecap manis. Never heard kecap used alone.
This may just be because I grew up with mum always ordering it, but I thought sambal was like 'chilli'/'chilli sauce'?
Sambal is a sort of chili sauce, but originates from Indonesia / Malaysia. It's usually a bit "chunkier" so to say and often still contains the seeds and bits of the chili.
- 198
There are hundreds of varieties of sambal, and it need not contain the seeds. It can be chunky but doesn't have to be. I would call it a spicy condiment.
Kecap is more correctly translated as 'sweet soy sauce' in English. 'Soy sauce' is a different product.
Duolingo didn't like my translation of kecap as sweet soy sauce, and marked it wrong. Duolingo preferred "soy sauce."
Duo used to flag typos, etc. (sambah vs sambal). Without this feature, Duo reinforces errors by accepting them without comment/correction.
- 201
In Indonesia if you ask for kecap, you will NOT get salty soy sauce. If you ask for "kecap asin", you WILL get salty soy sauce (if they have it).
Kecap manis is the most commonly consumed soy based sauce in Indonesia. If you ask for "kecap" you will be given kecap manis, unless you specify kecap asin. Many warungs do not even have kecap asin, only kecap manis.
If you go to a "bule" restaurant, and ask for ketchup because the just brought french fries, they will bring you saus tomat, which is western style ketchup.
It is soy sauce, not sou sauce. In most places it is a salty sauce made from soy beans, but there is also a sweet version called kecap manis which is used more in Indonesia.
Sometimes kecap is soy sauce and sometimes sweet soy sauce.. why? So confused..
