ribu

Ribu is the Indonesian word for thousand. It is used when naming numbers in the thousands range by combining with other numerals: dua ribu (2,000), tiga ribu (3,000), empat ribu (4,000), and so on. The independent form seribu denotes exactly one thousand and is often preferred for that specific value. In everyday language, seribu and ribu appear in both formal and informal speech; ribu is used for larger multiples of a thousand, while seribu tends to refer to the single thousand in isolation or in fixed expressions such as seribu meter.

In numeric writing, Indonesian uses spaces to separate words in large numbers; for digits, a period serves as the thousands separator (for example 2.000) and a comma as the decimal separator (3,14). The term ribu also appears in idiomatic expressions such as ribu-ribu, which conveys a large but indefinite quantity of thousands.

Etymology and related terms: ribu is native to Indonesian and Malay, forming a core numeral unit alongside seribu. It is part of a larger numeral system that includes juta for million, miliar for billion, and triliun for trillion. This scale is used across formal writing, commerce, and education, and follows the same basic rules for combining numerals to express larger numbers.

See also: seribu, juta, miliar, triliun, bahasa Indonesia numbers.