temen

Temen is an informal Indonesian term meaning friend, used in casual speech and online communication. It is a slang variant of the standard word teman and is widely heard in everyday conversation, social media, and popular culture. Temen carries a sense of familiarity and informality, and is not typically appropriate for formal writing or official contexts.

In everyday use, temen can refer to a single friend, as in temen gue (my friend), or to friends collectively. The plural is often expressed with temen-temen, a common casual construction equivalent to “my friends” or “the friends.” Standard Indonesian would use teman-teman in formal or written contexts. The form temen is especially common among younger speakers and in online communication, where slang and shortened forms are prevalent.

Etymology and status: temen is a colloquial evolution from the root temen/teman, with the final syllable simplified in casual speech. It remains widespread across Indonesia and in Malay-speaking regions where informal speech influences daily language. While widely understood, temen is best avoided in formal discourse.

See also: teman, bahasa gaul, slank, Indonesian slang.