How to Say "Beef" in Indonesian

daging sapi

/ˈdaɡiŋ ˈsapi/word by word

The Indonesian word for beef is daging sapi.

Daging sapi refers specifically to beef. If the type of animal is already understood from the context, you may simply use daging to mean meat.

Meaning: meat (noun)

What does it mean word for word?

The phrase is composed of daging, meaning meat and sapi, meaning cow.

While daging sapi is used for beef, daging ayam is the term used to refer to chicken meat.

/ˈdaɡiŋ ˈsapi/

In Indonesian slang, the term daging is sometimes used metaphorically to describe the 'meat' or the most essential and valuable part of a speech, lecture or piece of advice.
The word sapi is thought to have originated from the Awyu language of Papua, rather than a common Austronesian root.
In Indonesia, the word daging is often used as a general term for meat, but in many traditional markets, simply asking for daging without specifying the animal may result in being offered beef by default.

Daging sapi itu mahal.
Beef is expensive.
This sentence is useful for describing the price of daging sapi.
Tatoeba #11951666 by Pacific, translation #9192040 by CK
Tom tidak suka daging sapi.
Tom doesn't like beef.
This sentence is useful for expressing a dislike for daging sapi.
Tatoeba #5239366 by Bilmanda, translation #1026056 by CK
Ini daging sapi atau daging babi?
Is this beef or pork?
This sentence is useful for asking if a certain meat is daging sapi or pork.
Tatoeba #12196659 by Pacific, translation #4013689 by CK
Saya ingin membeli daging sapi di pasar.
I want to buy beef at the market.
Pada acara formal ini, kami menyajikan hidangan daging sapi.
In this formal event, we are serving beef dishes.
Di warung makan ini, mereka punya variasi menu sapi yang lezat.
In this restaurant, they have delicious beef menu variations.
Aku ingin membeli daging sapi segar untuk masakan hari ini.
I want to buy fresh beef for today's dish.
Restoran ini terkenal dengan steak sapi mereka yang lezat.
This restaurant is famous for their delicious beef steak.
1 more sentence on Tatoeba

Adi and Maya are choosing ingredients at a market.

Sources

Wiktionary, “beef” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (daging, sapi) and can differ in connected speech.
Word origins: Wiktionary entries daging, sapi, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.

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