Correct Terminology for household staff?

[waarmstrong]

You are so right. In fact, my rule in the US is "Don't talk about having household staff. Just don't."

We were lucky in that when we were young and innocent, we moved from the US to Micronesia (our first time abroad - and no staff there). Our American neighbors had been posted to Thailand before Micronesia, and often told stories they thought were amusing about their Thai staff. As good liberals who had never lived abroad, we were horrified and judgmental. Now I know better, of course. But the experience taught me a good lesson, which is that people "back home" are unlikely to understand that having staff doesn't mean you are a pretentious twit at best, exploiter of the masses at worst.

Yes, we never introduce the subject, but it does come up as a question now and then, especially when people see our pictures from Indonesia. "Who's that behind the wheel ... in the kitchen ... opening the gate ... etc?" Often the response is the equivalent of a raised eyebrow, especially in frugal, small town Pella where having domestic employees congers up thoughts of a British miniseries set in a bygone era or pre-bellum southern society.

 

[Bad_azz]

When referring to people who work for us to a third party (especially within earshot) we use the word assisten.
"This is Pk W - he is our assisten."
I used the word pembantu the other day when referring to the employee of some friends & my hubby quickly told me "that's not nice".

So I guess it doesn't hurt to use assisten- and on the plus side it is a similar sounding word to the English and it makes people feel more valued so win-win.

 

[Smallworld]

I simply use people's names.

@B_A in 2012 when I was looking for a job in jobstreet there was one advert saying: we are looking for Ass ....I though those people are either jokers or they are people with bad manners. When I showed the advert to my wife she said Ass stand for assistant.

 

[Puspawarna]

I simply use people's names.

That doesn't work if you are hunting for staff - you need to be able to say "Saya cari pembantu" or whatever.

In Pejatan someone's stately house has stained glass windows that have the letters "ASS" embedded in the design. I assume the house belongs to someone named Achmed Susanto Susilo, or something, but it certainly does give you pause the first time you walk by...

 

[Smallworld]

That doesn't work if you are hunting for staff - you need to be able to say "Saya cari pembantu" or whatever.

In Pejatan someone's stately house has stained glass windows that have the letters "ASS" embedded in the design. I assume the house belongs to someone named Achmed Susanto Susilo, or something, but it certainly does give you pause the first time you walk by...

Ok... you got me there.

Pembantu means something like helper/servant. So PRT pembantu rumah tangga is the best to write on the advert. I don't really like such a long profession name. Can we not say: Pembantu rumah? (House helper?)
Is pembantu rumah tangga the same as pengurus rumah tangga?

There is also asisten rumah tangga. Not sure what is the difference.

http://www.lpkcintakeluarga.co.id/p/prt-pembantu-rumah-tangga.html

 

[Mas Mana]

Pembantu means something like helper/servant. So PRT pembantu rumah tangga is the best to write on the advert. I don't really like such a long profession name. Can we not say: Pembantu rumah? (House helper?)

While the term "pembantu rumah" seems to be the norm in Malaysia, I would rather stick with the full term PRT in formal Indonesian. "Rumah tangga" is a (family) household and its daily routines, while "rumah" refers more to the building itself. So PRT seems more precise as a job description here when you are looking for a household help.

 

[roti bakar]

ART=Asisten Rumah Tangga is more popular nowadays among the younger generation (when I say young.....it's like 40 and below).

 

[Smallworld]

ART, PRT .... no I don't buy it. I personally don't like using acronyms. Acronyms are confusing people and are only known to "few" selected one who use them on daily basis or specific environment. It is kind of a like a new language when one word (acronym) could have many meanings. The whole "asistan rumah tangga" is way to long. Eg. do you prefer:

1) Di mana asistan rumah tangga?
2) Di mana pembantu?

 

[nd_eric_77]

ART=Asisten Rumah Tangga is more popular nowadays among the younger generation (when I say young.....it's like 40 and below).

Most of my friends are 45 or younger... And this thread is the only place where I have seen "Asisten rumah tangga". Each year after Lebaran, I see many Whatsapp messages saying "cari pembantu", "cari PRT", or "cari suster"... Have never seen "cari ART"... Then again, my friends are not really into all the politically correct policing of language.

 

[godmachine12]

Some other questions:

• Is there an Indonesian word for "nanny" that is in common use, besides "babysitter"?

‘Pengasuh’ is the proper Indonesian word.

 

[godmachine12]

Koki is an old word equivalent to 'cook', it was used mostly in a professional sense before 'chef' became popular. It's rarely used, even when I still lived in Jakarta. It's not offensive, simply strange.

Other old terms are 'babu' (maid) and 'jongos' (page boy). They have fallen into disuse in the 80's, about the same time Indonesians stopped using tuan/nyonya/nona. These days babu and jongos are considered offensive due to their colonial origin. Jongos today has taken the meaning of minion or henchman.

I've got an older mate who is a cook and he always refers to his position as ‘koki’. He's quite old though, so may have something to do with it. I've only heard ‘jongos’ used one time and it was a woman belittling her driver who had just quit. So there you go haha :-D

 

[atlantis]

I've got an older mate who is a cook and he always refers to his position as ‘koki’. He's quite old though, so may have something to do with it. I've only heard ‘jongos’ used one time and it was a woman belittling her driver who had just quit. So there you go haha :-D

Where does your mate come from? In Melayu Manado we would refer any Chef as "koki", which would be the correct term to use, unless if he is working in an hotel berbintang where we would be calling him Chef.
Anything else would be odd and shows that you are an outsider.

 

[godmachine12]

Where does your mate come from? In Melayu Manado we would refer any Chef as "koki", which would be the correct term to use, unless if he is working in an hotel berbintang where we would be calling him Chef.
Anything else would be odd and shows that you are an outsider.

Born in Pontianak, grew up in Jakarta, has worked all over the archipelago and now resides in Palembang. He does not work in a hotel. Rather, he's got a good-sized ‘warung’ he sells from.

 

[Alia]

There is also "kacung" for page boy, but not so common now days.

 

[atlantis]

Born in Pontianak, grew up in Jakarta, has worked all over the archipelago and now resides in Palembang. He does not work in a hotel. Rather, he's got a good-sized ‘warung’ he sells from.

So, to me, it is definitively not surprising that he calls himself a koki. It is how he would be called where I am. I thought though that it was exclusive of the Eastern Islands but apparently not.

 

[Pak Asam Manis]

My wife sometimes calls the man who puts the trash out, changes lightbulbs and does other small jobs around the house "sayangku" or "suomiku". I also generally refer to the woman who cooks our meals and washes clothes in our household as "sayang", "isteri" or "bini" (Banjarnese).

I am not sure whether these are the official terms or just ones we have adopted informally. Apart from these, sorry I can't be of further help.

 

[godmachine12]

So, to me, it is definitively not surprising that he calls himself a koki. It is how he would be called where I am. I thought though that it was exclusive of the Eastern Islands but apparently not.

I heard it quite a bit in Sulawesi as well, but didn't think anythng of it as it's what I'm use to saying anyway. I much prefer koki to pemasak, juru masak, tukang masak or the terrible knack of just using ‘chef’.

 

[jstar]

Some other questions:

• Is there an Indonesian word for "nanny" that is in common use, besides "babysitter"?
• Does anyone still use the term "koki"? I was under the impression it is a bit offensive/pathetically dated now - kind of like referring to "negroes" in the United States.
• Isn't there a term for "houseboy" that is now considered offensive as well? I can't remember it but it is on the tip of my tongue - I want to say "jasa" but of course that is not it.
• Is there a word in common usage for gardeners? "Tukang kebun" may be a literal translation but I can't say I have ever heard anyone use it. (On the other hand, I've never hired a gardener, so what do I know?)

It might surprise you but quite common is the word suster for a nanny. Mainly when you address the person. This is the same as what they use for a nurse. (From Dutch zuster.)

Koki is still used (from the Dutch work kok of course) and not offensive.

A rather rude word for house boy is kacung, better avoid that.

What you used for gardener is correct.

 

[jstar]

I simply use people's names.

That's very un-Indonesian. Normally someone yells Mbak! Mbak! and that's what the maids are used to. They don't even use names between each other...

 

[Puspawarna]

My wife sometimes calls the man who puts the trash out, changes lightbulbs and does other small jobs around the house "sayangku" or "suomiku". I also generally refer to the woman who cooks our meals and washes clothes in our household as "sayang", "isteri" or "bini" (Banjarnese).

I am not sure whether these are the official terms or just ones we have adopted informally. Apart from these, sorry I can't be of further help.

How did I miss that post until now?