Tobelo (Indonesian: Bahasa Tobelo) is a West Papuan language spoken on the eastern Indonesian island of Halmahera and on parts of several neighboring islands. The Tobelo-speaking heartland is in the district (Indonesian kecematan) of Tobelo, located on the western shore of Kao Bay. The district capital, also known as Tobelo, serves as a regional commercial and administrative center and is the largest settlement on Halmahera.
Six principal dialects are generally recognized (Voorhoeve 1988):
- Heleworuru
- Boeng
- Dodinga
- Lake Paca
- Kukumutuk
- Popon
The Tugutil or "Forest Tobelo" may constitute an additional dialectal variant, but this has not been satisfactorily documented. Intelligibility is not great.
