Halo!
I’m late by a day to celebrate Indonesia’s National Education Day, which is celebrated on May 2nd every year, as it was the birth date of Ki Hadjar Dewantara, a national hero who is heralded as Indonesia’s education founding father. In Indonesia, the day, which is called ‘Hari Pendidikan Nasional’ or ‘Hardiknas’ for short, is not a public holiday, but schools usually commemorate them. Right, let’s get on to today’s post!
This time, I’m writing about proverbs in Indonesia, which we call ‘peribahasa’. As with proverbs in general, most peribahasa also gives life lessons, advices, and behavioural lessons. I was originally confused between proverb and idiom, but I think peribahasa is more of a proverb, though below I’ll also give some idioms which has a relation to the corresponding proverbs.
There are a lot of peribahasa, and not all are known to all Indonesians. I’ll just give some of the more famous peribahasa along with their meaning/lesson and direct translation to English. I will also sort them by how familiar I think they are in our ears AKA from the ones most often heard to the most seldom.
1. Ada udang di balik batu
English translation: ‘There is a shrimp behind the stone’
Meaning: There is a hidden purpose/intent behind the action; Describing the actions of black-bellied or haraguro characters
2. Besar pasak daripada tiang
English translation: ‘The bolt is bigger than the pillar’
Meaning: Expense is bigger than income; Kinda like ‘In the red’
3. Bagai pinang dibelah dua
English translation: ‘Like betel nut split in two’
Meaning: Two people or things that are so similar they are almost impossible to be differentiated
There is also the idiom ‘sebelas-dua belas’, translated as ‘eleven-twelve’, which is used to say that two things or people only have very slight difference
At the other hand of the spectrum, there’s a proverb ‘bagai langit dan bumi’ or ‘like the sky and the earth’, which is used to say that the difference is too big
4. Sedia paying sebelum hujan
English translation: ‘Prepare umbrella before the rain’
Meaning: Being ready before disaster strikes
5. Malu bertanya, sesat di jalan
English translation: ‘Shy to ask, lost in the way’
Meaning: If you’re reluctant in seeking others’ opinion, you will have difficulties facing problems
6. Sudah jatuh, tertimpa tangga
English translation: ‘After falling down, struck by ladder’
Meaning: Experiencing bad luck one after another
7. Bertepuk sebelah tangan
English translation: ‘Clapping on one side’
Meaning: Only comes from one side, usually referring to kindness or affection
For example, ‘my love is one-sided’ can be said as ‘cintaku bertepuk sebelah tangan’
8. Sekali mendayung, dua tiga pulau terlampaui
English translation: ‘With one row, go past two or three islands’
Meaning: Doing one thing but getting more result than the effort; Kill two birds with one stone
9. Nasi sudah menjadi bubur
English translation: ‘Rice has become porridge’
Meaning: Something that has happened and cannot be rectified; Kinda like ‘there is no use crying over spilled milk’
10. Tak kenal maka tak sayang
English translation: ‘Not familiar so not dear’
Meaning: Someone’s real character cannot be known if we are not familiar with them
11. Diam-diam menghanyutkan or air tenang menghanyutkan
English translation: ‘Quietly drifting others’ or ‘calm water drifts others’
Meaning: Quiet people have more knowledge, though in the process it now has the connotation of when a person stays quiet but is actually directing the flow of conversation/activity
12. Jauh di mata, dekat di hati
English translation: ‘Far in the eyes, close at the heart’
Meaning: Always being remembered even when far away from each other; ‘Being held close to one’s heart’
13. Tong kosong nyaring bunyinya
English translation: ‘Empty tank has loud sound’
Meaning: Someone who lacks knowledge usually speaks/brags a lot
There is also another proverb with similar meaning: ‘air beriak tanda tak dalam’ or ‘rippling water marks shallow water’ which means that loud people usually lacks knowledge
14. Sedikit demi sedikit, lama-lama menjadi bukit
English translation: ‘Little by little, slowly becomes a hill’
Meaning: Anything (originally refers to effort) done little by little will result in bigger reward; Kinda like ‘slow and steady wins the race’
15. Gali lubang, tutup lubang
English translation: ‘Digging a hole, closing a hole’
Meaning: Paying old debt using new debt
16. Senjata makan tuan
English translation: ‘Weapon eating its master’
Meaning: Something that is planned to hurt others but then hurts the planner themselves
17. Seperti anak ayam kehilangan induknya
English translation: ‘Like a chick losing its mother’
Meaning: Describing people who are confused/panicking because they lost their leader; Kinda like when someone is running around like a headless chicken because their leader cannot be found anywhere
18. Sudah banyak makan asam garam
English translation: ‘Already consumed many acid and salt’
Meaning: Having a lot of live experience
19. Berakit-rakit ke hulu, berenang-renang ke tepian. Bersakit-sakit dahulu, bersenang-senang kemudian
English translation: ‘Rowing upstream, swim to the edge. Suffer first, have fun later’
Meaning: To achieve success, you have to first dare to work very hard
This proverb is also a pantun, which is a type of Indonesian poem, as evidenced by how it has four lines (divided by comma and full-stop here), has 8-12 syllables per line, consists of a sampiran followed by the main body of the message, and has a rhyme (in this case a-b-a-b)
20. Sepandai-pandai tupai melompat, sekali waktu jatuh juga
English translation: ‘No matter how capable squirrels are at jumping, sometimes they will also fall’
Meaning: Nobody is perfect, everyone has done some mistakes; No matter how well an evil is covered, it will be discovered in the end
21. Air susu dibalas air tuba
English translation: ‘Milk is returned with water from poisonous plant’
Meaning: Kindness is replied with wickedness/evil; Good deed is replied with bad deed
22. Datang tak dijemput, pulang tak diantar
English translation: ‘Arriving without being picked up, going home without being accompanied’
Meaning: A guest who’s not being hoped nor cared for; Neglected guest; Unimportant guest
More recently this term is used as part of a ritual to summon a spirit into a jelangkung, a kind of voodoo doll from Indonesia, as the spirit is invited but the caster won’t pick up nor accompany the spirit home.
23. Gajah di pelupuk mata tak tampak, semut di seberang lautan tampak
English translation: ‘An elephant in eyelids goes unseen, an ant across the ocean is seen’
Meaning: One’s own mistake is never seen, but the smallest mistake of others is seen clearly
I think this one derived from the (Christian) Bible, though I’m not sure whether there is an English version or not (both Luke and Matthew has them, I think)
24. Bagaikan burung di dalam sangkar
English translation: ‘Like a bird in a cage’; ‘Like a caged bird’
Meaning: Living a life full of restraints
25. Tak ada gading yang tak retak
English translation: ‘There are no ivory that doesn’t crack’
Meaning: Nothing and no one is perfect
26. Bagai telur di ujung tanduk
English translation: ‘Like egg on horn point’
Meaning: A situation where someone is in grave danger
27. Di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung
English translation: ‘Where earth is stepped on, there is where the sky is upheld’
Meaning: Wherever someone goes, they have to observe the local customs; Kinda like ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do’
28. Di atas langit masih ada langit
English translation: ‘There is still a sky above the sky’
Meaning: Do not be arrogant, as there will always be someone greater than you
29. Makan hati berulam rasa
English translation: ‘Eating liver filled with flavours’
Meaning Suffering because of loved ones’ action; Being hurt by someone you love
30. Dikasih hati, minta jantung
English translation: ‘Given liver, asked for heart’
Meaning: Someone who doesn’t show appreciation and keep whining; Someone who takes others for granted
Fun fact: ‘liver’ in Bahasa Indonesia is ‘hati’ and ‘heart’ is ‘jantung’, but a ‘heart’ (such as the emoticon or when professing your love) is ‘hati’ in Bahasa Indonesia
31. Gajah mati meninggalkan gading, harimau mati meninggalkan belang, orang mati meninggalkan nama
English translation: ‘Elephant died leaving ivory, tiger died leaving stripes, people died leaving name’
Meaning: Once they passed away, good people will have good reputation, bad people will have bad reputation; People will be remembered according to what they have done when they’re alive
Another proverb with a similar meaning is ‘hancur badan dikandung tanah, budi baik terkenang jua’, translated as ‘even when the body disintegrated in soil, good character will be remembered’, and has the meaning that even though human body will not last forever, people with good character will always be remembered
32. Berguru kepalang ajar bagai bunga kembang tak jadi
English translation: ‘Apprenticing abysmally is like flower unable to bloom’
Meaning: Half-assed learning won’t give any benefit
33. Habis manis, sepah dibuang
English translation: ‘After sweet, waste is thrown’
Meaning: Being thrown away or abandoned after being deemed of no use anymore
34. Cepat kaki, ringan tangan
English translation: ‘Nimble feet, light hands’
Meaning: Someone who like to help sincerely
The idiom ‘ringan tangan’ or ‘light hands’ itself, though, can mean both ‘likes to help’ and ‘easily hit/punch someone simply due to small problems’, so be careful when using it
Conversely, the idiom ‘panjang tangan’ or ‘long hands’ means someone who likes to steal or a kleptomaniac
35. Ada gula, ada semut
English translation: ‘There is sugar, there are ants’
Meaning: Wherever there is a celebration, people will flock; There will always be a reaction when something happens; The cause and effect law
Another proverb with similar meaning is ‘ada asap, ada api’, which is translated as ‘there is smoke, there is fire’, though this proverb can also mean a close friendship where one cannot be found without the other AKA ‘attached at the hip’
On the contrary, the proverb ‘seperti air dan minyak’, which is translated as ‘like water and oil’, means people who can never get along with each other
36. Sambil menyelam, minum air
English translation: ‘While diving, drinks water’
Meaning: Doing two things simultaneously
37. Berat sama dipikul, ringan sama dijinjing
English translation: ‘Heavy weight carried on shoulder together, light weight carried on hand together’
Meaning: Being together during bad and good times; bearing any hardships together
38. Bagai musuh dalam selimut
English translation: ‘Like an enemy inside you blanket’
Meaning: A traitorous close friend, like Brutus to Julius Caesar according to Shakespeare
39. Dari telaga yang jernih tidak akan mengalir air yang keruh
English translation: ‘From a clear lake there will be no murky water flowing’
Meaning: Good people will have good children, kinda like ‘the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’ but exclusively in a positive way
40. Kacang lupa akan kulitnya
English translation: ‘Peanuts forgot about their shell’
Meaning: People who forgets their origin; Impertinent people
If you’ve seen the story of Malin Kundang, this proverb describes him perfectly
…I’m tired, and you’re probably too, so I’ll stop here.
But don’t worry, I’ve covered the more common ones, so you won’t be confused when hearing these phrases anymore.
To simplify the process, I’ve listed the proverbs in a table below, sorted alphabetically from A to Z (or, well, to T) with their corresponding number for their explanation above.
Thanks for reading. See you soon~
Proverbs (Bahasa Indonesia) | No. |
Ada asap, ada api | 35 |
Ada gula, ada semut | 35 |
Ada udang di balik batu | 1 |
Air beriak tanda tak dalam | 13 |
Air susu dibalas air tuba | 21 |
Bagai langit dan bumi | 3 |
Bagai musuh dalam selimut | 38 |
Bagai pinang dibelah dua | 3 |
Bagai telur di ujung tanduk | 26 |
Bagaikan burung di dalam sangkar | 24 |
Berakit-rakit ke hulu, berenang-renang ke tepian | 19 |
Berat sama dipikul, ringan sama dijinjing | 37 |
Berguru kepalang ajar bagai bunga kembang tak jadi | 32 |
Bertepuk sebelah tangan | 7 |
Besar pasak daripada tiang | 2 |
Cepat kaki, ringan tangan (ringan tangan & panjang tangan also explained) | 34 |
Dari telaga yang jernih tidak akan mengalir air yang keruh | 39 |
Datang tak dijemput, pulang tak diantar | 22 |
Di atas langit masih ada langit | 28 |
Di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung | 27 |
Diam-diam menghanyutkan | 11 |
Dikasih hati, minta jantung | 30 |
Gajah di pelupuk mata tak tampak, semut di seberang lautan tampak | 23 |
Gajah mati meninggalkan gading, harimau mati meninggalkan belang, orang mati meninggalkan nama | 31 |
Gali lubang, tutup lubang | 15 |
Habis manis, sepah dibuang | 33 |
Hancur badan dikandung tanah, budi baik terkenang jua | 31 |
Jauh di mata, dekat di hati | 12 |
Kacang lupa akan kulitnya | 40 |
Makan hati berulam rasa | 29 |
Malu bertanya, sesat di jalan | 5 |
Nasi sudah menjadi bubur | 9 |
Sambil menyelam, minum air | 36 |
Sebelas-dua belas | 3 |
Sedia payung sebelum hujan | 4 |
Sedikit-sedikit, lama-lama menjadi bukit | 14 |
Sekali mendayung, dua tiga pulau terlampaui | 8 |
Senjata makan tuan | 16 |
Sepandai-pandai tupai melompat, sekali waktu jatuh juga | 20 |
Seperti anak ayam kehilangan induknya | 17 |
Seperti air dan minyak | 35 |
Sudah banyak makan asam garam | 18 |
Sudah jatuh tertimpa tangga | 6 |
Tak ada gading yang tak retak | 25 |
Tak kenal maka tak sayang | 10 |
Tong kosong nyaring bunyinya | 13 |
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