Learn Indonesian Proverbs: 79 Flashcards, From Coconut-Shell Frogs to Taro Leaves

Indonesian has a rich stock of peribahasa — rhyming, image-heavy proverbs about rafts, taro leaves and coconut shells. The Flip It deck Indonesian Idioms & Proverbs (GL3342) gives you 79 English → Indonesian cards, but they are not 79 proverbs. Knowing how the deck is built tells you what to learn first.

Two decks in one

• Cards 1-25 and 37-47: real peribahasa. This is the gold. Sayings like tong kosong nyaring bunyinya are what Indonesians actually quote.
• Cards 26-36 and 48-79: English idioms explained in plain Indonesian. To spill the beans → membocorkan rahasia ("to leak a secret"). Useful for comprehension, but these backs are definitions, not idioms. Don't drop kaki dingin (card 30) into conversation: it is a calque of "cold feet". Say ciut nyali instead.

So learn the proverb block first, then use the second block as a fast "meaning" glossary.

Cards worth learning first

Also covered: bersatu kita teguh, bercerai kita runtuh, alah bisa karena biasa, buah simalakama, siapa yang menabur, dia yang menuai, tak ada asap tanpa api, berat sama dipikul, ringan sama dijinjing, di balik kesulitan ada kemudahan, hikmah di balik musibah, mulut besar, senasib sepenanggungan, mencairkan suasana, harganya selangit, ikut-ikutan, tepat sasaran, kena batunya.

Five cards to rewrite

These backs are wrong or don't match the front:

1. Card 4, seperti air di daun talas: this means "fickle, never sticking to one opinion" (water rolls around on a taro leaf). It does not mean "like water off a duck's back". Re-front it as wishy-washy.
2. Card 5, berakit-rakit ke hulu, berenang-renang ke tepian: the second half is bersakit-sakit dahulu, bersenang-senang kemudian, "suffer first, enjoy later". That is no pain, no gain, not actions speak louder than words.
3. Card 9, menimba air di keramba is not the proverb for strike while the iron is hot. A closer match is mumpung ("while the chance lasts").
4. Card 39, rajin pangkal pandai means "diligence is the root of cleverness". For the early bird catches the worm, siapa cepat dia dapat fits better.
5. Card 37, ayam bertelur gigi is rare. The standard way to say "never" is menunggu kucing bertanduk ("wait for the cat to grow horns").

Study tips specific to this deck

• Learn the literal image first. Add the literal reading to the hint (tempurung = coconut shell, talas = taro). Most peribahasa follow a "like X, Y" pattern (seperti, bagai), and the picture is what makes them stick.
• Merge the collisions. Cards 31 and 55 have the same back (membocorkan rahasia). So do 57 and 61 (sependapat), and 1 and 74 (heavy rain). Cards 12 and 41 are the same proverb with its halves swapped. Keep one of each pair, or Indonesian → English review will become guesswork.

Keep going

Learn the core words that carry these proverbs with our guide to Indonesian Vocabulary: 1000 Words in Frequency Order. If you collect proverbs in other languages, compare them with Hindi Idioms and Proverbs.

To find the deck, open Flip It and search for GL3342.