Belajar Peribahasa

By Speak Indo, original reading practice from the Speak Indo course.

Learning Indonesian Sayings. A teacher explains a few common Indonesian sayings and what they mean.

The dialogue, line by line

1. Hari ini kita belajar peribahasa.
   Today we are learning proverbs.
2. Susah tidak, Bu?
   Are they difficult?
3. Tidak, kalau tahu artinya.
   Not if you know the meaning.
4. Contohnya apa?
   What is an example?
5. Ada udang di balik batu.
   There is a prawn behind the rock.
6. Artinya ada udang sungguhan?
   Does it mean there is a real prawn?
7. Bukan. Artinya ada maksud tersembunyi.
   No. It means there is a hidden motive.
8. Menarik. Ada lagi?
   Interesting. Is there another?
9. Sambil menyelam minum air.
   Drinking water while diving.
10. Itu artinya melakukan dua hal sekaligus?
    Does that mean doing two things at once?
11. Betul sekali.
    Exactly right.
12. Orang di sini sering pakai peribahasa?
    Do people here use proverbs often?
13. Cukup sering, terutama orang tua.
    Quite often, especially older people.
14. Saya mau menghafal beberapa.
    I want to memorise a few.
15. Bagus. Peribahasa mewakili cara berpikir kami.
    Good. Proverbs represent the way we think.

Vocabulary in this dialogue

• hari ini, today
• kita, we (including you)
• belajar, to study
• tidak, no
• kalau, if / when (casual)
• tahu, to know (a fact)
• apa, what
• ada, there is
• udang, shrimp / prawn
• di, at
• batu, stone / rock
• bukan, not (with nouns)