Indonesian Idioms: Definition, Types, and Common Examples

Here are some examples of idioms in Indonesian along with their meanings: ‘Clever fox’ means trickery. ‘Onion child’ means a participant not taken seriously. ‘Golden child’ means a favorite child. ‘Raise hand’ means surrender. ‘Smell of galangal’ means lack of experience. ‘Tangled thread’ means a difficult problem to solve. ‘Cold-blooded’ means heartless. ‘Monkey love’ means young love. ‘Blind love’ means loving without logic. ‘Coach debate’ means a debate without logical basis. ‘Four eyes’ means just the two of us. ‘Blind salary’ means receiving a salary without working. ‘Fixed price’ means a price that cannot be negotiated. ‘Land leech’ means a person who likes to lend money with interest (loan shark). ‘Eye play’ means conniving for personal gain. ‘Dead louse’ means powerless. ‘Wall face’ means shameless. ‘Insider’ means a person with connections within an institution. Indonesian idioms are not just a form of speech. Each expression contains cultural meanings, moral values, and local wisdom. For instance, the term ‘backbone’ emphasizes the importance of responsibility, while ‘breaking bones’ reflects the spirit of hard work among Indonesian people. From this, it can be concluded that idioms are a linguistic treasure and a mirror of a nation’s identity. This is the definition of idioms and some examples. Happy learning! The author is a participant in the PRIMA Internship Program for Higher Education Institutions of the Ministry of Religion on detikcom.