zahrawati eka
Would you please give me some examples of proverbs and their meaning from your country?

In indonesia there are lots of proverbs, some of them are:

“Tak ada asap tanpa api” it means that there is no effect without some causes.

“Ada udang di balik batu” it means that there is a hidden motive behind an act.

“Dimana bumi dipijak, disitu langit dijunjung” it means that wherever we live, we must observe the local custome.

Do you have some examples of proverbs from your country? Could you please explain what is the meaning of each proverb?

Dec 23, 2013 8:35 AM
Comments · 4

In English, your first proverb would be translated as "There is no smoke without fire".

December 23, 2013

There are a lot of proverbs in Russia.

Here some of them:

 

Economy is a good servant but a bad master.

 

Your elbow is close, yet you can't bite it.

 

God gave, God took back.

 

Third time is a charm.; Third time is a lucky.

 

December 23, 2013

Hey I'm from Indonesia too. Don't forget this proverb

"Kuman di seberang lautan tampak, gajah di pelupuk mata tak tampak" in English => "The bacterium across the sea is seen, but the elephant on the eyelid is not seen."

 

It means = The faults of others are easier to see than our own faults.

December 23, 2013

An English version of your third proverb would be, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" (or, more often shortened to simply "when in Rome..."). It also means to adapt to the customs of the place where you are.

 

"Out of the frying pan, into the fire" - something was bad and instead of it getting better, it just got even worse.

 

"Better the devil you know than the one you don't" - sort of the opposite of the one above. Maybe something isn't that great, but maybe an alternative would be worse.

 

"The early bird gets the worm" - it pays to be the first, the earliest, etc. because you'll reap the rewards while others are still sleeping, etc.

December 23, 2013