panjang tangan
Literally long hand
Means a thief, someone prone to stealing
Example Hati-hati dengan dia, katanya dia panjang tangan.
An idiom is a phrase you cannot translate word for word. Here are 15 of the most common Indonesian idioms, each with its literal translation, real meaning, and an example sentence, so you know what natives actually mean.
Common Indonesian idioms are everyday expressions whose meaning cannot be guessed from the individual words. For example, panjang tangan literally means "long hand" but is used to mean a thief, someone prone to stealing. This free tool lists 15 real Indonesian idioms, each with its literal translation, meaning, and an example sentence.
All 15 Indonesian idioms, with meanings and examples.
Guess the meaning, then tap a card to check.
Idiom list verified as of July 2026.
panjang tangan
Literally long hand
Means a thief, someone prone to stealing
Example Hati-hati dengan dia, katanya dia panjang tangan.
kepala dingin
Literally cold head
Means calm and composed
Example Kita harus menghadapi masalah ini dengan kepala dingin.
buah bibir
Literally fruit of the lips
Means the talk of the town, a topic everyone gossips about
Example Skandal artis itu jadi buah bibir di mana-mana.
naik daun
Literally rise leaf
Means to become popular, a rising star
Example Sejak filmnya sukses, aktor itu semakin naik daun.
besar kepala
Literally big head
Means arrogant, conceited
Example Jangan besar kepala dulu, ini baru kemenangan pertama.
cuci tangan
Literally to wash hands
Means to wash one's hands of something, avoid responsibility
Example Setelah proyek gagal, dia malah cuci tangan.
gulung tikar
Literally to roll up the mat
Means to go bankrupt, go out of business
Example Banyak restoran gulung tikar selama pandemi.
kutu buku
Literally book louse
Means a bookworm
Example Sejak kecil, dia memang kutu buku.
tangan kanan
Literally right hand
Means a trusted right hand man or close assistant
Example Pak Budi adalah tangan kanan direktur di perusahaan ini.
banting tulang
Literally to slam bones
Means to work extremely hard, work oneself to the bone
Example Ayahku banting tulang siang malam demi menyekolahkan kami.
mulut manis
Literally sweet mouth
Means flattery, sweet talk
Example Jangan mudah percaya pada mulut manis penjual itu.
meja hijau
Literally green table
Means a court of law, legal proceedings
Example Sengketa tanah itu akhirnya diselesaikan di meja hijau.
otak udang
Literally shrimp brain
Means stupid, foolish
Example Kamu ini otak udang, disuruh belok kiri malah belok kanan.
tebal muka
Literally thick face
Means shameless, brazen
Example Dasar tebal muka, sudah salah masih saja membantah.
cari muka
Literally to look for face
Means to curry favor, suck up to someone
Example Dia selalu cari muka di depan atasannya.
Idioms stick when you see them in context, not on a list. Lingo7 lets you read real Indonesian books with sentence-aligned translation and native-narrated audio, so you meet idioms in the wild and tap any line you do not get. Save them and review later. Free to start.
An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is fixed by convention, not built from its words. That is why a word-for-word translation fails: Panjang tangan comes out as "long hand", which makes no sense until you know it means a thief, someone prone to stealing.
Learn a few at a time, not a whole list. Pick the ones you keep running into, say them out loud in a real sentence, and you will remember them far longer than by drilling flashcards.
The most reliable way to absorb idioms is to meet them in context, again and again, in things you actually read. Parallel text and audio let you catch an idiom in a real Indonesian sentence and check what it means without breaking your reading. That is what reading in Lingo7 is built for.
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Some of the most common Indonesian idioms are panjang tangan, kepala dingin, buah bibir, naik daun. Each one means something you could not guess from the words alone, which is exactly why learners have to meet them in context. This tool lists 15 of them with their meaning and an example sentence.
In Indonesian, "panjang tangan" translates literally as "long hand", but it actually means a thief, someone prone to stealing. You would use it like this: Hati-hati dengan dia, katanya dia panjang tangan.
Idioms are non-compositional: their meaning is fixed by convention, not built from the individual words. Panjang tangan translates literally as "long hand", yet it means a thief, someone prone to stealing. Translate word for word and you get nonsense, so idioms have to be learned as whole units.
The fastest way is to meet them in context and reuse them, not to memorize a list. Learn a handful at a time, notice them while reading and listening, and try them in your own sentences. Reading real Indonesian with tap-to-translate, the way Lingo7 works, turns every page into idiom practice.