Proverbs and Sayings Equivalent of Malay Peribahasa

A student must include idioms, proverbs or sayings in their essay if they want to get high marks. However, Malay students tend to know more of the Malay peribahasa than its English equivalent. I list here several English proverbs which I think give the nearest meaning for the Malay peribahasa..

A bird in hand is worth two in the bush – yang dikejar tak dapat, yang dikendong berciciran

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth – hutang darah dibayar darah, hutang nyawa, nyawa padahnya

Better to be safe than sorry – Biar lambat asal selamat

Between the devil and the deep blue sea – ditelan mati emak, diluah mati bapak

Blood is thicker than water – air dicincang tak akan putus

Cut your coat according to your cloth – ukur baju di badan sendiri

Diamond cuts diamond – bertemu buku dengan ruas

Don’t judge a book by its cover – air yang tenang jangan disangka tiada buaya

Empty vessels make the most noise – tong yang kosonglah yang selalu berkocak

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me – takkan pisang berbuah dua kali

Give someone an inch and they will take a mile (yard) – beri betis hendakkan paha

In for a penny, in for a pound – sedikit-sedikit lama-lama jadi bukit

It never rains but it pours – sudah jatuh ditimpa tangga

It’s no use crying over spilt milk – sudah terhantuk, baru terngadah

Kill two birds with one stone – sambil menyelam minum air

Like father, like son – bapa borek, anak rintik

Many hands make light work – ringan sama dijinjing, berat sama dipikul
No garden without weeds - bumi mana tidak ditimpa hujan
No pain no gain - kalau tak dipecahkan ruyung, manakan dapat sagunya
No retreat, no surrender - biar putih tulang, jangan putih mata

Practice makes perfect – alah bisa tegal biasa

Time is money – masa itu emas

Where there is a will, there is a way – di mana ada kemahuan, di situ ada jalan

Feel free to add some more in the comments below for our students' sake. You may also comment if those given above are inaccurate.

GOOD LUCK IN YOUR SPM!