IdiomNature
Malay
MalayBagai aur dengan tebing
Meaning: A mutually supportive relationship.
Literally: Like bamboo and the riverbank
Example: “Kedua kedai itu bagai aur dengan tebing, saling membantu.” — The two shops help each other out: you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.
English equivalent: You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours
Origin: A Malay peribahasa (traditional saying): bamboo growing on a riverbank holds the soil together with its roots, and the bank in turn holds the bamboo up. The two depend on each other, and the saying is used of people who help one another.
More Malay idioms
- Ada udang di sebalik batu There is a hidden motive.
- Melepaskan batuk di tangga To do a job half-heartedly and leave it unfinished.
- Kacang lupakan kulit To forget your roots and origins.
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- Courir sur le haricot To get badly on someone's nerves.
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- Eres más lento que el caballo del malo You're painfully slow — the villain's horse never catches the hero.
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