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Glossary entry

Indonesian term or phrase:

Dunia tak selebar daun kelor.

English translation:

The world is bigger than your backyard.

Added to glossary by Catherine Muir
Apr 24, 2012 05:09
12 yrs ago
3 viewers *
Indonesian term

Dunia tak selebar daun kelor.

Indonesian to English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature early 20th Century Indonesian novel
I know that this is a common expression which is similar in meaning, I think, to the English expression 'it's a small world.' Am I correct?
Proposed translations (English)
3 The world is bigger than your backyard.
4 It's not a small world
3 The world is not not as wide as moringa leaves
3 the world is wider than your ears and eyes

Discussion

ErichEko ⟹⭐ Apr 24, 2012:
tidak selebar = bukan hanya selebar Hi Catherine, tidak selebar in this saying should not be interpreted as: not as wide as; rather, it should be seen to be not only as wide as. Kelor leaves are narrow - nothing comparable to e.g. jati, papaya, or banana tree leaves. They are not to be metaphored for their width, but for their narrowness. The saying is for depressed, sad, or hopeless people. "Hey man, dunia tidak selebar daun kelor. Bangkitlah. Lots of opportunities, and a lot more of people!"
Catherine Muir (asker) Apr 24, 2012:
tidak selebar = not as wide as = narrower than Therefore, 'bumi tidak selebar daun ...' by extension means 'the world is not as wide as/is narrower than a ... leaf, i.e., very small. It is an idiom; idioms are not to be translated literally. The counterpart in English would be 'the world is very small', i.e., 'it's a small world'. Idioms and jokes/cartoons are the most difficult items to understand in a language other than one's own because idioms and humor are culture-based. Thank you to all you contributed.
Rosmeilan Siagian Apr 24, 2012:
My reference to KBBI is undoubtedly valid. It clearly says "bumi tidak selebar daun kelor". That's the wording of the proverb. KBBI also provides its meaning, i.e. the world is not small/it's not a small world.
I think there is always a possibility of misusing this proverb. For example, people want to say that it's a small world, but they use this proverb out of ignorance.
David Andersen Apr 24, 2012:
If the context of the story is that it's a small world, maybe the saying is uncharacteristically being used with the implication,"smaller than kelor leaves", whereas the common way of using it is with the opposite implication "larger than kelor leaves"
ErichEko ⟹⭐ Apr 24, 2012:
tidak selebar = tidak sesempit Tricky Indonesian. We say tidak selebar when we actually want to say tidak sesempit. 19,000 Google hits for Dunia tidak selebar daun kelor, but only 354 Google hits for Dunia tidak sesempit daun kelor. Kelor leaves are btw not among the widest leaves.
Regi2006 Apr 24, 2012:
It's not a small world

Proposed translations

1 hr
Selected

The world is bigger than your backyard.

I'm building on Ibu Rosmeilan's explanation and trying to express it with an equivalent English saying.

Example sentence:

An Orphan Outreach internship is about learning that the world is bigger than your backyard, breaking out of comfort zones

Reference:

http://mnnonline.org/article/14982

http://transsouth.wordpress.com/2012/02/03/the-world-is-bigger-than-your-backyard/

Note from asker:
Thanks, David, but I think the speaker was coming from the opposite direction, i.e., that the world is a very small place. In this instance, he had just found out that the girl he was in love with was actually his long-lost stepsister.
As I indicated in the discussion, I think -- after reading all the discussions -- that your answer is closest to the mark, in the sense that he should lift his sights and cast his net wider, because 'there are plenty more fish in the sea.' Many thanks.
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
30 mins

The world is not not as wide as moringa leaves

Just a suggestion
Note from asker:
This is a literal translation but, being an idiom, the translation is never literal.
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51 mins

It's not a small world

No, Catherine.
It's the opposite.
The proverb "dunia tak selebar daun kelor" means "it's not a small world".
It also means that we do not have to be desperate with our life since other options are still available.
Reference:

http://bahasa.kemdiknas.go.id/kbbi/index.php

http://id.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dunia_tak_selebar_daun_kelor

Note from asker:
Rosmeilan, saying that the world isn't (even) as wide as a leaf means that it is very, very small indeed, not the opposite, as you suggest.
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1 hr
Indonesian term (edited): dunia tak selebar daun kelor

the world is wider than your ears and eyes


I thought there is a similar metaphor in English. Just couldn't remember, so I pirate David Lange's poetry. Ears and eyes are human's most prolific sensors; still they are nowhere near capturing all chances and opportunities.

Ref: http://thebardonthehill.wordpress.com/2012/01/04/retakes-1/
The Circle Widens, a villanelle:
The circle widens as a man grows wise.
He comes to know what is beyond the veil.
The world is wider than the ears and eyes…



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Note added at 3 hrs (2012-04-24 08:41:16 GMT)
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Hi Catherine, tidak selebar daun kelor refers to the opposite of it's a small world. It means it's no small world (with no, not not). Reading the context of the saying in your text (at comment to David's answer), it seems the boy has to learn more Indonesian proverbs. The phrase itself is said to men/women who is left by his/her lover (mostly by betrayal), so the mother/father will say: "Dunia tidak selebar daun kelor. Masih banyak perempuan/laki-laki seperti dia. Cari lagi sajalah."

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Note added at 3 hrs (2012-04-24 08:42:25 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Erratum: The phrase itself is FREQUENTLY said ....
Note from asker:
Yes, Erich, the English metaphor is 'it's a small world'. I once heard someone say 'the world is a handerchief', meaning that you can hold it in the palm of your hand. I once had a chance encounter with someone I hadn't seen in years, who happened to be coming up an escalator at Senayan Plaza just as I happened to be walking past. The odds of something like that happening, since I was only in Jakarta for that day, and if I hadn't happened to be at that precise spot at that particular moment, we wouldn't have seen each other. When I saw him I said, "It's a small world, isn't it!" which is what I believe is meant by this expression.
Oh, now I see what you mean! In the context of unrequited love, the English equivalent would be 'There are plenty more fish in the sea." This is precisely the context in this story, a novel written c. 1900 and edited by Pramoedya.
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