It is what it is

[Joko]

To say in Indonesian" "It is what it is"... meaning that something is self evident and not more than what it appears to be... How would one express that?

Itu adalah itu... ?

Begitu lah.

 

[Jaime C]

I strongly dislike this phrase and other similar ones.

'What goes around, comes around".

Blech.

 

[Puspawarna]

Oh boy ... a chance for me to mangle Indonesian yet again. How funny would it sound if I said "Yang ada, adalah!" ?? Presumably no Indonesian would ever say that, but if I did, would they understand what I meant?

 

[rabbit_39]

I'm far from an expert, but what about "apa adanya"?

 

[Scooterindo]

Just say "Iya begitu lah" or "begitu aja"

 

[Banana72]

Depending on the context, people have said "Dari sananya begitu"or "Memang begitu lah (keadaannya)".

 

[Saudade]

yap, memang begini, begitu apa

 

[Supir Angkot]

Oh boy ... a chance for me to mangle Indonesian yet again. How funny would it sound if I said "Yang ada, adalah!" ?? Presumably no Indonesian would ever say that, but if I did, would they understand what I meant?

Not too shabby, with slight modification: (apa) yang terjadi, terjadilah.

 

[Nimbus]

Just say "Iya begitu lah" or "begitu aja"

This is the Indonesian equivalent.

Formally it's "itulah". When people are feeling powerless about changing some stupid crap in Indonesia, they often say "itulah Indonesia."

 

[Alia]

Oh boy ... a chance for me to mangle Indonesian yet again. How funny would it sound if I said "Yang ada, adalah!" ?? Presumably no Indonesian would ever say that, but if I did, would they understand what I meant?

Honestly, I would not understand it.

 

[Mas Mana]

I would go with Scooter and Nimbus here - "ya, begitu aja" or the more formal "ya, itulah [insert topic of worries]".