And The Scales Fell From My Eyes

Scale is a multipurpose word in English. For example, there is the centigrade scale defined as "a temperature scale that defines the freezing point of water as 0 degrees and the boiling point of water as 100 degrees". There are too of course the various musical scales. It can be used in the sense of "extent" as in "the scale of the destruction was difficult to comprehend". There are scale drawings of objects. 

So when Google Translate throws up "scale" as the meaning for the Indonesian word "sisik", it's not immediately apparent in what sense the word scale is being used. I encountered the word in a recent KATLA. See Figure 1.

Figure 1

However, bab.la makes its meaning clear. See Figure 2.

Figure 2

The same site provides the following example of its use:

Hal lain yang menarik tentang biologi adalah bahwa biologi memberi Anda struktur yang sungguh rinci dengan sambungan sisik yang bagus.

And so the other thing that's beautiful about biology is that biology gives you really exquisite structures with nice link scales. 

My Indonesian dictionary fails to mention the word at all. Here is another example of its use:

Shin membuat tebakannya sambil melihat sisik yang masih jatuh dari tubuh iblis.

Shin formed his guess while looking at the scales still falling from the demon's body. 

The Indonesian word "scala" can also be used in lieu of "sisik" and this is easier to remember because of its similarity to the English word "scale". There is "penyu sisik", so named because its carapace has a scale-like appearance. See Figure 3.

Figure 3

There is also a "Dragon Scales Leaf" or "Daun Sisik Naga". See Figure 4.

Figure 4