Cultural Review of Indonesian Proverbs: Valuable Insights into Character Education through their Philosophical and Semantic Structures

This study aims to analyze the philosophical value and semantic power in interpreting Indonesian proverbs in their relationship and relevance in children's character education. The objectives of this study are formulated as follows; 1) to reveal the philosophical meaning contained in Indonesian proverbs, and 2) to describe the complex meaning structure that reflects moral and cultural values. Using a qualitative-descriptive approach and semantic analysis, five proverbs are analyzed in detail and studied based on their lexical, contextual, and connotative meanings. This study cannot separate itself from the perspective of linguistic and cultural stylistics. The results of the study show that each proverb contains a complex meaning structure that reflects moral and cultural values. From a semantic perspective, proverbs present meaning relationships that strengthen the philosophical messages they want to convey, such as the importance of awareness of reality, determination, appreciation of effort, vigilance against risk, and openness to knowledge. In the context of character education, the use of proverbs as teaching materials is considered capable of internalizing noble values symbolically and contextually. Therefore, integrating proverbs into learning not only strengthens understanding of cultural meanings and strengthens self-identity but also enriches character-building strategies based on local wisdom