Cebu Island Travel Forum

I am traveling to Cebu and Bohol in June. I know that I will be able to get by with English. However, I would like to learn some phrases in the local dialect such as:

This food taste great. I am not hungry. Hello. Goodbye. Thank you. Etc.
Richard.

This food taste great - Lami kaayo ni nga pagkaon
I am not hungry - busog ko (I am full)
Hello - same with English
Goodbye - same with English or Bye Bye
Thank you - Salamat
Yes - Oo
No - Dili
Maybe - Tingali
How are you? - Kumusta? / Kumusta ka?
Good Morning - Maayong Buntag
Good Afternoon - Maayong Hapon
Good Evening - Maayong Gabi-e
Good Day - Maayong Adlaw
Expensive - Mahal
Cheap - Barato
How much? - Tag pila?
I will buy this - Paliton ko ni
Cebuano language uses Spanish numbers - Ten is Diez, etc..
Cebuano language uses Spanish dates - Mayo is May, Domingo is Sunday, etc..
Cebuano language uses Spanish time - Alas Dos - 2 O'clock
I am hungry - Gi gutom ko / Gutom ko
Food - Pagkaon
Water - Tubig
Male - Lalake (lake)
Female - Babae (bae)
Gay - Bayot
Lesbian - Tomboy
Handsome - Guapo
Pretty Woman - Guapa
Restroom - known in the Philippines as C.R. or Comfort Room
Help! (emergency) - Tabang!
Police - Pulis
Thief! - Kawatan!
Please (request) - Palihug

Avoid using the word "Mabuhay". Though it means "Hello" or "Welcome" but it is rarely used in casual conversation. Mabuhay is usually used for tourism purposes, government affairs and other formal gatherings. Most people use "Kumusta" or How are you, to casually greet one another.

to add on kalambagohan's above post:

father - papa or tatay
mother - mama or nanay
brother - igsoon lalake
sister - igsoon babaye
grandfather - lolo
grandmother - lola
travel - byahe
come in - dayon
breakfast - pamahaw
lunch - pani udto
dinner - panihapon
beach - baybayon or baybay
hotel - hotel
room - kuarto
ship - barko
airplane - eroplano

I would just like to add to the others

Tha language of Bohol and Cebu is Bisaya.

Bisaya, also known as Visayan or Cebuano can have slight differences in different islands and in different parts of different islands. In fact moving from one end of an island to another can mean speaking a different language. Such as Leyte. They Speak Waray Waray in the extreme north of the island but 100 kilometres south, everyone is speaking Bisaya.

I would greet people with KOMUSTA instead of hello. By the way, I have never ever heard anyone anywhere say Mabuhay except on TV or on a plane.

Just as we will shorten Good Morning to Morning so will Filipinos who will say BUNTAG instead of Maayong Buntag.

Raised eyebrows in response to a question means yes.

MAYBE very often means NO.

Often, Filipinos will not want to lose face by making the wrong suggestion so instead of giving you a suggestion, you will often hear, IT'S UP TO YOU! In a relationship, IT'S UP TO YOU doesn't really mean it's up to you either. It means they know what they want and you better guess what it is or there will be trouble.

The Oo for yes sounds like how I would say Oh!

Adding KAAYO to the end of something can make it have a stronger meaning. Ie instead of Salamat, you can say SALAMAT KAAYO to mean THANKYOU VERY MUCH or MAHAL KAAYO to mean VERY EXPENSIVE. To avoid the long nose tax (foreigner prices), you will be saying MAHAL KAAYO often.
(I would pronouce KAAYO as Ku aye oh)

If I wanted to say something tasted nice I would just exclaim LAMI! (LUM EE) And to enquire on a price, I would just say Pila? (Pee lu), usually followed very closely by Mahal!

DILI means NO but WALAY, often shortened to Y, means NONE. ie Y RICE means no rice or no more rice.

And in response to Salamt, you would say Y Sapayan (why sap aye an), meaning You're Welcome, However, I believe it literally means No Problem.

UNSA PAKA is equal to ONE MORE so if you have been drinking sprite and would like another, you would say UNSA PAKA SPRITE, PALIHUG!

Tubig (TOO BIG) is water. Sometimes you will see an ATM machine sign and it won't mean for getting money it will be an Automated Tubig Machine.

Maayo as in Maayong Buntag means good. For reasons that I can't fathom, Filipinos instead of knocking on the door will yell out from outside saying Maayo (Mu aye oh). Meaning I am here, please come and greet me.

OUT OF STOCK doesn't always mean they have no more of what you are looking for. It often means they don't know what you are talking about or are too lazy to look and see if they do have it. So, if you are in a supermarket and the sales assistant says OUT OF STOCK, continue looking anyway, just in case.

Baguio (bag ee oh), no idea how it is really spelt means big storm. So if people are talking about a bagiou, it may be time to take shelter.

When you get to Cebu City, go to the National Bookstore in SM Mall or Ayala Mall. They sell very cheap Cebuano/English dictionaries.

If you want to know about some words to use in the bedroom, write to me at sibbick61@yahoo.com.au


Regards: Jim

Kalambagohan, Olitrac, and Jim:

Thank you for your helpfulness or should I say "Salamat Kaayo". One final question. I will be bringing my girlfriend to the Phillipines. She has been in the US for over twenty years but is originally from Bohol. Since she speaks bisaya I would like to propose to her in her language of her birth. So how do I say "Will you be my wife and make my life complete"? Thanks in advance.
Richard