Miscellaneous Phrases

Sige - okay/all right; continue, go on

Sige be - go ahead (politely), inviting someone to start something

Sige na - come on (less patient), go ahead, get started

Sige pa - keep going

Sige lang - don't worry about it, nevermind, no thanks

Sige sige - continuous

Okay lang - that's okay

Jokes lang - just kidding

Ayos - great, cool, all right

Ay - oh, ah

Haw - question word

"Haw" can be added to the end of a statement to turn it into a question. It's a request for the listener to explain something you said.

"He didn't cook." — "Walâ siya nagluto."
"Why didn't he cook?" — "Walâ siya nagluto haw?"

It can also be added to a question to emphasize that you're really curious to get an answer.

"Where are you guys coming from?" — "Diin kamo naghalin haw?"

Bala haw? - you know? remember?

Q: "What does that taste like?"
A: "It's sour, like a lemon, you know?" — "Maaslum, pareho sa limon, bala haw?"

Q: "Where are we going?"
A: "To your house, remember?" — "Sa imo balay, bala haw?"

Ba - adds exclamation or suprise

"It's hot." — "Init."

"Wow, it's hot!" — "Init ba!"

Man - used to show that you don't understand or want more information

When something is said that you want clarified, you repeat that part of the sentence and then add the word "man."

Q: "What is your responsibility?"
A: "Responsibility?" (i.e. "I didn't realize I had a responsibility. Tell me more.") — "Responsibilidad man?"

Q: "How's your dog?"
A: "Dog? I don't have a dog." — "Idô man? Walâ ko idô."

"Man" can also mean "too," or act as a filler word.

Ya - changing person of focus

"I'm happy, how about you?" — "Malipayon ako. Ikaw ya?"

Abaw - wow

Hala - uh oh, oh no

Agay / Agoy - ouch

Grabe - that's crazy, that's impressive

Be/Abi/Abe - quick informal "please"

"Scoot over, please." — "Idog, be."

Anay - first; for a moment; in the meantime

First: "Let's eat first." (before we leave) — "Kaon 'ta anay."

For a Moment / Real Quick:
"Come inside for a bit." — "Sulod kamo anay."
"Help me real quick." — "Buligi ako anay."

It can also be added to sentences to make it softer, or more polite, e.g. "Skyus anay." ("excuse me")

Ta ka - alternative to "ko ikaw"

A more informal way to say "ko ikaw" (e.g. "Lagasan ko ikaw.") is to say "ta ka" (e.g. "Lagasan ta ka.").
As an example, the phrase "Palangga ko ikaw" ("I love you") is complete and proper. Saying, "Palangga ta ka" would be a more casual "Love you" or "Love ya."

You can also use "ta kamo" in place of "ko kamo."

Indî ko - I don't want to.

Amo lang 'nâ - that's all

Tuod ka? - Are you serious?

Pati 'nâ - yeah right, I don't believe that

Magabot ang adlaw - one day, eventually

Sa akon - to me, in my opinion

Bag-o lang - just barely

O - used to direct attention to a location, e.g. "Dirâ, o."

Dalî di - come here

Dalî lang - hang on, wait, just a second

Syempre - of course, definitely

Te - I told you so

"Indî ka maghampang sa pungkoan!" ("Don't play on the chair!")
[child falls off and starts crying]
"Ah, te!" ("See, I told you something bad would happen!")

"Te" can also be used as "well?" or "so?" when wanting an explanation.

"Nagubâ ang motor." ("The motor broke.")
"Te, paano kita magbalik sa banwa?" ("Well, how are we going to return to town?")

Ha - okay?

"Come back tomorrow, okay?" — "Balik kamo sa buwas, ha?"

Di Bala - no?, right?

Short for "Indî, bala?"

"He's funny, isn't he?" — "Kaladlawan siya, di bala?"

It's more common to hear "no?" rather than the pure Hiligaynon form.

Mo - you know?

"We're busy, you know?" — "Sakô kami, mo."

Repeated Words

Repeating a word can serve a few different functions.

First, it can show that something is continuous:
   lakat = walk; lakat lakat = walking around
   sunod = follow; sunod sunod = one after another

Second, it's another way to add emphasis:
   dako = big; dako dako = really big

Also, it can modify words in various ways:
   dugay = a long time; dugay dugay = soon
   sapat = animal; sapat sapat = insect

Ta - Let's go.

Very short for "Maglakat na kita."

Diutay - almost happened

The word "diutay" means "few," but it can also be used in a phrase to show that something almost happened.

"I almost fell on my face." — "Diutay ko nakadasma."

Labot - concern, care, involvement/business with

"I'm not concerned with this." / "I don't care about this." — "Wa'ay ko labot sini." ("I don't have any concern...")

The phrase "Labot mo?" (short for "Ano ang labot mo?") is used to say "What do you care?" or "Mind your own business."

Wa'ay labot sa... - aside from, not including, besides

Ambot sa imo. - I don't know about you.

Bahala - responsibility to decide

This can be used a number of different ways.

"Bahala na." — "Whatever happens, happens." / "Leave it up to God."
"Bahala ka." / "Bahala mo." — "It's up to you." / "That's your problem."
"Bahala ko." — "That's my problem. I'll take care of it."

Utoy-utoy - uncontrollable laughter

"He's laughing hysterically." — "Utoy utoy siya kadlaw." (The "naga-" was dropped from "kadlaw.")

Ah / Ya - intensifying emotion

These can be used to strengthen the emotion being conveyed in a sentence.

"Indî ah!" — "Don't!"
"Oo, ah." — "Yeah, sure thing. Definitely."
"Ambot, ah." — "I don't know." (adds irritation, implying "I don't want to deal with this anymore.")
"Indî ko ya magkaon sang talong." — "I refuse to eat an eggplant."
"Nakakaon ka ya sang bilog nga talong?" — "You ate a whole eggplant?!"
"Tuod ya!" — "Seriously, it's true!"

Nan - that's right, that's it

Person 1: "What was that guy's name again? Was it Jake? Johnny?"
Person 2: "Joshua."
Person 1: "Nan!"

Medyo - kind of

Kaso lang... - the problem is...

Basta - as long as; anyway

"Basta may ulan..." — "As long as there's rain..."

This can also be used to refocus on what the speaker is trying to say:
"Anyway, tomorrow we will..." — "Basta, sa buwas mag..."

Wala sang ano man - you're welcome

This phrase can be said with "sing" or "sang." Both basically mean, "It's nothing," similar to some other languages. Alternatively, you can also say "walâ problema" or "wa'ay kaso" (no problem).

Indî lang - declining an offer

You can add "salamat," to be closer to "No, thanks." — "Indi lang, salamat."
"Indi na ko," is like "I'm done now. No more for me."
Another variant is "salamat lang."

Mo / Pru / Abi - explaining yourself

When giving an explation or excuse for something, these words can be useful. "Abi/Abe" is used when you're sharing new information, like "You know...".
If you're reminding someone of something they already know, you would use "mo" or "pru."

After not showing up to an appointment:
   "Sakô kami, mo." — "We're busy, you know/remember?"
   "Walâ kami plete, pru." — "We didn't have any fare money, you know/remember?"
   "May laktan ko, abi." — "(You know) I had some place to go."
   "Napatay abi ang karabaw ko." — "(It's because) Our karabaw died."

Lain buot - bad feeling

This could include things like feeling upset, disappointed, burdened, or having hurt feelings.

Ano siya sa imo? - "How do you know him/her?"

Ano mo siya? - "How is he/she related to you?"

Nakaagi ako sinâ - "I've been through that before."

Amo na' ang budlay sinâ - "That's the hard thing about that."

May salâ ka sa akon - I've got beef with you. / I've got a bone to pick with you.

May nabatian ko parte sa... - I heard something about...

May bulan ka na di? - Have you been here a month yet?

Kaina pa kamo? - Have you been here for a while?

Bag-o lang kami. - We just got here.

Bulos bulos - switching off

Wa'ay pulos - worthless, pointless

Palagpat / Patakâ

This can be used a few ways:
  - random, freestyle, making it up
  - an exclamation, like "dang it"
  - low quality

"I will open the book to a random page." — "Palagpat ko buksan ang libro."
[Someone drops food right after cooking it.] "Ay, palagpat!"
"My cooking isn't very good." — "Palagpat ang pagluto ko."

"Patakâ" can be used the same way.

Another use for "palagpat" is to express disbelief when someone says something that sounds made up.

Basta basta - casual, careless, halfhearted

This is often used to explain when something isn't done effortlessly or casually.
"Teaching kids is no small task." — "Indî basta basta ang pagtudlo sang mga bata."

Kon walâ tungod sa... - If it wasn't for...

Sa malip-ot nga pulong - In short, to summarize

Next   ▶