Everything I Know About Ilonggo (not much)

Thanks to my main miga, Caroline, for looking over this list and fixing most of it up. If anyone is looking for a tops banker-type in Singapore, who can also sing, dance, play the guitar and speak in Mandarin, LAAAHHH, then this is your girl.

Now, first things first. Before you start you should learn “hay naku!”, which is a pinoy cry of exasperation, roughly equivalent to “oh my goodness” or “D’oh”. In my opinion, it’s an improvement on both when rolled off the tongue with the right click of the tongue.

Basic words
Huo – yes
Indi – no
Kag - and
Wala – nothing / none
Sige – Okay
Ara sya – he/she/it is here
Sige na – okay, go ahead / give in / enough (there’s an ice-cream ad with “Sige na” as the slogan)
Quan – um (some westerners get irritated when they hear this one too often. A friend told me a story about an irate German who would rant “what is all this quan business? No time for quan, the country’s a mess!” during meetings with key decision makers.)
Tuod? – really?
Tuod! – true!
Kay - because

Diri – here
Dira – there
Didto – over there (for a place)
(S)ini – this (use ‘s’ if there is a quantity associated eg. Isa sini = “one of this”)
(S)ina - that
Ato – over there (for a thing)

Dyutay lang – a little only (I always respond with this when people ask me if I know Ilonggo)
Gamay – small
Manga – about, approximately
Siguro – can mean “maybe” or “for sure”, depending on context.
Pwede man – can be
Wala pa – not yet

Sa – next / to
Sang – when, once, last
Abot – arrived
Temprano – early
Abante – go (as in “Abante Escalante” written on the buses for Escalante)
Antes – before
Tapos na – finished (taposa na! – finish that already!)

Words for people
Migo/miga/mig – friend, also can be used when addressing an attendant in a restaurant or shop.
Lalaki – boy
Babayi - girl
Bata – child
Tito/Tita – uncle/aunt, also a word children use to address adults who are friends with their parents.
Lolo/lola – grandfather/grandmother
Ate – older sister, also a term of respect for an older female (Tagalog)
Toto/tata – (m/f) affectionate name (used when referring to a child you don’t know the name of)
(No)noy/(in)day – boy/girl (use for shop attendants again)

Catching a Jeepney/taxi
Bayad ko – Here’s my fare (lit. I pay)
Lugar lang – Stop here (lugar = place)
Bangga – corner
Sinsilyo – change (tagalong = barya)
Wala – left
Tuo – right
Liko – turn
Diretso – straight ahead
Diri lang – stop here (diri = here)

Food/Eating
Bacolodnons, like all Pinoys, love to eat. We graze throughout the day at the office, and there are various vendors who come and go selling food which they dole out of unsanitary-looking striped plastic bags. They’re probably not cleared by the City Health Office, but nevertheless I’ve never contracted food poisoning from any of these people. I always buy steamed bananas from a lady who comes around after lunch. You get three for 6 pesos (around 20c).

Whenever we’re not eating we are talking about it (makaon ‘ta? Gutom na ko! – we will eat now? I’m hungry!)

Pagkaon – food
(Ma)namit – delicious
Tamis – sweet
Kulang – lacking (food always lacks salt or sugar according to the locals)

Kalamay - sugar
Asin - salt

Pamahaw – snack (equivalent of the Tagalog “merienda”)
Panyaga – lunch
Panyapon – dinner
Pamahaw - breakfast

Tubig – water
Tambis – a type of fruit, a bit like the consistency of watermelon, tastes a bit like honeydew. I really don’t know how to describe this one other than “insipid”.
Lechon – suckling pig. You’ll see these by the roadside wherever you go in the Philippines. I love the way you can still make out the exact expression the poor pig had on its face as it contemplated eternity.
Dinuguan - Pigs blood soup, drained straight from the lechon and cooked up as a side-dish. It’s black and strange looking. Basic instinct (my own, not the movie) has prevented me from trying it thus far.
Manok – chicken. Bacolod’s chicken is famous throughout the country. It’s native chicken on a stick, basted with a mysterious glaze and eaten on rice with fingers. Better than KFC.
Balut – Boiled duck eggs, with baby ducks inside them. Best when almost hatched, but make sure you don’t get feathers stuck in your teeth. I had two when I was drunk once and they didn’t taste half bad.
Lumpia – my favorite. It’s a variant on a Chinese pancake dish made with vegetables. The pinoy version is a crepe with coconut, garlic and onion inside. Caroline’s Lola tried to teach me how to make this one, but it was a fairly mysterious procedure, involving lots of wandering around the kitchen, mumbling and cooking by “gut feeling”. Most of the ingredients are also not available in Coles/Woolworths back home. So, I’m eating as much lumpia as I can while I’m here.
Boneless Bangus – a milk fish, fried up with the bones taken out. (Nice with rice and the soy sauce, kalamansi and vinegar mix – see below.)
Kalamansi – a really small citrus fruit used as a condiment. I’d describe it as a miniature lime, the size of a grape. Mix it with soy sauce, vinegar and chilies for a condiment.
Buko – young coconut
Inihaw – barbeque
Chiko – fruit that looks a bit like a kiwi fruit. Tastes bloody marvelous if you manage to find one without a worm.
Star apple – custard apple
Manga – mango. Guimeras, mango capital of the Philippines, is the next island over from Bacolod. One of these days I will get there.
Halo-halo – literally “mix-mix”. A coconut filled with sweet and candied fruit, beans, ice-cream, rice bubbles or corn-flakes, ice and milk. Unbelievably good on a hot day (ie. every day).
Ube – A purple sweet potato that is used in a lot of desserts and cakes. Ube ice-cream is purple and namit!
Pasayan – shrimp
Isda – fish
Lagaw – a type of fish. Small bones but really quite yummy.
Piaya – a flat bread filled with a sugary filling of ube, mango, banana or just plain old sugar. Nice with coffee, bad for fillings.
Pandan – a green leaf that is boiled up and used in cakes and other sweet goodies.
Sisi – baby oysters. You have to drink coke afterwards or you will end up feeling unwell.
Talaba – grown up oysters. Again, keep the coke handy.
Kamote-kue – sweet potato deep fried in sugar and oil. Mmm.
Banana-kue – bananas deep fried in sugar and oil, served on a stick. Why does everything taste so much better off a stick?

Being Polite
Salamat (guid) – thank you (very much)
Halong – take care
Pasensya – sorry
Maayong aga – good morning
Maayong ugto – good day (can be used 11-1 o’clock in the day)
Maayong hapon – good afternoon
Maayong gab-i – good evening
Maayong adlaw – good day
Palihog – please
Pasalubong – souvenir. I include this word in the section on politeness because it is rude to travel anywhere without bringing some pasalubong, which is usually a local delicacy. The pasalubong from Bacolod is typically either cake, piaya, or some kind of sweet, sickly tart thing. Alternatively, you can just bring a sack of muscovado sugar along with you.

No Problems

The pinoys express this sentiment a lot, leading me to think that they doth protest too much. My driver, in particular, used to say this at any given opportunity, although he appeared to become more stressed and problem-riddled by the day. One day he snapped, disappeared, and never returned. I often wonder what happened to him. Wherever he is now, I am sure there are no problems though.

Wala sing ano man – not a problem (deep ilonggo – my driver taught me this one and it gives you instant cred when you roll it off). According to Caroline, only “old, really uncool people” and me, use this term.
Wala kaso – no case (lit. not heavy)
Wala problema – no problem
Okay lang – it’s okay

Animals
kuring – cat
Ido – dog
Manok – chicken
Baboy – pig
Usa – deer
Amo - monkey
Tiki - lizard
Ilaga - mouse
Tanga – cockroach (say this the wrong way with the emphasis on the second syllable and it means dumb)

Saying things about yourself

Ako si Elizabeth. Taga Sydney ako. Kumusta ka? – I am Elizabeth. I am from Sydney. How are you?
Maayo man – Good
Okay lang - Okay

Kapoy na (a)ko – I am tired (lit. tired now me. Note: “ko” is a shortening for “ako”)
Tuyo na ko – I am sleepy
Busog na ko – I am full
Gutom na ko – I am hungry
Buang na ko – I am crazy
Uhaw na ko – I am thirsty
Gutom ka na? – You are hungry? (Note: “ka” is a shortening for “ikaw”)
Ka kaon ka na? – have u eaten? (use ka when affirming if something has happened already)
Ma kaon ka na? – are you going to eat now?
Ka withdraw ka na? – Have you withdrawn (your money) yet?
Ma withdraw ka? – Are you going to withdraw (your money)?

Akon ini – this is mine (note: akon = mine)
Imo ina – that is yours (note: imo = yours)
May ido ako – I have a dog (note: may = there is)
(or Akon ini ido)

Wala ko kwarta – I have no money

Naanad na – used to it (co-workers in government use this often)

Quan, I actually don’t know that much Ilonggo

The perennial problem with trying to speak in another language is that others will then speak it back to you. This is often where the conversation ends for me, since I find it much easier to initiate conversation with a couple of words I’ve been practicing all day long than respond on-the-fly to what someone else is saying.

I’ve been using the following phrases quite a bit:

English lang palihog! – English only please!
Indi ko ka intiyende – I can’t understand you.
Wa-ay ko kabalo – I don’t know
Wala ko kabalo – I don’t know
Indi ko kabalo – I don’t know how to do that
Ambot – I don’t know
Tamaran ko – I’m lazy, I don’t want to do that (use this one when you don’t want to confess to not understanding a single thing they are on about).

Saying things that you are doing

Put a “MA” on the front of verbs to indicate future tense
Put a “GA” on the front of verbs to indicate present tense
Put a “NAG” on the front of verbs to indicate past tense

Knowing these prefixes you can actually use a lot of English verbs. For example, the other day at the shopping centre a lady asked me:
“Ano oras mastart ang film?” (What time will the film start?)

Note: There are three Bob’s Cafés in Bacolod, none of which are part of a chain. Caroline and I spend a lot of time there, hence all the references to going there and eating there.

VERB: Lakat (to walk, to go)
Eg. Malakat ko sa Bob’s – I will go to Bob’s
Malakat kita – We will go
Galakat ko pakadto sa Bob’s – I am currently walking to Bob’s

VERB: Kadto (to go)
Eg. Nagkadto ko sa Bob’s – I went to Bob’s

VERB: Kaon (to eat)
Eg. Makaon ko panyaga – I will eat lunch
Gakaon ko sa Bob’s – I am eating at Bob’s
Tapos na ko kaon – I had finished eating

VERB: Tulog (to sleep)
Eg. Matulog ko karon – I will sleep later

VERB: Gusto (to like)
Eg. Gusto ko ina – I would like that

VERB: Kuha (to get)
Eg. Makuha ko sina/sini – I will get that/this one

VERB: Hatagan (to give)
Eg. Hatagan ta ka kape/ hatagan ko ikaw kape – I will give you coffee

VERB: Pauli/puli (to go home)
Eg. Mapauli na ‘ko – I will go home

VERB: Mabakal (to buy)
Eg. Indi sia mabakal, ka intiyende sia sang Ilonggo (my counterpart said this to someone who was talking about me in Ilonggo who thought I couldn’t understand. Means “she can’t be bought, she understands Ilonggo”. Different from “indi mabaligya sia” which means “the girl is not for sale”, a term often used by pimps.)

VERB: Himuon (to do)
Eg. Wala ko himuon – I have nothing to do.

Dalagan – to run
Lumpat – to jump
Saot – to dance
Pungko – to sit
Higda – to lie down
Bangon – to rise
Inom – to drink
Hambal – to say
Paghimos – to put things in order
Bulig – to help (buligan – helping)
Kabalo – to know
Pulot – to pick
Balik – to go back

Instructions
Dali di – come here
Lakat na – go now
Diri kama agi – pass this way (note: if you put the emphasis on the second syllable in “agi” ie. “ag-EE”, it actually means “gay” and you end up saying “pass this gay”. Even emphasis on both syllables is required if you don’t want to be laughed at and inadvertently introduce your sexual biases to the conversation.)

Pronouns
Ako – I/Me
Ikaw – you
Sya – he/she/it
Kita – us (including the person you are speaking to)
Kami – us (not including the person you are speaking to)
Kamo – you (pl.)
Sila – they

(i)mo – your
Inyo – your (pl.) (sa inyo = for you)

Sa ila – at your place

Tanan – Everybody/everything

Questions
Ano? - What
Ano gina hambal mo? – What are you saying? (gina = that is/is that)
Ano ngalan mo? – What is your name?
Ano oras ka mabisita kay Belle karon? – What time will you visit Belle later?
Diin? – Where?
Diin ka makadto? – Where are you going?
Diin ka nagkadto? – Where were you going?
Diin ka-halin? – Where did you come from? Where have you been.
Nga-a? – Why?
Sin-o? – Who?
Sin-o ka? – Who are you?
Sin-o ang upod mo? - Who is the person with you?
Sin-o ang babayi na upod mo? – Who is the girl with you?
San-o? – When?
Paano? – How?
Pila? - How much?
Pila ini ho? – How much is this?
Palihog kuha sini (para sa akon)? – Please get this (for me)?
Ma ano ka karon? – What are you up to later?

Work words
(I work in City Planning, so there are lots of words for community buildings, houses, community issues and so on, that I pick up. Some are quite technical and not really in common usage.)
Balay – house
Salog – floor
Dingding – wall
Kwarta – money
Basura – garbage
(“may kwarta sa basura” – there is money in garbage. This is a common phrase used in information and education campaigns for solid waste management.)
Nipa hut – a thatched hut made out of coconut fronds.
Ginahulugan – amortize
Consent – pahanugot
Recycle – ginagamit liwat
Skwelahan – school
Simbahan – church
Paraw – boat
Alat – native basket
Siudad – city
Tinluan – clean

The Anti-rabies Sign
I read this and wrote it down while we were pre-testing the ICBIS questionnaire in an urban barangay. It’s a notice telling dog owners to get their animals vaccinated for rabies.

Guina obligar ang tanan nga pabakunahan sang anti rabies ang inyo ido idad 3 ka bulan pa ta-as kada tuig.
Guina obligar ang tanan nga tag-iya sang ido nga higtan, kurangon o indi pagua sa inyo ugsaran ang inyo ido...

We are requiring everyone to vaccinate their dogs 3 months and older with anti-rabies. We are requiring all dog owners to tie them up, restrain them and do not allow their dogs to be released and roam in their surroundings.

For the Vocab...
Guina – prefix e.g ginakaon (what are you eating), gina-inom (what are you drinking). To be honest, I don’t quite understand the use of this one either...
Obligar – to oblige
Pabakunahan – vaccination
Idad – age
Bulan – month
Tag-iya – owner
Higtan – tie
Kurangon – restrain
Pagua – to release / let out
Ugsaran – surroundings

The same day I saw a sign for dengue awareness, using some of the same words:

Ugsaran ko, tinluan ko. Dengue makamamatay

My surroundings, I clean them. Dengue can kill.

Time
Subong – today/now
Buas – tomorrow
Kagapon – yesterday
Adlaw – day (you can say “maayong adlaw” = good day)
Alas – o’clock
Emedia – half past
Eg. Alas syete emedia – 7:30
Karon – later
Pa – yet (indi pa = not yet, saw “namit na, dasig pa” on a restaurant sign meaning “delicious, yet fast”)
Kagina – earlier
Bag-o - new
Dasig – fast
Pag/kung - when (I had a text message from Caroline one day instructing “E text mo ako pag maleave ka na sa office” – “you text me when you are leaving the office”)
e.g hambalon mo ko PAG malakat na ta. “Tell me when we are leaving already.”
Hambalon mo ko PAG nagutom ka na. “Tell me when you are hungry already.”
(Note: I am not a fan of using “already” at the end of every sentence, but Filipinos seem to do it often. I suspect “already” is the direct translation of “na” = now, but it’s tricky to express the same thing in proper English.)
Dugay – later or “soooo slow” (eg. “this pinoy customer service is taking soooo long, how long does it take to get some water from the faucet anyhow?”)
Dugay dugay – in a little while

Numbers
Ilonggo
Isa - 1
Duha - 2
Tatlo - 3
Apat - 4
Lima - 5
Anum - 6
Pito - 7
Walo - 8
Sham - 9
Pulo – 10

Spanish (used for time and price)
Uno -1
Dos - 2
Tres - 3
Quattro - 4
Singko - 5
Sais - 6
Syete - 7
Ocho - 8
Nueve - 9
Dies - 10
Onse - 11
Dose - 12
Trese - 13
Qatorse - 14
Kinse-15
Dies y sais - 16
Dies y syete - 17
etc...
Baynte – 20

(You can use English numbers after this).

Quaint Nouns
Kodak – picture
Colgate – toothpaste
Smagol (ismagol) – flip-flops/thongs (apparently because the first batch were smuggled into the country)
Buklas – umbrella (not used in hip ilonggo apparently)
Bulak – flower
Balita – news/information (maayung balita = good news)
Estambay – a good-for-nothing layabout (he stands by). My counterpart has a whole song he sings about estambys – it’s tasteless, cruel and hilarious.
Budol-budol – swindling

Looking Good
Guapo/guapa – good looking (m/f)
Mapaparlor ko – im going to the parlor
Mapaguting ko – im going to have my hair cut
Maputi – fair-complexioned

Shopping
Mahal – expensive (mahal in tagalong is love – Mahal Kita – I love you. When I go shopping with my yokel Ilonggo in Manila, I tend to accidentally pick up a lot.)
Kamahal – very expensive (adding the “ka” to other adjectives also works to emphasise)
Ayo – discount e.g. Wala na ayo? No more discount?
Barato - cheap

Weather
Naga ulan subong – it is raining today
Nagulan kagina – it rained earlier
(ma)init – hot
Bahaw – cold (when you are referring to rice, so don’t use this one for weather, use...)
Tugnaw – cold
Bagyo - storm