“Blood” in every Philippine language
Blood across 9 languages, and what the differences tell you.
Last updated
Side by side
| Language | Blood |
|---|---|
| English | Blood |
| Tagalog | Dugo |
| Ilocano | Daya |
| Cebuano | Dugo |
| Hiligaynon | Dugo |
| Waray | Dugo |
| Bikol | Dugo |
| Kapampangan | Daya |
| Pangasinan | Dala |
What the pattern shows
Ilocano and Kapampangan both say 'daya' for blood — and in Tagalog and Cebuano the same word means cheating. Worth care in any medical setting.
Where they agree
- Dugo — Tagalog, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Bikol
- Daya — Ilocano, Kapampangan
Pangasinan stands alone with Dala.
Watch out
daya does not mean the same thing everywhere:
- Blood in Ilocano, Kapampangan
- Deceit, cheating in Tagalog, Cebuano
Medical or ritual context makes this one genuinely hazardous to get wrong.
More the body
The whole category as a word list: Ilocano Words for Parts of the Body · Tagalog Words for Parts of the Body
Where this comes from
This row is one of 161 concept pages drawn from a parallel set of everyday vocabulary held across nine languages. You can browse all of them, download the whole set under CC BY-SA 4.0, or paste text to find out which language it is.
Compiled from published general reference and pending review by native speakers. If something here is wrong in a language you speak, please tell us.