“Dog” in every Philippine language
Dog across 9 languages, and what the differences tell you.
Last updated
Side by side
| Language | Dog |
|---|---|
| English | Dog |
| Tagalog | Aso |
| Ilocano | Aso |
| Cebuano | Iro |
| Hiligaynon | Ido |
| Waray | Ayam |
| Bikol | Ayam |
| Kapampangan | Asu |
| Pangasinan | Aso |
What the pattern shows
Four unrelated words for the commonest domestic animal. Worth pairing with the Cebuano trap: 'aso' means smoke there, so the Tagalog word for dog is a real Cebuano word meaning something else entirely.
Where they agree
- Aso — Tagalog, Ilocano, Pangasinan
- Ayam — Waray, Bikol
Standing alone: Cebuano (Iro), Hiligaynon (Ido) and Kapampangan (Asu).
Watch out
aso does not mean the same thing everywhere:
- A dog in Tagalog
- Smoke in Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray
Two of the most ordinary nouns in either language. The Cebuano word for a dog is iro.
More animals
The whole category as a word list: Ilocano Words for Animals · Tagalog Words for Animals
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.