“Five” in every Philippine language
Five across 9 languages, and what the differences tell you.
Last updated
Side by side
| Language | Five |
|---|---|
| English | Five |
| Tagalog | Lima |
| Ilocano | Lima |
| Cebuano | Lima |
| Hiligaynon | Lima |
| Waray | Lima |
| Bikol | Lima |
| Kapampangan | Lima |
| Pangasinan | Limara |
What the pattern shows
The one numeral that survives intact across all eight — and in Pangasinan 'lima' is also the word for 'hand', which is where the numeral came from in the first place.
Where they agree
- Lima — Tagalog, Ilocano, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Bikol, Kapampangan
Pangasinan stands alone with Limara.
In a phrase
From the Ilocano to Tagalog phrasebook, where every row was checked against published references:
Fifteen
Ilocano Sangapulo ket lima
Tagalog Labinlima
Watch out
lima does not mean the same thing everywhere:
- Five in Tagalog, Ilocano, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Bikol, Kapampangan
- A hand. The numeral five is limara in Pangasinan
The numeral came from the word for hand originally, and Pangasinan is the one language here that kept the older sense alongside the newer one.
More numbers
The whole category as a word list: Ilocano Numbers · Tagalog Numbers
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.