“Medicine” in every Philippine language
Medicine across 8 languages, and what the differences tell you.
Last updated
Side by side
| Language | Medicine |
|---|---|
| English | Medicine |
| Tagalog | Gamot |
| Ilocano | Agas |
| Cebuano | Tambal |
| Hiligaynon | Bulong |
| Waray | Tambal |
| Bikol | Bulong |
| Kapampangan | Ambun |
1 language is missing here because we could not confirm a form, not because the language lacks the word.
What the pattern shows
Worth knowing before a pharmacy visit, and the source of a nasty trap: Tagalog 'gamot' is medicine, but in the Visayan languages the same word means a root.
Where they agree
- Tambal — Cebuano, Waray
- Bulong — Hiligaynon, Bikol
Standing alone: Tagalog (Gamot), Ilocano (Agas) and Kapampangan (Ambun).
In a phrase
From the Ilocano to Tagalog phrasebook, where every row was checked against published references:
Cold medicine
Ilocano Agas ti panateng
Tagalog Gamot sa sipon
Stomach medicine
Ilocano Agas ti sakit iti buksit
Tagalog Gamot sa sakit ng tiyan
I need medicine
Ilocano Masapulko ti agas
Tagalog Kailangan ko ng gamot
Watch out
gamot does not mean the same thing everywhere:
- Medicine, a remedy in Tagalog
- A root in Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray
Related once — roots were medicine — but the two languages settled on opposite ends of that history.
More things to buy
The whole category as a word list: Ilocano Words for Things to Buy · Tagalog Words for Things to Buy
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.