“No” in every Philippine language
No across 9 languages, and what the differences tell you.
Last updated
Side by side
| Language | No |
|---|---|
| English | No |
| Tagalog | Hindi |
| Ilocano | Haan |
| Cebuano | Dili |
| Hiligaynon | Indi |
| Waray | Diri |
| Bikol | Dai |
| Kapampangan | Ali |
| Pangasinan | Andi |
What the pattern shows
Ilocano also uses 'saan' for no, which is a genuine trap: 'saan' is 'where' in Tagalog. Hiligaynon 'indi' and Waray 'diri' look alike but Waray 'diri' collides with Hiligaynon 'diri', meaning 'here'.
No two languages here use the same word. That is unusual even on this list, and it is the clearest possible answer to whether these are dialects of one another.
In a phrase
From the Ilocano to Tagalog phrasebook, where every row was checked against published references:
I don't understand
Ilocano Diak maawatan
Tagalog Hindi ko maintindihan
I don't know
Ilocano Diak ammo
Tagalog Hindi ko alam
I can't speak Ilocano
Ilocano Diak makapagsao iti Ilocano
Tagalog Hindi ako marunong mag-Ilocano
Watch out
diri does not mean the same thing everywhere:
- Here in Hiligaynon
- Not, no in Waray
Two neighbouring languages, one word, and the meanings are 'here' and 'not'. A sentence can parse cleanly and come out reversed.
More courtesy
The whole category as a word list: Ilocano Polite Words and Phrases · Tagalog Polite Words and Phrases
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.