“Where” in every Philippine language
Where across 9 languages, and what the differences tell you.
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Side by side
| Language | Where |
|---|---|
| English | Where |
| Tagalog | Saan |
| Ilocano | Sadino |
| Cebuano | Asa |
| Hiligaynon | Diin |
| Waray | Hain |
| Bikol | Sain |
| Kapampangan | Nokarin |
| Pangasinan | Iner |
What the pattern shows
Seven distinct words. Cebuano 'asa' is a false friend in Tagalog, where it means to hope or depend on someone.
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.
More question words
Where this comes from
This row is one of 84 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.