“Woman” in every Philippine language
Woman across 9 languages, and what the differences tell you.
Last updated
Side by side
| Language | Woman |
|---|---|
| English | Woman |
| Tagalog | Babae |
| Ilocano | Babai |
| Cebuano | Babaye |
| Hiligaynon | Babaye |
| Waray | Babaye |
| Bikol | Babayi |
| Kapampangan | Babai |
| Pangasinan | Bii |
What the pattern shows
Babae with local spellings — babai, babaye, babayi — in seven languages. Pangasinan bii is the outlier, and it is the same clipping that turns lalaki into laki.
Where they agree
- Babaye — Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray
- Babai — Ilocano, Kapampangan
Standing alone: Tagalog (Babae), Bikol (Babayi) and Pangasinan (Bii).
In a phrase
From the Ilocano to Tagalog phrasebook, where every row was checked against published references:
Wife
Ilocano Baket
Tagalog Asawang babae
More family & people
The whole category as a word list: Ilocano Family and People Words · Tagalog Family and People Words
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.