Bikol to English Phrasebook

Greetings

The opener changes in every one of these languages — this is the fastest way to tell them apart.

Greetings: Bikol phrases with English translations
Bikol	English	Notes
Marhay na agapending review	Good morning	Every one of these is literally 'good' + 'morning', and the word for 'good' is the giveaway: maayo in the Visayan languages, maupay in Waray, marhay in Bikol, mayap in Kapampangan, maabig in Pangasinan, naimbag in Ilocano.
Marhay na haponpending review	Good afternoon
Marhay na banggipending review	Good evening
Marhay na aldawpending review	Good day
Kumusta ka?pending review	How are you?	The one phrase that is effectively identical everywhere, because all eight borrowed it from Spanish '¿cómo está?'. Do not read that as evidence the languages are close.
Marhay manpending review	I'm fine
Paarampending review	Goodbye	Cebuano 'ayo-ayo' and Hiligaynon 'halong' both mean 'take care' rather than 'farewell'; a bare word for goodbye is uncommon in the Visayan languages, and 'bye' is what people actually say.
Marhay na banggipending review	Good night (on parting)	The word for good behaves here as it does in every greeting on this site; it is the second half worth looking at. Rabii, gabii, gab-i, banggi, bengi and labi are six forms that rhyme more than they match.

Courtesy

Thank you, sorry, yes and no.

Courtesy: Bikol phrases with English translations
Bikol	English	Notes
Salamatpending review	Thank you	Ilocano is the odd one out. 'Salamat' is understood in Ilocos, but 'agyamanak' — literally 'I am grateful' — is the native form and the one a speaker will use back to you.
Dakulang salamatpending review	Thank you very much	The intensifier is the tell: daghan (Cebuano), madamo (Hiligaynon), damo (Waray), dakula (Bikol), dakal (Kapampangan), dakel (Pangasinan) — all meaning 'many', none of them the Tagalog 'marami'.
Daing ano manpending review	You're welcome	Waray's own name comes from this construction — 'waray' is the word for 'none', and the language is named after how often outsiders heard it.
Iyopending review	Yes	Four different words for yes across eight languages. Kapampangan 'wa' and Pangasinan 'on' are unrecognisable to a Tagalog speaker, and machine translation frequently passes them through untouched.
Daipending review	No	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'.
Patawada akopending review	Sorry	In everyday speech 'sorry' and 'pasensya' are what most speakers actually say in all eight; the native forms above are what you will see written.
Tabipending review	Please	None of these behave like English 'please'. They are requests in their own right — Cebuano 'palihug' is closer to 'do me the favour' — and are usually attached to the verb rather than added at the end.
Tabi popending review	Excuse me	Tabi is the shared form: Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray and Bikol all build on it and differ only in what follows — lang, anay, po. Tagalog makikiraan and Ilocano umisu man share nothing with it, or with each other.
Mayong problemapending review	No problem	The word for 'none' is the giveaway: wala, awan, walay, waray, mayo. Waray-speakers are named after theirs.
Mag-ingat kapending review	Take care	Cebuano ayo-ayo and Hiligaynon halong appear again as those languages' entry for goodbye. A Visayan farewell is usually an instruction to look after yourself rather than a word for parting.

Introductions

Names and first meetings.

Introductions: Bikol phrases with English translations
Bikol	English	Notes
Ano an pangaran mo?pending review	What is your name?	Kapampangan shares no root here at all — 'nanu' for what, 'lagyu' for name — which is a fair summary of how far Central Luzon sits from everything else on this list.
An pangaran ko…pending review	My name is…
Maugma ako na mamidbid kapending review	Nice to meet you
Taga-sain ka?pending review	Where are you from?	Same frame, eight different question words bolted onto it. This single row is the clearest illustration of why machine translation between these languages fails: the shared 'taga-' makes the sentence look translatable while the word that carries the meaning is unique to each.

Understanding

Getting by when you do not follow.

Understanding: Bikol phrases with English translations
Bikol	English	Notes
Dai ko nasasabutanpending review	I don't understand
Tataong ka mag-English?pending review	Do you speak English?	The verb for 'to know how' differs completely: kamao, kabalo, maaram, tataong. None of them is the Tagalog 'marunong'.
Tabi otrohapending review	Please say it again
Tabi luway-luwaypending review	Please speak slowly
Ano ini?pending review	What is this?
Nasasabutan kopending review	I understand
Ano an apod kaini?pending review	What is this called?

Numbers

Native numerals one to ten, which diverge sharply between the Luzon and Visayan languages.

Numbers: Bikol phrases with English translations
Bikol	English	Notes
Saropending review	One	Cebuano and Waray 'usa' is a false friend of the highest order: in Tagalog 'usa' is a deer.
Duwapending review	Two
Tulopending review	Three
Apatpending review	Four
Limapending review	Five	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.
Anompending review	Six
Pitopending review	Seven	Pito is unchanged in six of the eight. The two that look different are not: Kapampangan pitu is the u-for-o that runs through its whole numeral set, and Pangasinan pitora is pito carrying the -ra counting suffix that makes its numerals longer than everyone else's.
Walopending review	Eight	Walo survives untouched in six languages. Kapampangan walu and Pangasinan walora are the same word wearing each language's habits — the u for o, and the -ra that Pangasinan attaches to every numeral.
Siyampending review	Nine	Siyam everywhere, and the differences are spelling rather than vocabulary: Ilocano writes siam without the y, Pangasinan siamira adds its counting suffix to the same root. Nine is one of the numerals no language here replaced.
Sampulopending review	Ten	Pangasinan numerals carry a counting suffix -ra that none of the others use, so 'limara' and 'samplora' look longer than their neighbours for a structural reason rather than a phonetic one.
Kagsaropending review	Eleven	Three different strategies for building teens: Tagalog and Kapampangan prefix labing-, the Visayan languages say 'ten and one', and Bikol has a dedicated form (kagsaro).
Kagduwapending review	Twelve	Two ways of building it. Tagalog labindalawa, Kapampangan labingadwa and Pangasinan labinduara use a labi- prefix; the Visayan languages and Ilocano spell it out as ten and two — napulog duha, sangapulo ket dua. Bikol kagduwa contracts the same idea.
Duwang pulopending review	Twenty	Cebuano and Hiligaynon 'kaluhaan' bears no visible relation to their own word for two, duha. Waray's 'karuhaan' shows the same form after its regular l→r shift.
Tulong pulopending review	Thirty	The Visayan languages wrap the root for three in ka- and -an and get katloan. Everyone else counts it out as three tens: tatlumpu, tallopulo, tulong pulo, atlungpulu, talomplo.
Limang pulopending review	Fifty	Kalim-an is the same Visayan ka- -an circumfix seen on thirty, this time around lima. The others say five tens, and Ilocano limapulo shows that construction at its plainest.
Sanggatospending review	One hundred	Kapampangan 'dinalan' and Pangasinan 'sanlasus' share nothing with the gatos/daan the rest use — another reminder that the Luzon languages are not a group.
Sangribopending review	One thousand	Seven of the eight share libo and differ only in the counter in front of it — isang, usa ka, isa ka, sang-, san-. Ilocano sangaribu swaps the l for an r; Kapampangan drops the counter and says libu on its own.

Question words

Who, what, where and when — the words that differ most and trip up readers most.

Question words: Bikol phrases with English translations
Bikol	English	Notes
Anopending review	What	Ano covers Tagalog, Hiligaynon, Waray and Bikol, and Pangasinan anto is close enough to guess. Cebuano unsa, Kapampangan nanu and Ilocano ania are separate words entirely. Question words open most sentences, which is why this is where comprehension between these languages tends to fail first.
Siisaypending review	Who	Hiligaynon 'sin-o' and Waray 'hin-o' differ by a single consonant, and that s→h shift runs through the whole of Waray. It is the single most reliable way to tell the two apart.
Sainpending review	Where	Seven distinct words. Cebuano 'asa' is a false friend in Tagalog, where it means to hope or depend on someone.
Nuarinpending review	When	Six of the eight begin with ka-, and three of those carry a glottal stop written as a hyphen — kanus-a, san-o, kakan-o. Bikol nuarin is the outlier, sharing its shape with none of them.
Pira?pending review	How much?	Two different questions. Tagalog magkano and Kapampangan magkanu ask about price directly. Cebuano and Hiligaynon tagpila, Waray tagpira, Bikol pira, Pangasinan pigara and Ilocano mano are all built on that language's word for 'how many' instead.
Pira?pending review	How many?	Cebuano and Hiligaynon 'pila' means 'how many'. In Tagalog 'pila' is a queue — which makes 'Pila?' one of the most commonly misread words between Manila and Cebu.
panopending review	How

Time & days

Today, tomorrow, day and night.

Time & days: Bikol phrases with English translations
Bikol	English	Notes
Ngonyanpending review	Today	Eight words and no agreement, and two of them are the trap on this site's Cebuano-Hiligaynon page: Cebuano karon means today, while Hiligaynon reaches for subong instead — because karon in Hiligaynon means later.
Sa agapending review	Tomorrow	Ilocano builds tomorrow out of 'bigat', the word for morning — the same root as in 'Naimbag a bigat'.
Kasuhaponpending review	Yesterday	Kahapon, gahapon and kasuhapon are one word with the prefix shifting. Waray kakulop, Ilocano idi kalman and Kapampangan napun stand outside it entirely.
Aldawpending review	Day	In the Visayan languages 'adlaw' is both the day and the sun. Tagalog keeps the same double meaning in 'araw'; Ilocano does not — 'aldaw' is the day and 'init' is the sun.
Banggipending review	Night	Gabi is also the Tagalog for taro, separated only by stress — one of the few places where a core time word collides with a vegetable. Ilocano rabii, Bikol banggi, Kapampangan bengi and Pangasinan labi are the same word pulled through each language's consonants.
Semanapending review	Week	Three Spanish routes to one word. The Visayan languages and Bikol took semana; Tagalog linggo and Kapampangan dominggo both come from domingo, the Sunday that bounds the week. Pangasinan simba arrived the same way — and it is why simba means a week there and 'to attend mass' in Tagalog.
Taonpending review	Year	Tuig across all three Visayan languages, taon in Tagalog, Bikol and Pangasinan, with Ilocano tawen the same word carrying its w. Kapampangan banwa belongs to neither group.
Lunespending review	Monday	All eight took the Spanish weekday names wholesale. Only Sunday diverges — see below.
Martespending review	Tuesday	Identical in all eight. The Spanish weekday names arrived as a set, and none of these languages had a competing seven-day cycle to defend.
Miyerkulespending review	Wednesday	The only variation is spelling. Ilocano, Hiligaynon and Pangasinan write -koles; the other five write -kules.
Huwebespending review	Thursday	Huebes in Ilocano and Pangasinan, huwebes in the rest — the same choice between u and w those two make on Wednesday and again on Friday.
Biyernespending review	Friday	Biernes in Ilocano and Pangasinan, biyernes elsewhere. Three weekdays running where those two languages spell the Spanish the same way against the other six.
Sabadopending review	Saturday	Sabado in all eight with no variation whatsoever — the one weekday where even Ilocano and Pangasinan write it exactly as everyone else does.
Domingopending review	Sunday	Tagalog is the outlier: 'Linggo' where the rest kept 'Domingo'. Pangasinan went further and uses 'Simba', from the word for churchgoing — the same root Tagalog uses for the verb 'to attend mass'.
Udtopending review	Noon	Udto across the Visayan languages and Bikol, with Kapampangan ugtu the same word. Tagalog tanghali stands alone, and Ilocano does not use a single word at all: tengnga ti aldaw is 'the middle of the day'.
Agapending review	Morning	Aga in Hiligaynon, Waray and Bikol, and Tagalog umaga is that root under a prefix. Cebuano buntag, Ilocano bigat, Kapampangan abak and Pangasinan kabuasan are four separate answers — which is why the greetings built on them share so little.
Mayamayapending review	Later	The sharpest time-word trap in the Visayas. Hiligaynon 'karon' means later; Cebuano 'karon' means now. The same word moves an appointment in opposite directions.
Oraspending review	Hour	Oras in all eight, from Spanish horas, with no language keeping an alternative alongside it.
Pirmipending review	Always	Pirme and pirmi in Hiligaynon, Waray and Bikol are Spanish firme. Cebuano kanunay and Ilocano kanayon are one word between them; Tagalog lagi, Kapampangan pane and Pangasinan naynay are each on their own.

Family & people

Relationships and forms of address.

Family & people: Bikol phrases with English translations
Bikol	English	Notes
Inapending review	Mother	Kapampangan 'ima' is a mother; Ilocano 'ima' is a hand. Two Luzon languages a hundred kilometres apart, same three letters, nothing in common.
Amapending review	Father	Ama holds in Tagalog, Ilocano, Bikol and Pangasinan. Cebuano amahan and the Hiligaynon and Waray amay are the same root extended; Kapampangan ibpa is the only one that shares nothing, which is the pattern Kapampangan sets across this whole list.
Nanaypending review	Mum	Nanay is the near-universal informal form. Ilocano nanang keeps the same shape with its own ending, and Kapampangan ima stands apart — the formal ina sits behind most of these, but nanay is what people actually say.
Tataypending review	Dad	Tatay runs through six of the eight, with Ilocano and Kapampangan both saying tatang. That pairing is worth noticing: the two languages agree here while disagreeing on almost every other kinship term on this page.
Akipending review	Child	'Anak' is the offspring relationship in all eight; Bikol 'aki' is the exception and is a child in general.
Tugangpending review	Sibling	Six unrelated roots. Only Tagalog 'kapatid' and Kapampangan 'kapatad' match, and that is a loan rather than shared inheritance.
Lolapending review	Grandmother	Lola is Spanish, and it has taken over Tagalog and all three Visayan languages plus Bikol. What it has not displaced is instructive — Ilocano apong baket, Kapampangan apu and Pangasinan bai all survive in the Luzon languages outside Tagalog.
Lolopending review	Grandfather	Pangasinan 'laki' is a grandfather. In Tagalog, Cebuano and most of the rest, 'lalaki' is simply a man — close enough to mislead.
Katoodpending review	Friend	Eight languages, eight unrelated words. Kapampangan 'kaluguran' doubles as a term of affection, which is why 'Kaluguran daka' means 'I love you'.
Lalakipending review	Man	Lalaki, unchanged in seven of the eight. Pangasinan laki is the same word with the first syllable worn away, which it also does to babae — bii.
Babayipending review	Woman	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.
Agompending review	Spouse	'Asawa' covers husband and wife alike in seven of the eight — the sex of the spouse is not marked. Bikol 'agom' is the odd one out.
Pangaranpending review	Name	No single word here, which matters because 'what is your name' is the first sentence anyone learns. Ngalan and ngaran run through the Visayan languages and Bikol, Ilocano nagan is close, and Kapampangan lagyu shares nothing with any of them.
Kataningpending review	Neighbour	Eight languages, eight words, no two alike. Everyday social vocabulary diverges far more than the numbers or the animals do, and this row is the clearest example of it on the site.
Umboypending review	Baby
Tiyopending review	Uncle	Tiyo is Spanish and has taken Tagalog, Hiligaynon, Waray and Bikol. The native terms survive where Spanish reached less deeply: Ilocano and Pangasinan both keep uliteg, Cebuano uyoan, Kapampangan bapa.
Tiyapending review	Aunt	The same split as uncle, and the same languages resist. Tiya covers Tagalog, Hiligaynon, Waray and Bikol; Ilocano and Pangasinan both keep ikit, exactly as they both keep uliteg.
lalakipending review	Man (adult male)	Lalaki with no variation at all until Pangasinan, which clips it to laki — the same thing it does to the word for woman.
tawopending review	Man (human being)	Tao and tawo are one word: the Visayan languages and Bikol keep the w, Tagalog and Ilocano drop it. Pangasinan too and Kapampangan tau are the same again with their own vowels.
akipending review	Child (a youth)	Two different words competing. Anak means offspring and covers most of the list; Tagalog and Cebuano bata means a young person regardless of whose child they are. Bikol aki is a third. Which one a language chose is a choice about what 'child' means.
agompending review	Wife	Asawa in seven of the eight, and it is gender-neutral in all of them — the same word appears as the entry for husband. Bikol agom is the only language here using a separate term.
agompending review	Husband	The interesting row is this one against wife. Tagalog, Ilocano, Kapampangan and Pangasinan use asawa for both; Cebuano, Hiligaynon and Waray keep a distinct bana for a husband. Bikol agom covers both, like asawa does.

Food & eating

Meals, ingredients and asking for them.

Food & eating: Bikol phrases with English translations
Bikol	English	Notes
Bagaspending review	Rice (uncooked)	All eight distinguish uncooked grain from cooked rice with separate words — a distinction English has to spell out.
Sirapending review	Fish	Bikol and Pangasinan 'sira' is a fish. In Tagalog and Cebuano 'sira' means broken or spoiled — so a Bikolano menu can read alarmingly to a Manila reader.
Karnepending review	Meat	Karne in all eight without a single spelling change. That is unusual for a loan on this list — most leave at least one language holding its own word, and meat left none.
Manokpending review	Chicken	Manok in all eight, with only Kapampangan manuk differing and only in the vowel it always changes. Unlike karne directly above it, nothing displaced this one.
Urigpending review	Pig	Baboy in seven. Bikol urig is the only language here that kept something else, and Kapampangan babi is baboy with its usual syllable lost.
Sugokpending review	Egg	One of the sharpest splits in this file. 'Itlog' covers Tagalog through Hiligaynon, then Waray, Bikol, Kapampangan and Pangasinan each go their own way entirely.
Asinpending review	Salt	The province of Pangasinan is named for this word — 'pang-asin-an', the place where salt is made.
Gulaypending review	Vegetable	Utan across the three Visayan languages, gulay in Tagalog and Bikol with Kapampangan gule beside them. Ilocano nateng and Pangasinan pising are each alone.
Magkakanpending review	To eat	Ilocano, Kapampangan and Pangasinan all use 'mangan' — a genuine Luzon isogloss, and one of the very few things the three share against the Visayan 'kaon'.
Gutom na akopending review	I'm hungry	Gutom is the shared root through Tagalog, the Visayan languages and Bikol. The three Luzon languages outside Tagalog each have their own — and each folds the 'I' into the verb rather than saying it separately: mabisinak, danupan ku na, naerasan ak.
Masirampending review	Delicious	Eight languages, eight unrelated words for the same compliment. If you learn one word from this list, learn the local one for this.
Basog na akopending review	I'm full	Busog runs through Tagalog, the Visayan languages and Bikol. Ilocano nabsogakon is the same root with the person attached to it — the construction the pronouns guide sets out, where a whole sentence fits inside one word.
Tinapaypending review	Bread	Tinapay in seven languages. Cebuano alone says pan — Spanish, and shorter.
Asukarpending review	Sugar	Asukal or asukar, and the split is one consonant: Tagalog, Cebuano, Kapampangan and Pangasinan take the l; Ilocano, Hiligaynon, Waray and Bikol take the r. Four against four.
Batagpending review	Banana	Saging in five. Ilocano and Pangasinan both say saba, which in Tagalog names one particular cooking variety rather than the fruit in general. Bikol batag is its own word.
Niyogpending review	Coconut	Lubi across all three Visayan languages; niyog in Tagalog, Bikol and Pangasinan with Ilocano niog alongside. Kapampangan ungut belongs to neither group.
Manggapending review	Mango	Mangga in all eight with no variation, which on a page where sweet, sour and salty all splinter is worth noticing.
Maispending review	Corn	Mais in all eight, from Spanish maíz. Maize is a New World crop that reached these islands through Spain, and the word came with the plant.
Bawangpending review	Garlic	The Visayan languages took the Spanish 'ajos'; the Luzon languages kept the native 'bawang'.
Sabawpending review	Soup, broth	Sabaw in six, with Kapampangan sabo the same word shortened. Ilocano digo is the only real outlier.
Mahamispending review	Sweet	Tam-is is the root, and almost every language wraps it in its own adjective prefix — ma-, na-. Bikol mahamis differs by a single consonant; Kapampangan mayumu is the one form here unrelated to the rest.
Maalsompending review	Sour	One root under everyone's adjective prefix, and the vowels do the moving: aslom, aslam, alsem, alsom. The consonants hold. Tagalog maasim is the same word with the l dropped.
Maharangpending review	Spicy
Maalatpending review	Salty	Maalat in Tagalog, Waray, Bikol and Kapampangan. Hiligaynon maasin builds it on asin — salt itself — while Cebuano parat and Ilocano naapgad are separate words again.
Maglutopending review	To cook	Luto is the root in every one; only the prefix changes — mag-, ag-, man-. Ilocano agluto takes the ag- that marks actor focus, the same prefix the verb table sets out.
Platitopending review	Plate	A clean split between the Spanish word and the native one. Tagalog, Cebuano and Bikol took plato; Ilocano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Kapampangan and Pangasinan all kept pinggan. Five to three, and geography does not predict which.
Kutsarapending review	Spoon	Kutsara in all eight, from Spanish cuchara — and it sits beside plate, where five languages kept pinggan rather than take plato. The spoon was borrowed everywhere; the plate was not.

Drinks

Water, coffee and what to order.

Drinks: Bikol phrases with English translations
Bikol	English	Notes
Tubigpending review	Water	The Luzon/Visayan split in one word: danum in the north, tubig everywhere else. Tagalog sides with the Visayan languages here despite sitting on Luzon.
Kapepending review	Coffee
Gataspending review	Milk
Mag-inompending review	To drink
Tubig tabipending review	Water, please
Tsaapending review	Tea
Serbesapending review	Beer
Mainit na tubigpending review	Hot water
Malipot na tubigpending review	Cold water

Market & money

Prices, haggling, paying.

Market & money: Bikol phrases with English translations
Bikol	English	Notes
Kwartapending review	Money	Tagalog took 'pera' from Spanish 'perra'; everything north and south of it took 'cuarta' instead. The two are not interchangeable outside Manila.
Mahalpending review	Expensive	In Tagalog 'mahal' means both expensive and beloved. Ilocano keeps them apart — 'nangina' for costly, 'ay-ayat' for love — so the pun does not survive translation.
Baratopending review	Cheap	Four of the eight reach for the Spanish 'barato' rather than a native word, while Tagalog and Ilocano kept their own.
Magbakalpending review	To buy	Cebuano 'palit' is to buy; in Tagalog 'palit' is to exchange or swap. Same root, opposite ends of a transaction.
Saudanpending review	Market
Pira ini?pending review	How much is this?
Mahal na marhaypending review	That's too expensive
Pwede tawad?pending review	Can you lower the price?
Magtindapending review	To sell

Directions

Left, right, here, there and how far.

Directions: Bikol phrases with English translations
Bikol	English	Notes
Walapending review	Left	The most dangerous word on this page. 'Wala' means left in four of these languages and 'none' in Tagalog — so a Tagalog speaker hearing directions in Cebu can understand the sentence and take the wrong turn.
Tuopending review	Right
Digdipending review	Here	Hiligaynon 'diri' is 'here'. Waray 'diri' is 'not'. The two languages are neighbours and this pair catches people constantly.
Dumanpending review	There
Harayopending review	Far
Haranipending review	Near
Sain an banyo?pending review	Where is the toilet?
Magdumanpending review	To go
Diretsopending review	Straight ahead
Itaaspending review	Up
Ibabapending review	Down
Laogpending review	Inside
Luwaspending review	Outside

Health & emergency

The phrases worth knowing before you need them.

Health & emergency: Bikol phrases with English translations
Bikol	English	Notes
Tabang!pending review	Help!	Worth memorising the local form before you need it. Cebuano 'tabang' is help; Hiligaynon 'tab-ang' is bland or tasteless, which is a poor thing to shout.
Doktorpending review	Doctor
Ospitalpending review	Hospital
May hilang akopending review	I am sick
Makulogpending review	It hurts	Waray 'maul-ul' and Bikol 'makulog' share nothing with the 'sakit' the other six use.
Pulispending review	Police
Kalayo!pending review	Fire!	Bikol shouts 'Kalayo!', which in Tagalog would be parsed as 'distance'. In an emergency that is the worst possible ambiguity.
Parahabon!pending review	Thief!
Mag-ingat kapending review	Be careful
Nawara akopending review	I am lost
Kalinturapending review	Fever
Kulog kan payopending review	Headache

The body

Head to foot, where several of these languages share nothing at all.

The body: Bikol phrases with English translations
Bikol	English	Notes
Payopending review	Head	Bikol 'payo' is a head. In Tagalog 'payo' is advice — which makes it one of the neatest false friends in the country.
Matapending review	Eye
Kamotpending review	Hand	Three separate traps in one row: Ilocano 'ima' is Kapampangan for mother, Visayan 'kamot' is Tagalog for scratching, and Pangasinan 'lima' is the numeral five in every other language here.
Bitispending review	Foot
Ngusopending review	Mouth	Visayan 'baba' is a mouth; Tagalog 'baba' is a chin, and with different stress it is also 'down'. Neighbouring body parts, different words.
Tulakpending review	Stomach
Buhokpending review	Hair
Talingapending review	Ear
Dungopending review	Nose
Ngiponpending review	Tooth
Dugopending review	Blood	Ilocano and Kapampangan both say 'daya' for blood — and in Tagalog and Cebuano the same word means cheating. Worth care in any medical setting.
Pusopending review	Heart
kublitpending review	Skin (of a person)
lamanpending review	Meat (as in flesh)
tulangpending review	Bone
tabapending review	Fat (noun)
dilapending review	Tongue
kukopending review	Fingernail
tabaypending review	Leg
tuhodpending review	Knee
tulakpending review	Belly
bitukapending review	Guts
liogpending review	Neck
likodpending review	Back
susopending review	Breast
katoypending review	Liver

Nature & weather

Sun, rain, sea and mountain.

Nature & weather: Bikol phrases with English translations
Bikol	English	Notes
Saldangpending review	Sun	Ilocano 'init' is the sun; Tagalog 'init' is heat. Related idea, different part of speech, and machine translation routinely mixes the two.
Bulanpending review	Moon	Seven of the eight kept 'bulan'; Tagalog alone shifted the l to w. The same word means 'month' in all of them.
Bitoonpending review	Star
Uranpending review	Rain	Ilocano is alone here. 'Tudo' shares nothing with the ulan/uran the other seven use.
Dagatpending review	Sea
Bukidpending review	Mountain	Two traps at once. Ilocano 'bantay' is a mountain; in Tagalog it is a guard. Visayan 'bukid' is a mountain; in Tagalog 'bukid' is a field or farm.
Harongpending review	House
Kalayopending review	Fire	Visayan 'kalayo' is fire; Tagalog 'kalayo' would be parsed as 'distance'. The Luzon languages all keep apoy/apuy.
Salogpending review	River	Waray and Bikol 'salog' looks close to Tagalog 'ilog' but is a separate root — and in Cebuano 'salog' is a floor.
Dagapending review	Land, soil	Six unrelated roots for the ground under your feet, and Ilocano 'daga' collides head-on with Tagalog, where it means a rat.
Kahoypending review	Tree
Burakpending review	Flower	Ilocano 'sabong' is a flower. In Tagalog 'sabong' is cockfighting — an unusually large gap for two languages spoken on the same island.
Gapopending review	Stone
Durospending review	Wind
Langitpending review	Sky	Pangasinan 'tawen' is the sky; Ilocano 'tawen' is a year. Two Northern Luzon languages, one word, no shared meaning.
Linogpending review	Earthquake
Bagyopending review	Typhoon
kadlaganpending review	Forest
sarasapending review	Stick (of wood)
bungapending review	Fruit
pisogpending review	Seed
dahonpending review	Leaf
gamotpending review	Root
ubakpending review	Bark (of tree)
duotpending review	Grass
danawpending review	Lake
dagatpending review	Sea (as in ocean)
baybaypending review	Sand
alpogpending review	Dust
dagapending review	Earth (as in soil)
dampogpending review	Cloud
ambonpending review	Fog
durospending review	Wind (as in breeze)
nyebepending review	Snow
yelopending review	Ice
asopending review	Smoke
abopending review	Ash
aldawpending review	Day (daytime)

Describing things

Big, small, good, beautiful.

Describing things: Bikol phrases with English translations
Bikol	English	Notes
Dakulapending review	Big
Saditpending review	Small
Marhaypending review	Good
Maraotpending review	Bad
Magayonpending review	Beautiful	Bikol 'magayon' is the root behind Mayon, the volcano. Waray 'mahusay' means beautiful; in Tagalog the same word means skilled or well-arranged.
Mainitpending review	Hot
Malipotpending review	Cold
Marikaspending review	Fast
Bagopending review	New
Lumapending review	Old (of a thing)	Ilocano and the Visayan languages use 'daan' for old — the same string Tagalog uses for a road.
Gurangpending review	Old (of a person)	Ilocano 'lakay' is an old man specifically; 'baket' is the word for an old woman, and that one collides with Kapampangan 'baket', meaning why.
Dakolpending review	Many
Kadikitpending review	Few
Halabapending review	Long
Halipotpending review	Short
Magabatpending review	Heavy
Malinigpending review	Clean
Maatipending review	Dirty
gabospending review	All
nagkapirapending review	Some
ibapending review	Other
halakbangpending review	Wide
mahibogpending review	Thick
hayapitpending review	Narrow
mahimpispending review	Thin
maimbongpending review	Warm (as in weather)
malipotpending review	Cold (as in weather)
panopending review	Full
daanpending review	Old
lapapending review	Rotten (as a log)
tanospending review	Straight
bilogpending review	Round
matarompending review	Sharp (as a knife)
mangurolpending review	Dull (as a knife)
mahalnaspending review	Smooth
dumogpending review	Wet
alangpending review	Dry (adjective)
tamapending review	Right (correct)
tuopending review	Right (side)
walapending review	Left (side)

Feelings

Saying how you are, and how you feel about someone.

Feelings: Bikol phrases with English translations
Bikol	English	Notes
Namumutan ta kapending review	I love you	Eight languages and eight completely different verbs. This row alone answers the question of whether Philippine languages are 'dialects of each other'.
Maugmapending review	Happy
Mamundopending review	Sad
Pagalpending review	Tired
Anggotpending review	Angry
Namimibian takapending review	I miss you
Takotpending review	Afraid
Nagkukurahawpending review	Surprised

Colours

Basic colour terms.

Colours: Bikol phrases with English translations
Bikol	English	Notes
Pulapending review	Red	Pula covers Tagalog, all three Visayan languages and Bikol. The three that break from it — Ilocano nalabaga, Kapampangan malutu, Pangasinan ambalanga — are exactly the three Luzon languages that sit outside the Central Philippine branch. The family tree showing through a colour word.
Putipending review	White	Puti is the base, and two languages keep it under a prefix: Kapampangan maputi, Pangasinan amputi. The two that abandon it are Ilocano puraw and Waray busag — and busag is one of the words that marks Waray off from its Bisayan neighbours, which both say puti.
Itompending review	Black	Kapampangan 'matuling' is black. Tagalog 'matulin' — one letter apart — means fast.
Asulpending review	Blue	Identical in all eight. That is what a loanword looks like: nothing native survives here, so there is nothing for the languages to disagree about. Compare red, where the native words hold and almost nothing matches.
Berdepending review	Green	Only Kapampangan kept a native word. The other seven took the Spanish 'verde' and never replaced it.
Kahelpending review	Orange	The same word in all eight, which on this list is true only of orange and blue. Borrowed colour terms travel intact; the native ones — red, white, yellow — are where these languages part company.
Abuhonpending review	Grey	Every one of these is built on the word for ash — abo, dapo — rather than being a colour term of its own.

Everyday verbs

The actions that carry most sentences.

Everyday verbs: Bikol phrases with English translations
Bikol	English	Notes
Magturogpending review	To sleep
Mahilingpending review	To see
Sabihonpending review	To say	Ilocano and Pangasinan share 'ibaga' — but in Tagalog 'baga' is an ember, and in Ilocano it is the colour red.
Arampending review	To know
Gustopending review	To want	Kapampangan 'buri' is to want or like. In Tagalog 'buri' is a species of palm.
Magtaopending review	To give
Magtrabahopending review	To work
Maglakawpending review	To walk
Magtarampending review	To speak	The Visayan languages disagree with each other completely here — sulti, hambal, yakan — which is a useful corrective to the idea that they are one language.
Maghinanyogpending review	To listen
Magsuratpending review	To write
Magbasapending review	To read
Magtukawpending review	To sit
Magtindogpending review	To stand
Magdalaganpending review	To run
Maghalatpending review	To wait
Buksanpending review	To open
Isarapending review	To close
Maghugaspending review	To wash
Magdigdipending review	To come here
kagatpending review	To bite
supsoppending review	To suck
lutabpending review	To spit
sukapending review	To vomit
hayoppending review	To blow (as wind)
hangospending review	To breathe
ngisipending review	To laugh
dangogpending review	To hear
arampending review	To know (a fact)
isippending review	To think
parongpending review	To smell (sense odour)
takotpending review	To fear
buhaypending review	To live
gadanpending review	To die
gadanpending review	To kill
labanpending review	To fight
mangayampending review	To hunt (transitive)
tamapending review	To hit
putolpending review	To cut
silakpending review	To split
saksakpending review	To stab (or stick)
kagawpending review	To scratch (an itch)
kalotpending review	To dig
langoypending review	To swim
layogpending review	To fly
abotpending review	To come
higdapending review	To lie (as on one's side)
sikopending review	To turn (change direction)
hulogpending review	To fall (as in drop)
kapotpending review	To hold (in one's hand)
gumokpending review	To squeeze
gusgospending review	To rub
pahidpending review	To wipe
guyodpending review	To pull
tulodpending review	To push
aponpending review	To throw
igakodpending review	To tie
tahipending review	To sew
bilangpending review	To count
kantapending review	To sing
kawatpending review	To play
latawpending review	To float
bulospending review	To flow
lipotpending review	To freeze
gatokpending review	To swell
sulopending review	To burn (intransitive)

Months

The Spanish-derived month names, and where the spellings part company.

Months: Bikol phrases with English translations
Bikol	English	Notes
Eneropending review	January	The month names are Spanish in all eight languages. What varies is spelling: Tagalog respells the Spanish f as p (Pebrero), while several of the others keep Febrero.
Pebreropending review	February
Marsopending review	March
Abrilpending review	April
Mayopending review	May
Hunyopending review	June
Hulyopending review	July
Agostopending review	August
Setyembrepending review	September
Oktubrepending review	October
Nobyembrepending review	November
Disyembrepending review	December

Getting around

Roads, boats, jeepneys and how to get off one.

Getting around: Bikol phrases with English translations
Bikol	English	Notes
Tinampopending review	Road	Seven of the eight use 'dalan'. Tagalog's 'daan' is the same root worn down, and Bikol went its own way with 'tinampo'.
Barotopending review	Boat
Awtopending review	Car
Magsakaypending review	To ride
Para tabipending review	Stop here, please	'Para' comes from Spanish 'parar', to stop, and is the universal way to get off a jeepney anywhere in the country.
Sain ka maduman?pending review	Where are you going?
Tiketpending review	Ticket

Somewhere to stay

Rooms, doors, keys — a category where almost nothing carries between languages.

Somewhere to stay: Bikol phrases with English translations
Bikol	English	Notes
Yabapending review	Key	Another row where nothing carries over. Ilocano 'tulbek' and Tagalog 'susi' share no history at all.
Pintopending review	Door
Bintanapending review	Window	Ilocano 'tawa' is a window. In Tagalog it is laughter.
Kuwartopending review	Room
Katrepending review	Bed
Kasilyaspending review	Toilet

Things to buy

Everyday items you might need to ask for.

Things to buy: Bikol phrases with English translations
Bikol	English	Notes
Badopending review	Clothes
Sapatospending review	Shoes
Bulongpending review	Medicine	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.
Sabonpending review	Soap
Libropending review	Book
Papelpending review	Paper

Animals

Everyday creatures, and several of the sharpest false friends on the site.

Animals: Bikol phrases with English translations
Bikol	English	Notes
Ayampending review	Dog	Four unrelated words for the commonest domestic animal. Worth pairing with the Cebuano trap: 'aso' means smoke there, so the Tagalog word for dog is a real Cebuano word meaning something else entirely.
Ikospending review	Cat	The one domestic animal with no agreement at all. Pusa covers Tagalog, Ilocano, Kapampangan and Pangasinan; the Visayan languages each have their own word — iring, kuring, uding — and Bikol ikos shares with none of them.
Karabawpending review	Carabao	The national animal, and three of the eight have their own word for it — Ilocano nuang, Kapampangan damulag, Pangasinan dueg.
Kandingpending review	Goat	Kanding across the Visayan languages, Bikol and Pangasinan; kambing in Tagalog and Kapampangan; Ilocano kalding sits between the two with its own consonant. Three shapes of what looks like one word.
Bakapending review	Cow	Baka in all eight without variation. Spanish vaca arrived with the animal itself, so there was no native word for it to displace — which is why this row is flat while cat is not.
Kabayopending review	Horse	Kabayo everywhere, from Spanish caballo, with only spelling separating them: Ilocano kabalyo keeps the Spanish ll, Kapampangan kabayu takes its usual u. Another animal that arrived with its name.
Halaspending review	Snake	Five unrelated words, and the one worth memorising before you need it. Ilocano and Pangasinan share 'uleg', which is unusual — the two rarely agree.
Gamgampending review	Bird	Cebuano 'langgam' is a bird; Tagalog 'langgam' is an ant. One of the most-cited false friends between the two largest languages in the country.
Lamokpending review	Mosquito	Lamok in most, but Hiligaynon and Waray both say namok. The l-to-n shift between those two and their neighbours turns up elsewhere in Bisayan and is regular enough to guess at.
hayoppending review	Animal	Hayop covers Tagalog, Hiligaynon, Waray and Bikol, with Ilocano ayup and Pangasinan ayep as the same word reduced. Cebuano mananap is its own; the Kapampangan cell reads animal, which is worth a speaker's eye before it is trusted.
kutopending review	Louse	Kuto in all eight, with only Kapampangan kutu differing and only in its usual vowel. Head lice are old and universal, and the word for them has not moved.
ulodpending review	Worm	Ulod across the Visayan languages and Bikol, uod in Tagalog. Ilocano igges and Pangasinan biges share nothing with them or, on the face of it, with each other. Kapampangan bulati is a fourth answer.
sungaypending review	Horn	Sungay holds in Tagalog and most of the Visayas, then falls apart: Ilocano sara, Waray budyong, Kapampangan sagu, Pangasinan saklor. Waray breaking from Cebuano and Hiligaynon here is its habit rather than an exception.
ikogpending review	Tail	Ikog runs through the Visayan languages and Bikol, and Pangasinan ikol and Kapampangan iki are recognisably the same. Tagalog buntot and Ilocano ipus are the two that stand outside it.
balukagpending review	Feather	Balahibo, balhibo and barahibo are one word — the Waray r for l is the shift that language applies regularly. Ilocano dutdut, Kapampangan bulbul and Pangasinan bago are separate answers, and Bikol balukag is a fourth.
pakpakpending review	Wing	Pakpak in five languages, and Cebuano and Waray pako is the same root without the doubling. Ilocano payak is the only form that has moved far from it.