Cebuano to English Phrasebook
287 everyday phrases, grouped by the situation you need them in. Compiled from published references rather than generated by a translation engine, and marked pending review until native speakers have confirmed it.
There is no question of mutual intelligibility here — the languages are unrelated. What matters instead is that English is the pivot: this translator, like most, routes Cebuano through English internally. That makes Cebuano↔English the strongest direction available for this language, and it is why translating Cebuano into another Philippine language is measurably worse than translating it into English.
- Phrases
- 287
- Categories
- 24
- Cited sources
- 2
- Pending review
- 287
Showing all 287 phrases across 24 categories.
Greetings
The opener changes in every one of these languages — this is the fastest way to tell them apart.
| Cebuano | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Maayong buntagpending 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. |
| Maayong haponpending review | Good afternoon | |
| Maayong gabiipending review | Good evening | |
| Maayong adlawpending 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. |
| Maayo rapending review | I'm fine | |
| Ayo-ayopending 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. |
| Maayong gabiipending review | Good night (on parting) | |
| Dugay na ta wala magkitapending review | Long time no see |
Courtesy
Thank you, sorry, yes and no.
| Cebuano | 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. |
| Daghang 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'. |
| Walay sapayanpending 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. |
| Oopending 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. |
| Dilipending 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'. |
| Pasayloa kopending 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. |
| Palihugpending 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 langpending review | Excuse me | |
| Walay problemapending review | No problem | The word for 'none' is the giveaway: wala, awan, walay, waray, mayo. Waray-speakers are named after theirs. |
| Ayo-ayopending review | Take care |
Introductions
Names and first meetings.
| Cebuano | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Unsa'y imong ngalan?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. |
| Ang akong ngalan kay…pending review | My name is… | |
| Nalipay ko nga nailhan tikapending review | Nice to meet you | |
| Taga-asa 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.
| Cebuano | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Wala ko kasabotpending review | I don't understand | |
| Kamao ka mo-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'. |
| Palihug balikapending review | Please say it again | |
| Palihug hinay-hinaypending review | Please speak slowly | |
| Unsa ni?pending review | What is this? | |
| Kasabot kopending review | I understand | |
| Unsa'y tawag ani?pending review | What is this called? | |
| Unsaon ni pagsulti?pending review | How do you say this? |
Numbers
Native numerals one to ten, which diverge sharply between the Luzon and Visayan languages.
| Cebuano | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Usapending review | One | Cebuano and Waray 'usa' is a false friend of the highest order: in Tagalog 'usa' is a deer. |
| Duhapending review | Two | |
| Tulopending review | Three | |
| Upatpending 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. |
| Unompending review | Six | |
| Pitopending review | Seven | |
| Walopending review | Eight | |
| Siyampending review | Nine | |
| Napulopending 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. |
| Napulog usapending 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). |
| Napulog duhapending review | Twelve | |
| Kaluhaanpending 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. |
| Katloanpending review | Thirty | |
| Kalim-anpending review | Fifty | |
| Usa ka gatospending 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. |
| Usa ka libopending review | One thousand |
Question words
Who, what, where and when — the words that differ most and trip up readers most.
| Cebuano | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Unsapending review | What | |
| Kinsapending 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. |
| Asapending review | Where | Seven distinct words. Cebuano 'asa' is a false friend in Tagalog, where it means to hope or depend on someone. |
| Kanus-apending review | When | |
| Nganopending review | Why | Kapampangan 'baket' looks like Tagalog 'bakit' and means the same thing — but it is also the Ilocano word for an old woman or a wife, so the same string means two unrelated things depending on which language you are reading. |
| Tagpila?pending review | How much? | |
| Pila?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. |
Time & days
Today, tomorrow, day and night.
| Cebuano | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Karonpending review | Today | |
| Ugmapending review | Tomorrow | Ilocano builds tomorrow out of 'bigat', the word for morning — the same root as in 'Naimbag a bigat'. |
| Gahaponpending review | Yesterday | |
| Adlawpending 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. |
| Gabiipending review | Night | |
| Semanapending review | Week | |
| Tuigpending review | Year | |
| Lunespending review | Monday | All eight took the Spanish weekday names wholesale. Only Sunday diverges — see below. |
| Martespending review | Tuesday | |
| Miyerkulespending review | Wednesday | |
| Huwebespending review | Thursday | |
| Biyernespending review | Friday | |
| Sabadopending review | Saturday | |
| Dominggopending 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 | |
| Buntagpending review | Morning | |
| Unyapending 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 | |
| Kanunaypending review | Always |
Family & people
Relationships and forms of address.
| Cebuano | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Inahanpending 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. |
| Amahanpending review | Father | |
| Nanaypending review | Mum | |
| Tataypending review | Dad | |
| Anakpending review | Child | 'Anak' is the offspring relationship in all eight; Bikol 'aki' is the exception and is a child in general. |
| Igsoonpending review | Sibling | Six unrelated roots. Only Tagalog 'kapatid' and Kapampangan 'kapatad' match, and that is a loan rather than shared inheritance. |
| Lolapending review | Grandmother | |
| 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. |
| Higalapending 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 | |
| Babayepending review | Woman | |
| Asawapending 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. |
| Ngalanpending review | Name | |
| Silinganpending review | Neighbour | |
| Masusopending review | Baby | |
| Uyoanpending review | Uncle | |
| Iyaanpending review | Aunt |
Food & eating
Meals, ingredients and asking for them.
| Cebuano | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bugaspending review | Rice (uncooked) | All eight distinguish uncooked grain from cooked rice with separate words — a distinction English has to spell out. |
| Kan-onpending review | Rice (cooked) | Kapampangan 'nasi' is a Malay-shaped word that none of its neighbours share. |
| Isdapending 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 | |
| Manokpending review | Chicken | |
| Baboypending review | Pig | |
| Itlogpending 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. |
| Utanpending review | Vegetable | |
| Mokaonpending 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'. |
| Gigutom kopending review | I'm hungry | |
| Lamipending 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. |
| Busog na kopending review | I'm full | |
| Panpending review | Bread | |
| Asukalpending review | Sugar | |
| Sagingpending review | Banana | |
| Lubipending review | Coconut | |
| Manggapending review | Mango | |
| Maispending review | Corn | |
| Ahospending review | Garlic | The Visayan languages took the Spanish 'ajos'; the Luzon languages kept the native 'bawang'. |
| Sabawpending review | Soup, broth | |
| Tam-ispending review | Sweet | |
| Aslompending review | Sour | |
| Halangpending review | Spicy | |
| Paratpending review | Salty | |
| Maglutopending review | To cook | |
| Platopending review | Plate | |
| Kutsarapending review | Spoon |
Drinks
Water, coffee and what to order.
| Cebuano | 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 | |
| Moinompending review | To drink | |
| Palihug ug tubigpending review | Water, please | |
| Tsapending review | Tea | |
| Beerpending review | Beer | |
| Init nga tubigpending review | Hot water | |
| Bugnaw nga tubigpending review | Cold water |
Market & money
Prices, haggling, paying.
| Cebuano | 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. |
| Mopalitpending review | To buy | Cebuano 'palit' is to buy; in Tagalog 'palit' is to exchange or swap. Same root, opposite ends of a transaction. |
| Merkadopending review | Market | |
| Tagpila ni?pending review | How much is this? | |
| Mahal kaayopending review | That's too expensive | |
| Pwede hangyo?pending review | Can you lower the price? | |
| Mobaligyapending review | To sell |
Directions
Left, right, here, there and how far.
| Cebuano | 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 | |
| Dinhipending review | Here | Hiligaynon 'diri' is 'here'. Waray 'diri' is 'not'. The two languages are neighbours and this pair catches people constantly. |
| Didtopending review | There | |
| Layopending review | Far | |
| Duolpending review | Near | |
| Asa ang banyo?pending review | Where is the toilet? | |
| Moadtopending review | To go | |
| Diretsopending review | Straight ahead | |
| Taaspending review | Up | |
| Ubospending review | Down | |
| Sulodpending review | Inside | |
| Gawaspending review | Outside |
Health & emergency
The phrases worth knowing before you need them.
| Cebuano | 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 | |
| Masakiton kopending review | I am sick | |
| Sakitpending review | It hurts | Waray 'maul-ul' and Bikol 'makulog' share nothing with the 'sakit' the other six use. |
| Pulispending review | Police | |
| Sunog!pending review | Fire! | Bikol shouts 'Kalayo!', which in Tagalog would be parsed as 'distance'. In an emergency that is the worst possible ambiguity. |
| Kawatan!pending review | Thief! | |
| Pag-ampingpending review | Be careful | |
| Nawala kopending review | I am lost | |
| Hilanatpending review | Fever | |
| Labad sa ulopending review | Headache |
The body
Head to foot, where several of these languages share nothing at all.
| Cebuano | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ulopending 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. |
| Tiilpending review | Foot | |
| Babapending 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. |
| Tiyanpending review | Stomach | |
| Buhokpending review | Hair | |
| Dalungganpending review | Ear | |
| Ilongpending 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. |
| Kasingkasingpending review | Heart |
Nature & weather
Sun, rain, sea and mountain.
| Cebuano | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Adlawpending 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. |
| Bituonpending review | Star | |
| Ulanpending 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. |
| Balaypending review | House | |
| Kalayopending review | Fire | Visayan 'kalayo' is fire; Tagalog 'kalayo' would be parsed as 'distance'. The Luzon languages all keep apoy/apuy. |
| Subapending review | River | Waray and Bikol 'salog' looks close to Tagalog 'ilog' but is a separate root — and in Cebuano 'salog' is a floor. |
| Yutapending 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 | |
| Bulakpending review | Flower | Ilocano 'sabong' is a flower. In Tagalog 'sabong' is cockfighting — an unusually large gap for two languages spoken on the same island. |
| Batopending review | Stone | |
| Hanginpending 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 |
Describing things
Big, small, good, beautiful.
| Cebuano | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dakopending review | Big | |
| Gamaypending review | Small | |
| Maayopending review | Good | |
| Dautanpending review | Bad | |
| Gwapapending 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. |
| Initpending review | Hot | |
| Bugnawpending review | Cold | |
| Paspaspending review | Fast | |
| Bag-opending review | New | |
| Daanpending review | Old (of a thing) | Ilocano and the Visayan languages use 'daan' for old — the same string Tagalog uses for a road. |
| Tigulangpending 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. |
| Daghanpending review | Many | |
| Gamaypending review | Few | |
| Taaspending review | Long | |
| Mubopending review | Short | |
| Bug-atpending review | Heavy | |
| Limpyopending review | Clean | |
| Hugawpending review | Dirty |
Feelings
Saying how you are, and how you feel about someone.
| Cebuano | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Gihigugma tikapending 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'. |
| Malipayonpending review | Happy | |
| Guolpending review | Sad | |
| Gikapoypending review | Tired | |
| Nasukopending review | Angry | |
| Gimingaw ko nimopending review | I miss you | |
| Nahadlokpending review | Afraid | |
| Nakuratanpending review | Surprised | |
| Gilaayanpending review | Bored |
Colours
Basic colour terms.
| Cebuano | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pulapending review | Red | |
| Putipending review | White | |
| Itompending review | Black | Kapampangan 'matuling' is black. Tagalog 'matulin' — one letter apart — means fast. |
| Asulpending review | Blue | |
| Dalagpending review | Yellow | |
| Berdepending review | Green | Only Kapampangan kept a native word. The other seven took the Spanish 'verde' and never replaced it. |
| Kahelpending review | Orange | |
| 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.
| Cebuano | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Matulogpending review | To sleep | |
| Makitapending review | To see | |
| Isultipending review | To say | Ilocano and Pangasinan share 'ibaga' — but in Tagalog 'baga' is an ember, and in Ilocano it is the colour red. |
| Kabalopending review | To know | |
| Gustopending review | To want | Kapampangan 'buri' is to want or like. In Tagalog 'buri' is a species of palm. |
| Mohatagpending review | To give | |
| Motrabahopending review | To work | |
| Molakawpending review | To walk | |
| Mosultipending 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. |
| Maminawpending review | To listen | |
| Mosulatpending review | To write | |
| Mobasapending review | To read | |
| Molingkodpending review | To sit | |
| Motindogpending review | To stand | |
| Modaganpending review | To run | |
| Maghulatpending review | To wait | |
| Ablihanpending review | To open | |
| Sirad-anpending review | To close | |
| Manghugaspending review | To wash | |
| Moanhipending review | To come here |
Months
The Spanish-derived month names, and where the spellings part company.
| Cebuano | 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 | |
| Septiyembrepending review | September | |
| Oktubrepending review | October | |
| Nobyembrepending review | November | |
| Disyembrepending review | December |
Getting around
Roads, boats, jeepneys and how to get off one.
| Cebuano | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dalanpending 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'. |
| Bangkapending review | Boat | |
| Sakyananpending review | Car | |
| Mosakaypending review | To ride | |
| Para langpending 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. |
| Asa ka paingon?pending review | Where are you going? | |
| Tiketpending review | Ticket |
Somewhere to stay
Rooms, doors, keys — a category where almost nothing carries between languages.
| Cebuano | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Yawipending review | Key | Another row where nothing carries over. Ilocano 'tulbek' and Tagalog 'susi' share no history at all. |
| Pultahanpending 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.
| Cebuano | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sininapending review | Clothes | |
| Sapatospending review | Shoes | |
| Tambalpending 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.
| Cebuano | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Iropending 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. |
| Iringpending review | Cat | |
| Kabawpending 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 | |
| Bakapending review | Cow | |
| Kabayopending review | Horse | |
| Bitinpending 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. |
| Langgampending 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. |
| Ilagapending review | Rat | Two traps in one row. Ilocano 'utot' is a rat and Tagalog 'utot' is a fart; Tagalog 'daga' is a rat and Ilocano 'daga' is land or soil. |
| Lamokpending review | Mosquito |
How often the machine gets these right
We ran 287 Cebuano entries from the phrasebook below through the same engine this site uses, and compared each result against the human-written English. Categories are our own; the comparison ignores punctuation and casing. English is the language the engine pivots through, so this is close to a best case for these languages.
Machine output matched or came close to the human English for 53.7% of 287 phrases. The rest were partly or entirely wrong.
Least reliable
- Everyday verbs0%
- Courtesy30%
- Directions31%
- Market & money33%
- Things to buy33%
Most reliable
- Months92%
- Drinks89%
- Time & days84%
Sources
- Ilocano phrasebook — Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-07-26.
- 52 Useful Ilocano Words & Phrases to Learn for Travelers — Chill and Travel. Accessed 2026-07-26.
Last updated 2026-08-06. 287 entries are marked “pending review” — carried on general reference and awaiting confirmation from a native speaker.