English to Kapampangan Phrasebook
201 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 Kapampangan through English internally. That makes Kapampangan↔English the strongest direction available for this language, and it is why translating Kapampangan into another Philippine language is measurably worse than translating it into English.
- Phrases
- 201
- Categories
- 24
- Cited sources
- 2
- Pending review
- 201
Showing all 201 phrases across 24 categories.
Greetings
The opener changes in every one of these languages — this is the fastest way to tell them apart.
| English | Kapampangan | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Good morningpending review | Mayap a abak | 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. |
| Good afternoonpending review | Mayap a gatpanapun | |
| Good eveningpending review | Mayap a bengi | |
| Good daypending review | Mayap a aldo | |
| How are you?pending review | Komusta ka? | 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. |
| I'm finepending review | Mayap ku naman |
Courtesy
Thank you, sorry, yes and no.
| English | Kapampangan | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Thank youpending review | Salamat | 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. |
| Thank you very muchpending review | Dakal a salamat | 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'. |
| Yespending review | Wa | 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. |
| Nopending review | Ali | 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'. |
| Sorrypending review | Pasensya na | 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. |
Introductions
Names and first meetings.
| English | Kapampangan | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| What is your name?pending review | Nanu ing lagyu mu? | 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. |
| My name is…pending review | Ing lagyu ku… | |
| Where are you from?pending review | Taga-nokarin ka? | 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.
| English | Kapampangan | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| I don't understandpending review | E ku aintindian | |
| What is this?pending review | Nanu ini? | |
| I understandpending review | Aintindian ku |
Numbers
Native numerals one to ten, which diverge sharply between the Luzon and Visayan languages.
| English | Kapampangan | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Onepending review | Metung | Cebuano and Waray 'usa' is a false friend of the highest order: in Tagalog 'usa' is a deer. |
| Twopending review | Adwa | |
| Threepending review | Atlu | |
| Fourpending review | Apat | |
| Fivepending review | Lima | 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. |
| Sixpending review | Anam | |
| Sevenpending review | Pitu | |
| Eightpending review | Walu | |
| Ninepending review | Siyam | |
| Tenpending review | Apulu | 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. |
| Elevenpending review | Labing metung | 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). |
| Twelvepending review | Labingadwa | |
| Twentypending review | Adwangpulu | 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. |
| Thirtypending review | Atlungpulu | |
| Fiftypending review | Limangpulu | |
| One hundredpending review | Dinalan | Kapampangan 'dinalan' and Pangasinan 'sanlasus' share nothing with the gatos/daan the rest use — another reminder that the Luzon languages are not a group. |
| One thousandpending review | Libu |
Question words
Who, what, where and when — the words that differ most and trip up readers most.
| English | Kapampangan | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Whatpending review | Nanu | |
| Whopending review | Ninu | 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. |
| Wherepending review | Nokarin | Seven distinct words. Cebuano 'asa' is a false friend in Tagalog, where it means to hope or depend on someone. |
| Whenpending review | Kapilan | |
| Whypending review | Baket | 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. |
| How much?pending review | Magkanu? | |
| How many?pending review | Pilan? | 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.
| English | Kapampangan | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Todaypending review | Ngeni | |
| Tomorrowpending review | Bukas | Ilocano builds tomorrow out of 'bigat', the word for morning — the same root as in 'Naimbag a bigat'. |
| Yesterdaypending review | Napun | |
| Daypending review | Aldo | 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. |
| Nightpending review | Bengi | |
| Weekpending review | Dominggo | |
| Yearpending review | Banwa | |
| Mondaypending review | Lunes | All eight took the Spanish weekday names wholesale. Only Sunday diverges — see below. |
| Tuesdaypending review | Martes | |
| Wednesdaypending review | Miyerkules | |
| Thursdaypending review | Huwebes | |
| Fridaypending review | Biyernes | |
| Saturdaypending review | Sabado | |
| Sundaypending review | Dominggo | 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'. |
| Morningpending review | Abak | |
| Hourpending review | Oras |
Family & people
Relationships and forms of address.
| English | Kapampangan | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Motherpending review | Ima | Kapampangan 'ima' is a mother; Ilocano 'ima' is a hand. Two Luzon languages a hundred kilometres apart, same three letters, nothing in common. |
| Fatherpending review | Ibpa | |
| Mumpending review | Ima | |
| Dadpending review | Tatang | |
| Childpending review | Anak | 'Anak' is the offspring relationship in all eight; Bikol 'aki' is the exception and is a child in general. |
| Siblingpending review | Kapatad | Six unrelated roots. Only Tagalog 'kapatid' and Kapampangan 'kapatad' match, and that is a loan rather than shared inheritance. |
| Grandmotherpending review | Apu | |
| Grandfatherpending review | Apu | Pangasinan 'laki' is a grandfather. In Tagalog, Cebuano and most of the rest, 'lalaki' is simply a man — close enough to mislead. |
| Friendpending review | Kaluguran | Eight languages, eight unrelated words. Kapampangan 'kaluguran' doubles as a term of affection, which is why 'Kaluguran daka' means 'I love you'. |
| Manpending review | Lalaki | |
| Womanpending review | Babai | |
| Spousepending review | Asawa | '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. |
| Namepending review | Lagyu |
Food & eating
Meals, ingredients and asking for them.
| English | Kapampangan | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rice (uncooked)pending review | Abias | All eight distinguish uncooked grain from cooked rice with separate words — a distinction English has to spell out. |
| Rice (cooked)pending review | Nasi | Kapampangan 'nasi' is a Malay-shaped word that none of its neighbours share. |
| Fishpending review | Asan | 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. |
| Meatpending review | Karne | |
| Chickenpending review | Manuk | |
| Pigpending review | Babi | |
| Eggpending review | Ebun | 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. |
| Saltpending review | Asin | The province of Pangasinan is named for this word — 'pang-asin-an', the place where salt is made. |
| Vegetablepending review | Gule | |
| To eatpending review | Mangan | 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'. |
| I'm hungrypending review | Danupan ku na | |
| Deliciouspending review | Manyaman | Eight languages, eight unrelated words for the same compliment. If you learn one word from this list, learn the local one for this. |
| Breadpending review | Tinape | |
| Sugarpending review | Asukal | |
| Bananapending review | Saging | |
| Coconutpending review | Ungut | |
| Mangopending review | Mangga | |
| Cornpending review | Mais | |
| Garlicpending review | Bawang | The Visayan languages took the Spanish 'ajos'; the Luzon languages kept the native 'bawang'. |
| Sweetpending review | Mayumu | |
| Sourpending review | Maaslam | |
| To cookpending review | Maglutu | |
| Spoonpending review | Kutsara |
Drinks
Water, coffee and what to order.
| English | Kapampangan | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Waterpending review | Danum | 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. |
| Coffeepending review | Kape | |
| Milkpending review | Gatas | |
| To drinkpending review | Minum |
Market & money
Prices, haggling, paying.
| English | Kapampangan | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Moneypending review | Salapi | Tagalog took 'pera' from Spanish 'perra'; everything north and south of it took 'cuarta' instead. The two are not interchangeable outside Manila. |
| Expensivepending review | Maal | 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. |
| To buypending review | Salihan | Cebuano 'palit' is to buy; in Tagalog 'palit' is to exchange or swap. Same root, opposite ends of a transaction. |
| Marketpending review | Pamalengke | |
| How much is this?pending review | Magkanu ini? |
Directions
Left, right, here, there and how far.
| English | Kapampangan | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Leftpending review | Kaili | 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. |
| Rightpending review | Wanan | |
| Herepending review | Keni | Hiligaynon 'diri' is 'here'. Waray 'diri' is 'not'. The two languages are neighbours and this pair catches people constantly. |
| Therepending review | Karin | |
| Farpending review | Marayu | |
| Nearpending review | Malapit | |
| To gopending review | Ume | |
| Straight aheadpending review | Diretsu | |
| Uppending review | Babo | |
| Insidepending review | Lub |
Health & emergency
The phrases worth knowing before you need them.
| English | Kapampangan | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Help!pending review | Saup! | 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. |
| Doctorpending review | Doktor | |
| Hospitalpending review | Ospital | |
| I am sickpending review | Masakit ku | |
| Policepending review | Pulis |
The body
Head to foot, where several of these languages share nothing at all.
| English | Kapampangan | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Headpending review | Buntuk | Bikol 'payo' is a head. In Tagalog 'payo' is advice — which makes it one of the neatest false friends in the country. |
| Eyepending review | Mata | |
| Handpending review | Gamat | 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. |
| Footpending review | Bitis | |
| Mouthpending review | Asbuk | Visayan 'baba' is a mouth; Tagalog 'baba' is a chin, and with different stress it is also 'down'. Neighbouring body parts, different words. |
| Stomachpending review | Atyan | |
| Hairpending review | Buak | |
| Earpending review | Balugbug | |
| Nosepending review | Arung | |
| Toothpending review | Ipan | |
| Bloodpending review | Daya | Ilocano and Kapampangan both say 'daya' for blood — and in Tagalog and Cebuano the same word means cheating. Worth care in any medical setting. |
| Heartpending review | Pusu |
Nature & weather
Sun, rain, sea and mountain.
| English | Kapampangan | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sunpending review | Aldo | Ilocano 'init' is the sun; Tagalog 'init' is heat. Related idea, different part of speech, and machine translation routinely mixes the two. |
| Moonpending review | Bulan | Seven of the eight kept 'bulan'; Tagalog alone shifted the l to w. The same word means 'month' in all of them. |
| Starpending review | Batwin | |
| Rainpending review | Uran | Ilocano is alone here. 'Tudo' shares nothing with the ulan/uran the other seven use. |
| Seapending review | Dayatmalat | |
| Mountainpending review | Bunduk | 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. |
| Housepending review | Bale | |
| Firepending review | Api | Visayan 'kalayo' is fire; Tagalog 'kalayo' would be parsed as 'distance'. The Luzon languages all keep apoy/apuy. |
| Riverpending review | Ilug | Waray and Bikol 'salog' looks close to Tagalog 'ilog' but is a separate root — and in Cebuano 'salog' is a floor. |
| Land, soilpending review | Gabun | Six unrelated roots for the ground under your feet, and Ilocano 'daga' collides head-on with Tagalog, where it means a rat. |
| Treepending review | Dutung | |
| Flowerpending review | Sampaga | Ilocano 'sabong' is a flower. In Tagalog 'sabong' is cockfighting — an unusually large gap for two languages spoken on the same island. |
| Stonepending review | Batu | |
| Windpending review | Angin | |
| Typhoonpending review | Bagyu |
Describing things
Big, small, good, beautiful.
| English | Kapampangan | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bigpending review | Maragul | |
| Smallpending review | Malati | |
| Goodpending review | Mayap | |
| Badpending review | Marok | |
| Beautifulpending review | Malagu | Bikol 'magayon' is the root behind Mayon, the volcano. Waray 'mahusay' means beautiful; in Tagalog the same word means skilled or well-arranged. |
| Hotpending review | Mapali | |
| Coldpending review | Malamig | |
| Newpending review | Bayu | |
| Old (of a thing)pending review | Luma | Ilocano and the Visayan languages use 'daan' for old — the same string Tagalog uses for a road. |
| Old (of a person)pending review | Matua | Ilocano 'lakay' is an old man specifically; 'baket' is the word for an old woman, and that one collides with Kapampangan 'baket', meaning why. |
| Manypending review | Dakal |
Feelings
Saying how you are, and how you feel about someone.
| English | Kapampangan | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| I love youpending review | Kaluguran daka | Eight languages and eight completely different verbs. This row alone answers the question of whether Philippine languages are 'dialects of each other'. |
| Happypending review | Masaya |
Colours
Basic colour terms.
| English | Kapampangan | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Redpending review | Malutu | |
| Whitepending review | Maputi | |
| Blackpending review | Matuling | Kapampangan 'matuling' is black. Tagalog 'matulin' — one letter apart — means fast. |
| Bluepending review | Asul | |
| Yellowpending review | Dilo | |
| Greenpending review | Aluntian | Only Kapampangan kept a native word. The other seven took the Spanish 'verde' and never replaced it. |
Everyday verbs
The actions that carry most sentences.
| English | Kapampangan | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| To sleeppending review | Matudtud | |
| To seepending review | Akit | |
| To knowpending review | Balu | |
| To wantpending review | Buri | Kapampangan 'buri' is to want or like. In Tagalog 'buri' is a species of palm. |
| To givepending review | Mibie | |
| To workpending review | Magobra | |
| To speakpending review | Magsalita | 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. |
| To writepending review | Sumulat | |
| To readpending review | Magbasa | |
| To sitpending review | Lukluk | |
| To come herepending review | Ume keni |
Months
The Spanish-derived month names, and where the spellings part company.
| English | Kapampangan | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Januarypending review | Enero | 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. |
| Februarypending review | Pebreru | |
| Marchpending review | Marsu | |
| Aprilpending review | Abril | |
| Maypending review | Mayu | |
| Augustpending review | Agostu |
Getting around
Roads, boats, jeepneys and how to get off one.
| English | Kapampangan | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Roadpending review | Dalan | Seven of the eight use 'dalan'. Tagalog's 'daan' is the same root worn down, and Bikol went its own way with 'tinampo'. |
| Boatpending review | Bangka | |
| Carpending review | Kotsi | |
| Where are you going?pending review | Nokarin ka munta? |
Somewhere to stay
Rooms, doors, keys — a category where almost nothing carries between languages.
| English | Kapampangan | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Doorpending review | Pasbul | |
| Windowpending review | Awang | Ilocano 'tawa' is a window. In Tagalog it is laughter. |
| Roompending review | Kuartu |
Things to buy
Everyday items you might need to ask for.
| English | Kapampangan | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Clothespending review | Imalan | |
| Shoespending review | Sapatus | |
| Medicinepending review | Ambun | 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. |
| Soappending review | Sabun | |
| Bookpending review | Libru | |
| Paperpending review | Papil |
Animals
Everyday creatures, and several of the sharpest false friends on the site.
| English | Kapampangan | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dogpending review | Asu | 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. |
| Catpending review | Pusa | |
| Carabaopending review | Damulag | The national animal, and three of the eight have their own word for it — Ilocano nuang, Kapampangan damulag, Pangasinan dueg. |
| Goatpending review | Kambing | |
| Cowpending review | Baka | |
| Horsepending review | Kabayu | |
| Birdpending review | Ayup | 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. |
| Mosquitopending review | Amuk |
How often the machine gets these right
We ran 201 English entries from the phrasebook below through the same engine this site uses, and compared each result against the human-written Kapampangan. 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 Kapampangan for 64.2% of 201 phrases. The rest were partly or entirely wrong.
Least reliable
- Everyday verbs0%
- Market & money20%
- Directions40%
- Months50%
- Describing things64%
Most reliable
- Getting around100%
- The body92%
- Colours83%
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. 201 entries are marked “pending review” — carried on general reference and awaiting confirmation from a native speaker.