Cebuano Words for Animals with Tagalog Translations
17 animals in Cebuano, each with its Tagalog equivalent and an English gloss. Entries come from our phrasebook, compiled from published references rather than produced by the translation engine. Cebuano entries are marked pending review until a native speaker has confirmed them.
Animals
Everyday creatures, and several of the sharpest false friends on the site.
| Cebuano | Tagalog | English |
|---|---|---|
| Iropending review | Aso | DogFour 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 | Pusa | CatThe 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. |
| Kabawpending review | Kalabaw | CarabaoThe national animal, and three of the eight have their own word for it — Ilocano nuang, Kapampangan damulag, Pangasinan dueg. |
| Kandingpending review | Kambing | GoatKanding 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 | Baka | CowBaka 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 | Kabayo | HorseKabayo 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. |
| Bitinpending review | Ahas | SnakeFive 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 | Ibon | BirdCebuano '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 | Daga | RatTwo 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 | Lamok | MosquitoLamok 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. |
| mananappending review | hayop | AnimalHayop 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 | kuto | LouseKuto 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 | uod | WormUlod 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 | sungay | HornSungay 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 | buntot | TailIkog 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. |
| balhibopending review | balahibo | FeatherBalahibo, 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. |
| pakopending review | pakpak | WingPakpak 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. |
More Cebuano word lists
- Cebuano Polite Words and Phrases10
- Cebuano Numbers17
- Cebuano Days, Months and Time Words19
- Cebuano Family and People Words22
- Cebuano Food and Eating Words28
- Cebuano Directions and Travel Words13
- Cebuano Emergency and Health Phrases12
- Cebuano Words for Parts of the Body26
- Cebuano Words for Nature and Weather38
- Cebuano Adjectives and Describing Words40
- Cebuano Everyday Verbs66
- Cebuano Months of the Year12
Sources
- Cebuano phrasebook — Wikivoyage. Accessed 2026-08-13.
- Appendix: Austronesian Swadesh lists — Wiktionary. Accessed 2026-08-17.
- Tagalog phrasebook — Wikivoyage. Accessed 2026-08-13.