Cebuano 101

By WOTS Writer 5 years ago

10 MUST KNOW WORDS & PHRASES

Are you an exchange student or perhaps from another region in the Philippines? If you are not a native Cebuano speaker, no worries! We have done some homework for you. Before we talk about a few must know words and phrases, here are some tricks that will make learning the language easier:

  • Cebuano is a phonetic language, which makes it easy for non-Cebuano speakers to learn and speak. For example, the word “buntag” (“morning”) is pronounced: b-u-n (U is pronounced the same as in the word “flu”) t-a-g (A is pronounced the same as in the word “far”)
  • If you are familiar with Spanish, learning Cebuano will be easy because many of the words are the same. For example, “mesa” is “table” in both Spanish and Cebuano.
  • The most common pronunciation mistake made by non-Cebuano speakers is its double vowels. The glottal stop as it is referred to makes one sound pause before saying the other sound. For example, “good evening” is “maayong gabii.” Most non-Filipinos would pronounce that “maiyong gabby.” However, every vowel in the Filipino languages is pronounced, even when it is following another vowel! So, “good evening” is actually pronounced “ma-ayong gabi-i.” Each double vowel (aa, ii, oo, ua, au, etc.) has a glottal stop.
  • Keep in mind that there are many ways a phrase or sentence can be spoken. For example, “What is your name?” can be, “Unsa ang ngalan nimo?” “Unsa’y ngalan nimo?” or “Unsa’y nga’n nimo?”
  • Cebuano speakers tend to shorten words or phrases and some words are often the same in English. For example, “kumusta ka” is often shortened to “musta.”

Here are ten phrases that will help you navigate the city and your university:

What is your name?
Unsa imong ngalan?

I am (your name).
Ako si (your name) _____.

Where is the CR?
Asa ang CR?

Do you have a _____?
Naa kay _____ ?

What is your course?
Unsa imong kurso?

Do you speak English?
Kahibaw ka mu English?

Good Morning / Afternoon / Evening
Maayong Buntag / Maayong Hapon /
Maayong Gabii

What time is it?
Unsang orasa na?

I don’t understand.
Wa ko kahibalo

Yes / No / Maybe
Oo / No / Pwede

If you cannot pronounce all of these or do not have them memorized, don’t worry! Learning another language takes time. If you are looking for additional words to learn, try using binisaya.com.

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