Thigalog...What?

Being a Filipino, I always thought that we should know our language very well (the meaning, how it is pronounced, etc.). There are a lot of words in our language that originated from Spanish and Chinese, but little did we know, there are a lot more.

When my sister bought a book entitled "Malictionary", which was written by Ernie Zarate, I was amazed on how I didn't know our language very well. There are some common words that we use everyday that we don't even know the meaning. It may be a cussword or a vulgar word, but since we don't know the meaning (and because we heard our nanay/kapitbahay/lola say those words), we just imitate it and use it based on they used it.

To give you an idea what are the contents of this book (there are actually two volumes already), I will put here some words that I found funny, entertaining, and at the same time, educating. Enjoy! I will also put here some English words as bonus!

MALICTIONARY - A compilation of often misused, misprounounced,misspelled and misunderstood words and expresssions by the Filipino, and other curious trivia. by Ernie Zarate.

almusal - The Spanish word "almozar" from which this was adapted is actually "to lunch." Before the Americans came, the Insulares and Peninsulares led such profligate lives, they would stay up late at night for their social activities, usually oversleeping the next day so that their first meal would be taken at lunch hour. "Desayuno" is the Spanish word for "breakfast." It might be of interest to note that in Mexico, "breakfast' is also called "almozar."

arnibal - Time changes all things it seems. Take this, for example. This used to be "almibar"

asintado - Nothing to do with marksmanship or shooting. It has somthing to do with fixing of fitting together things like valves, etc. The Filipino translation is "lapat."

atrebida - Nowadays, most people use this in the context of being "pakielamera" although the real meaning of "atrevida" is "sassy, cheeky."

azotea - Spanish term for "flat roof" not "balcony."

Bahala na! - The old folks claim that this is just a shortened phrase for "Bahala na si Bathala!" (God will take care of things!"), and probably because it sounds redundant, "si Bathala" was lost in the course of time.

balde - A Mexican word for "bucket or pail." The Spanish word for this item is "cubo."

balintataw - "Pupil of the eye" or "eyeball"

banketa - In Spain, "banqueta" would mean "stool"; but to Mexicans and to the MMDA chairman, it also means "sidewalk."

batya - Originally, this word was "batea" which we imported from Mexico.

biloy - Did you know that this is the Filipino term for "dimple"?

bokong-bokong - "ankle."

champorado - Another Mexican import meaning "chocolate rice porridge."

cono (conyo) - Would you believe I found this word in my Spanish dictionary? It is the vulgar word for "female genital" or the direct translation of the uncouth English word "cunt." And if said in anger, it is the interjection "for fu**s sake."

diyahe - Another of of those baligtad words of the sixties. From "hiya," it became "yahi," then later "dyahe."

ebak - Said to have been invented by biology students from the medical term "evacuation of bowels."

galanggalangan - Tagalog for "wrist." "Pulso" is the Spanish term.

ganado - Nothing to do with "enthusiasm." It may either mean the past tense of "win" of just plain "livestock" or "farm animals."

gulunggulungan - Adam's apple.

gurang - Another non-Tagalog word now accepted in day-to-day conversational Filipino, from Bicol meaning "old person."

harana - From the Spanish "jarana" but which means, "to go out of town." Nothing musical about going out of town.

itsa - This is from the Spanish "echar", "to throw."

kalaykay - is Chinese for "rake." "Lugi, hikaw, lugaw," and "lumpia" are also Chinese imports

kamote - And Andean and Mexican word we adopted to mean "sweet potato."

mungkahi - is of Chinese origin meaning "suggestion or proposition."

nene - The Spanish term fo "baby boy." In Tagalog, however, "Nene" is the affectionate appellation for girls.

palengke - This cannot be found in many Spanish dictionaries because it is actually an Aztec term ("palenque") for "meeting place." "Mercado" is the Spanish word for "market."

panghinuki - "toothpick."

pasmado - This has nothing to do with sweaty or trembling hands. In Spanish, it means "astonished, astounded."

pustiso - This is not limited to "false teeth." "Postizo" can also mean anything artificial like "hairpiece" for example.

que se joda - A Spanish-speaking friend is appalled by the flagrant use ot this phrase on TV and radio. Its Filipino usage is "come what may" or "devil may care." But in Spanish, the root word "joder" is the vulgar term "to copulate," or, to be blunt about it, "to f**k!" The phrase therefore literally means "What the f**k"!

regla - This has nothing to do with the monthly period of females. The more popular meaning of the word in Spanish is "rule, ruler."

sanggano - The original Spanish word "zangano" does not mean "though guy." It means "lazy oaf."

siyota - Intentional corruption of bata (boyfriend or girlfriend). Some insist it comes from "short time," a term to mean "a few hours of more than intimate stay at a motel."

tansan - Did you know that this was the name o fa soft drinks bottling factory in the 1930's, which was probably the first to use metal bottle caps in our country?

*tuna - In Spanish, this is not a fish -- this is a kind of "edible cactus." The edible fish is "atun." No kidding! Check it out!

*tonting - Street language for the sex act.

ENGLISH

boondocks - From the Tagalog word "bundok." A U.S. slang word brought over from the Philippines to the mainland by American soldiers at the turn of the 19th century.

can goods - Wrong. It should be "canned goods."

cellphone - Short for "cellular phone." Actually, it is only in here in the Philippines that this term is used. In other countries, the accepted expression is "mobile phone" or simply "mobile."

coupon bond - "Bond paper" should be the proper term.

Grand Prix - "grahng' PREE." WARNING: Do not pronounce as it is spelled. Otherwise you will be saying "Big Penises."

ice tea - Wrong. This should be "iced tea."

moral lesson - Redundancy. "Moral of the story" is better.

officemates - Use "co-workers" or "colleagues."

soft drink - Americans call this "soda pop" or simply "soda."

Worcestershire - "WOOS tuhr shr." If you still cannot pronounce it right, say "Perrin's Sauce" na lang.

Z - This letter is pronounced "zee" not "zey."

* - words with * came from Malictionary 2

Credits to Mr. Ernie Zarate

--->edited some entry to make it short.


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There are some of the entries that I find interesting and educating. I hope you enjoyed reading! I'll try to put here some entries from Malictionary 2.

I also read something in a book (I forgot the title) about this word/name:

Randy - this may seem a very innocent word/name for us but if you go to a certain country in Europe (*France, Great Britain, or Germany) and introduce yourself, "Hi! I'm Randy.", it's like saying, "Hi! I'm horny!"

*I'm not sure about what country it is. I'll just have to look at that book again.