Definition of Filipino Words and Terminologies

—Notes—

· ' enclosing a syllable means that the syllable is stressed.

· || means a glottal stop.

· ng's is pronounced like the "ng" in "sing". When "ng" is followed with a vowel, for example "nga", pronounce it as how you would pronounce the "ng-a" in "sing-along", but with more seamless and rounder transition between the "ng" sound and the vowel "a", making it one syllable.

· "ng" as a word is read as "nang" just like how you would pronounce "fang" but with the "n" sound replacing the "f" sound.

...Single Words...

...B...

Balaghan ( Ba-lag-'han' ) – amazement, wonder, astonishment.

Balangay ( Ba-la-'ngay' ) – a long boat made of planks. The boat doesn't require nails to be assembled. It has dragon as its nose and tail as the rear. It is light-weight which can be moved via sails or via oars. A balangay is the basis of the smallest unit of government in the Philippines which is called a barangay.

Balete ( Ba-le-te ) - Known as strangler fig tree in Engish.

Bathala ( Bat-'ha'-la|| ) – The Almighty God, creator of the universe.

Baybayin ( Bay-'ba'-yin ) – shore, coast; a syllabic script native to the Katagalugan of the Philippines.

Buhay ( 'Bu'-hay ) – life.

...K...

Kabila ( Ka-bi-'la'|| ) – opposite, other side.

Kaluluwa ( 'Ka'-lu-lu-wa ) - soul, spirit.

Kaluwalhatian ( Ka-lu-wal-ha-'ti'-an ) – gloriousness, glorious; a place similar or corresponding to heaven.

Kasamaan ( Ka-sa-'ma'-an ) – evilness, evil, enemy of Kaluwalhatian.

Katha ( Kat-'ha'|| ) – create, creation, make.

Keris ( 'Ke'-ris ) – A curved blade/sword usually engraved with dragons in the handle. It is believed to contain a soul.

...D...

Dalisay ( Da-'li'-say) - pure, unblemished.

Daungan ( Da-'u'-ngan ) - harbor.

Diwa ( 'Di'-wa|| )- essence, spirit, meaning.

Diwata ( Di-'wa'-ta|| ) – Gods and Goddesses, beings who possesses great power, helper of mankind.

...G...

Gala ( 'Ga'-la|| ) - wandering around aimlessly, traveling around aimlessly.

...I...

Ilog ( 'I'-log ) – river.

Isip ( 'I'-sip ) – mind, thoughts.

...L...

Lakbay - voyage, trip, wandering; the act of going from one place to another.

Luwalhati ( Lu-wal-'ha'-ti|| ) – glory.

...M...

Maligno ( Ma-'lig'-no ) - A creature of evil, evil spirit that can morph to any form it wants, feeds on human soul.

...N...

Nu ( Nu|| ) – substance that is the building block of everything in the world; gives rise to souls; [Locked as Kali doesn't know of this yet].

…Ng…

ng ( 'nang' )– of.

…P…

Pinto ( Pin-'to'|| ) – door.

…S…

Sama ( Sa-'ma'|| ) – bad, evil.

…T…

Tadhana ( Tad-'ha'-na|| ) – destiny, fate.

Tulay ( 'Tu'-lay ) – bridge.

…W…

Wika ( 'Wi'-ka|| ) – noun. language; verb. To say.

...Compounded and Others...

...K...

Kabilang-buhay – afterlife; opposite of life; other side of life; other/another life.

Kathang-isip – imagination, fantasy, fiction.

...D...

Dalisay na nu - pure nu or unblemished nu; major component of what is called the soul;[Locked definition].

...G...

Galang-kaluluwa - wandering soul, souls of the dead who can't move on to the afterlife.

...I...

Ibong Adarna – a mythical bird from the story Ibong Adarna. The story is commonly associated with Jose de la Cruz or "Huseng Sisiw" although there is no proof of him writing the story.

...L..

Lakbay-diwa - Soul wandering, a state where an alive person's soul leaves the body; out of body experience.

...M...

Manlalakbay-diwa - The doer of soul wandering, for ease of translation let's leave it as dimensional traveler.

…P…

Pandiwang-nu – nu of souls; the transformed nu to house consciousness, memory, and personality; often wrapped in dalisay na nu for protection and nourishment.