Unique Filipino English words

September 24, 2010

Accomplish — “to complete a form”; All government forms specify they are to be “accomplished”.

Ala — Filipinos prefer to spell “a la,” or more correctly “à la,” as one word.

Already — Filipinos use this word to state that they have finished doing something, even though it was completed past the original deadline. In standard English, by contrast, “already” is used only when something was completed ahead of schedule.

Apartelle — A budget hotel. From apartment + hotel + le. Other terms used are “apartel,” “apartment hotel,” and “condotel.”

Armalite — the US M16A1 rifle, regardless of whether it is made by Colt, Hyrda Matic, or locally by Elisco (part of the Elizalde conglomorate which was licensed by Colt to make the rifle for the Philippine Government. Later in 1983, it purchased the real ArmaLite Inc.). Despite the introduction of the M16A2, it is still widely used in the Philippine Military and Police.

Artist — A movie/television actor/actress.

Baby Armalite — the short barrel version of the M16A1 known as the CAR-15 and similar to the current M4 carbine. First made by Elisco under Colt license in the late seventies. Widely used in the Philippine Government, Military and Police.

Bananacue — Sabá (cooking banana, similar to plantain), rolled in brown sugar then deep fried and skewered. The hot oil caramelizes the sugar giving the banana cue a crunchy quality. Name thought to have come about because the bananas thus prepared were served skewered, in a manner similar to Pinoy Barbecue.

Banca — Outrigger canoe.

Barbecue — Grilled meat, but not in the American sense: the Philippine barbecue is meat cut into pieces (usually the fat is included for pork barbecues) and skewered, in a manner commonly called kebab cookery outside of the Pinoy community.

Bedspace — The use of a bed at private home, rent for which is paid by a lodger or boarder known as a “bedspacer.”

Bet — Candidate for political office.

Biodata — Similar but inferior to a résumé; a form that lists a person’s accomplishments.

Blue seal — an imported version of a locally produced cigarette, usually untaxed. From the blue seal labels found in cigarettes for export or tax free use. Usually of higher quality than the locally produced equivalent.

Bodega — Warehouse; cellar

Bold — Nude. Maybe because movies showing nudity were considered bold, as in daring. Possibly from the 1960s when conservatism in society was only beginning to break down.

Bold movie — A movie with nude scenes. In the 1970s, the term for such movies was “bomba film,” whereas in the 1980s it was “S.T.(sex trip) movie.” These were also called T.F (tittilating films).

Boodle fight — A gathering where food (usually pansít, or steamed rice and sardines) is served on old newspapers or banana leaves spread over a table and eaten with bare hands by a group of people. Although it is the practice for some Filipinos to eat with their hands, a group of people eating this way from one source is an unnatural and contrived practice in Philippine cultuire. This way of eating was devised by PMA cadets, and does not represent authentic Philippine culture, but instead symbolizes fraternity and equality among PMA members by their sharing the same food without regard to rank. The term is taken from pre-World War Two West Point slang meaning “any party at which boodle (candy, cake, ice cream, etc.) is served.”[3] in Philippine usage, this term refers

Boston — a type of metal or rubber pad placed in the heel and/or front of the sole of a shoe for antislip purposes.

Bottomless — Free refill, for drinks.

Boundary — An amount public transport drivers pay their operators daily; any excess belongs to the driver as his daily wage.

Bullcap — A baseball cap.

Bull ring — A class ring about the size of a standard American men’s class ring, worn by some members of the military, police, fire service, coast guard and merchant marine. The term “bull” refers to the ring’s large size in comparison with Philippine class rings of civilian colleges, which are smaller. A “super bull ring” is a large class ring comparable in size to those of American institutions such as The Citadel, Norwich University, and VMI.

By and by — later

Cabaret — (pronounced /KA ba ret/) A strip club.

Cabinet (furniture) — Refers to “closet.”

Cadette — A female cadet. From French. The Philippine pronunciation is derived from West Point slang. “cdtte” is the usual abbreviation of this term.

CAFGU — An abbreviation which stands for Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit, which is the militia of the Philippines. A militiaman of this organization is also called CAFGU. Formerly there existed a militia known as Civilian Home Defense Forces (CHDF).

Calling card — Refers to a business card. A call card, on the other hand, is a phone card.

Camotecue — similar with Bananacue, but using sweet potato.

Comfort Room — The Filipino term for bathroom/restroom.

Canteen — As in the British term normally used for cafeteria. Canteen in standard English is a water container.

Carabao — water buffalo From Winaray karabáw.

Carnapper — A car thief.

Carnapping — Motor vehicle theft, auto theft, or car theft, carjacking

Call Boy or CB — Any male prostitute.

Cent — A centavo. “¢” the symbol for “cent” is also used as a symbol for “centavo.” Formerly, “ctvs” was commonly used as the abbreviation for “centavo.” “ctvs” appears to be a combination of “ctvo” the correct English abbreviation for “centavo(s)” and cs the correct Spanish abbreviation of “centavos.” Cénts is a Spanish abbreviation for céntimos and “centavos.”

Certain — Used to emphasize or to denote, as in e.g., “The desk officer of the UP police, a certain Corporal Kalibo, told the Inquirer …”, or “What we’re really pushing for is diversification, maybe have a certain bucket in fixed income, a certain basket in equity-based funds and then a certain portion in the peso and dollar funds,” (emphasis added). The word is used more in Philippine English than in other dialectal forms.[4]

Change oil — An oil change.

Chancing — To make a sexual advance. To “cop a feel.”

Chicken — Something which is easy or easily accomplished. The final exam was chicken “The final exam was easy.” This is derived from the expression “chicken feed.”

Chit — A restaurant bill, or a card.

Chocolate Man or Crocodile — Refers mostly to policemen in charge of traffic in Manila. Also refers to some politicians. From the formerly khaki uniform in use by the police (Nowadays Philippine police uses a blue uniform).

Coast guardian — A coast guard (US), or coastguardsman (UK).

Colegiala — A female high schooler attending a well-known exclusive Catholic school in the Philippines. From Spanish.

Colgate — referring to toothpaste, but it is actually a brand of toothpaste.

College ring/school ring — A class ring.

Combo — Can refer to a musical band, a set meal in fast-food restaurants, or a set of moves on fight video games.

Commute — To take public transport. However, “commute” is not used as a noun, eg. I’ll miss the commute in Philippine English.

Commuter — One who takes public transport, as opposed to motorists (”drivers”).

Cong — An abbreviation for congressman. This abbreviation is normally used for the terms “congress” and “congressional.”

Coupon bond — Bond paper, with the coupon diverging in meaning from accepted uses of the word, eg. “a stub”. The word coupon is also used with that meaning in Philippine English. Coupon bond is pronounced /ko’pon bo’nd/, possibly due to the ambivalence of Philippine languages with the vowels o and u, as happens in most loanwords/co-optations in Tagalog.

CR (Comfort Room) — Toilet, bathroom.

De hilo — A white suit, commonly used during the American colonial period. Also the fabric used in types of white underwear.

Dine-in — “Eat in,” “for here (vs. Take-out).

Dirty kitchen — In a private home, a separate kitchen intended for the household help.

Doctora — A female doctor. “Dra.” is the usual abbreviation of this term. From Spanish.

Dollar-speaking — Usually someone who speaks in English in public. Also “Spokening Dollar”

Don/Doña — These Spanish honorific terms which normally are not directly translated into English, are usually used among older Filipinos of a certain stature, specially those of Spanish descent.

Dormer — A dormitory resident.

Drawer (furniture) — Refers to the whole “dresser,” rather than to individual drawers.

Drive-in - Refers to motels, rather than outdoor theaters.

Double-action bullet — An expanding bullet.

Duster — A sun dress. “Although she is wealthy, she wore a duster to the market so she would not be overcharged.” The cleaning instrument (a duster in other parts of the world) is known as feather duster.

Eat-All-You-Can — all-you-can-eat. Possibly from “Eat all you can!”

EDSA — Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA, pronounced ed-sah), formerly known as Highway 54, is the main circumferential road and highway of Metro Manila in the Philippines. It was the site of three events in Philippine history referring to popular political upheavals occurring in the EDSA highway:

Eisenhower jeep — An M38A1 jeep.

Estafa — embezzlement or small-scale economic cheating activity. From Spanish “con art”.

Ex. — the abbreviation of the phrase “for example.”, supplementary to Eg. This is used only in writing, and is read as “Example…”.

Find your height — to line up from shortest to the tallest.

Exclusive School — Refers to any Philippine school of high rank and expense. Refers also to a school wherein sexual segregation is promoted.[5][not in citation given]

Fill-up — To fill out a paper or document, eg. Please fill-up this form. From British English.

Fiscalize — To serve as a check and balance; a favorite word of politicians

For a while — Used on the telephone to mean “please wait” or “hold on.” A literal translation of Tagalog Sandalî lang.

From a college/school — Many years after having graduated from an educational institution, Filipinos still say “I’m from Ateneo (or any other institution).” In standard English such a statement is understood to mean that the speaker is currently enrolled at or is employed by that institution. The equivalent expression in American English is: “I graduated from (or went to) Harvard.” The equivalent expression in British English is: “I studied at (or was at) Oxford.”

FX Taxi — A type of share taxi. Share taxis in the Philippines are usually Toyota Tamaraw FX, an Asian Utiliy Vehicle (AUV) based on the Toyota Kijang sold in Indonesia.

Gay — refers to effeminate homosexual men only as opposed to homosexuals in general. It also refers to male-to-female transgenders (e.g. transsexuals and cross-dressers). Based on the use of the Filipino word bakla. (See LGBT culture in the Philippines.)

Gay bar — refers to a gay strip club.

Get down / go down (a vehicle) — “Get off.” Derived from Tagalog context (Bumabâ ka, literally meaning “(you) get down”).

Gets — “Understand?” From “Do you get it?”. Ah, gets. “Ah, (I) understand.” Gets? “(Do you) understand?”

Gimmick — A planned or unplanned night out with friends. Also, any offering during evening hours by clubs, bars and restaurants to lure customers in.

GMRC — Good manners and right conduct

Go ahead — Leave in advance (”I’ll go ahead” means “I will leave now, earlier than you guys”). “I’ll go ahead ” is a literal translation of Tagalog Mauna na akó, which means “I’ll leave you now” more than “I’ll go before you now”.

Green jokes — Dirty jokes (subsequently, to be “green-minded” is to have a dirty mind, e.g. always giving sexual connotations to everything). Loan translation from Spanish “chistes verdes.” By contrast, it’s interesting that in standard usage the term “blue” means “obscene” or “pornographic” and is used in terms such as: “blue jokes”; “blue films”; “blue movies”; and “blue stories.”

Guinit helmet — A sun helmet made from coconut fiber (ginít), used by Filipinos serving in the American colonial army from 1935 through 1942. The American colonial gendarmerie also used this headgear about the same period. The Axis Second Philippine Republic’s military, known as the Bureau of Constabulary, was another user of this type of sun helmet. It was generally viewed as an unsuitable headgear for war. However, Germany’s Afrika Korps and Italian elite units, such as bersaglieri, deployed in North Africa during World War Two also used sun helmets.[6]

Haggard — Motorcycle cop; somewhat obsolete, more commonly used now is ‘hagad’

Hand Carry — Carry-on luggage (when flying commercial aircraft)

Hard drink — Alcoholic drinks that are not wine, beer, or sparkling wine, usually ’strong’ drinks.

Holdupper — A holdup man, or stickup man.

Hostess/GRO — a female waiter in a beerhouse. The same word is used to denote a prostitute, although the very word “prostitute” denotes people who ply the streets for customers. From the beerhouse practice of asking a female waiter out, in exchange for money, to have sex with her. GRO is an abbreviation for “Guest Relations Officer” and has the same source.

Hyper — This prefix is used as an adjective to describe a person who is high-strung. From the term “hypertension.”

Jeepney — Mass transit vehicles originally made from US military jeeps. (See “Owner” below)

Jingle — To urinate

Jueteng — An illegal numbers game. From Chinese.

Kennedy jeep — An M151 MUTT.

Kidnapable — A person who, because of his or her high social standing or considerable wealth, is a likely target for kidnapping for ransom.

Kodaki — Take a photo. From a popular brand, Kodak

Live-in — An unmarried couple who lives together in a sexual relationship; to ‘live in sin’

LRT/MRT — These abbreviations refer to the elevated railroad or elevated transit line of the Philippine capital region.

Malabanan — A name referring to a firm specializing in septic tank drainage. Used by different companies of different owners. Similar to Roto Rooter.

MacArthur jeep — A Willys MB.

Marine tank — An amtrac, specifically an LVT-5.

Masteral/s — a Master’s degree.

Media noche — New Year’s Eve. From the Spanish term for midnight, medianoche.

Metro Aide — Refers to public street cleaners or broom sweepers employed by the Metro Manila Development Authority.

Misa de galyo — Mass celebrated very early morning for the nine mornings before Christmas (December 16–24). From the Spanish term “misa del gallo” which refers to a midnight mass on Christmas Eve.

Mistah — a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy. From “mister.”

Monito-Monita — Secret Santa, Kris Kringle, an exchange-gifts program for Christmas.

Motel — Used mostly to refer to a love hotel, a hotel or a motel paid at an hourly rate, used primarily for sex. Often used with the word “short-time” as in the construction “short-time motel.”

Middle name — Usually the mother’s maiden surname. Philippine culture is highly patriarchal and family-centered, so the name reflects the ancestral roots of the person, with the surname from the father, and the middle name from the mother.

Mtrs/mts — Incorrect abbreviations for “meters” on road signs. Nowadays “m” (the correct SI abbreviation) is normally used.

Nightclub — Used to refer exclusively to strip clubs, especially among the older generation. To avoid confusion, nightclubs are instead referred to as “dance clubs” or simply as “clubs.”

Noche Buena — Christmas Eve meal. From the Spanish term for Christmas Eve, nochebuena.

OB-Gyne — OB/GYN

Officemate — a co-worker

[Open/kill] the [light/computer/TV] — Turn or switch [on/off] the [light/computer/TV]. From Tagalog bukas (open) and patay (dead). The literal translation of Buksan/Patayin mo ang ilaw. “Turn on/off the light.”

Owner-type — A customized Jeep-derived vehicle for private, non-commercial use. Usually constructed in bright stainless steel.

Pack Up — Used instead of “wrap up” when referring to movie sets, presentations, etc.

Parlor/Salon — Refers to a hair/beauty salon. “Salon” originally meant a place to gather.

Payola — Filipinos prefer to use this term when referring to normal bribes or payoffs, not the music industry term.

Pentel pen — A marker, regardless of manufacturer. From the Pentel brand of markers.

Pershing cap — A service cap.

Pistolized — An adjective to describe a long gun with its shoulder stock removed and replaced with a pistol grip.

Polo — A dress shirt.

Practicumer — Refers to a student who participates in a course of study that involves the supervised practical application of previously studied theory; an intern. (Practicum – internship)

Presidentiable — A person aspiring to become president.

Professional — proficient, skillful; used colloquially e.g. “I’m a professional driver” denotes that I drive very well, not that I drive as a profession.

PX good — any import restricted imported grocery item. From Post Exchange due to the illegal but lucrative business in then US military bases in the Philippines in exchanging such goods for cash. Sold in so-called PX stores. Prized for their quality and variety. The stores (and goods) died out when trade was later liberalized, probably in the 1990s, opening the door for the availability of imported goods in the Philippines.

Railway — The reason Filipinos prefer to use this British term probably stems from the fact that the first railroad in the Philippines was built by the British.

Remembrance — A souvenir or memento.

Revival — Cover version

Rotonda/rotunda — rotary intersection, roundabout, or traffic circle. Adopted from Spanish.

Rhum — This French word listed in Webster’s Third New International Dictionary is the preferred spelling of rum. This variation in spelling is a little similar to “whiskey” (U.S. and Ireland) and “whisky” (Scotland and Canada).

Rubber shoes — Sneakers, athletic shoes, or gym shoes.

Rugby — Rubber cement. From the Rugby brand of contact cement, popular in the Philippines. Unfortunately abused by the poor as a glue sniffer.

Sala — A courtroom. Another word for living room. From Spanish.

Salvage — A slang word for summary execution. The meaning evolved from frequent usage in sentences such as ‘The corpse was salvaged from the Pasig river,’ when the real meaning is ‘The corpse of a salvaged person was found floating on the Pasig River.’ The word may also be related to the Spanish-derived Tagalog slang “sinalbahe” (literally “turned bad”). Possibly from the Marcos era.

Sari-Sari Store — Refers to a small, neighbourhood convenience store or booth. Sari-sari is Tagalog for “mixed variety” or “sundry” but the term is generally used in Philippine English. Sometimes called a “variety store” in the Canadian sense.

Scalawag — A rogue police or military man.

See-through fence — A chain link fence. Cyclone Wire fence – term used even in government specifications.

Senatoriable — A person aspiring to become senator.

Short-time – Used to describe a short-time stay (2 to 3 hours) at a love hotel for sex.

Shrine — Memorials , as in Mount Samat Shrine on the Bataan Peninsula.

Sign Pen — A pen similar to a technical pen used for signing documents. From Pentel Sign Pen.

Simple — used incorrectly in place of unpretentious, modest

Sir/Ma’am — Filipinos sometimes refer to their superiors by their first names preceded by these terms. This practice is probably a literal translation of the Spanish practice of referring to superiors by their first name preceded by either Don or Doña. Used also by students when addressing teachers, e.g. “Ma’am dela Cruz” or “Sir Ibañez”.

Slang — May refer to strong foreign accents and pronunciation “Your English is very slang”. Often implying that someone is hard to understand or that an American accent is used by the speaker.

Slippers — Flip flops.

Softdrink — Filipinos prefer to spell “soft drink” as one word.

Solon — Member of the legislature.

Sounds — Referring to music; especially when listened through an ear phone.

Sponsor — A college or high school honorary cadet colonel.

Squatter area — a shantytown.

Step-in — Stylish ladies’ sandals minus the strap.

Stow away — To run away from home.

Stude — A student.

Subdivision — a gated community. Also known as a Village.

Tablea — Chocolate in the form of a roll, usually used for making Spanish-style thick hot chocolate. This comes from the Filipino word tabliya, which in turn comes from the Spanish word tablilla.

The other day — Used specifically to refer to the “day before yesterday” (from the Tagalog expression “noong isang araw”).

Thrice — Three times. While it is also used in other forms of English, it is much more prevalent in Philippine English.

Toga — Refers to the commencement/graduation gown.

Tomboy — A boyish girl. A “tomboy” is almost always presumed to be a lesbian, although it may also refer to straight girls who act like boys (see Gay, above). The word is rarely used, if ever, for feminine-looking lesbians.

Topdown — A convertible automobile.

Tora tora — A T-28 Trojan aircraft formerly used by the Philippine Air Force and utilized during the counterinsurgency wars in the Philippines in the late 70s and 80s. The name “tora tora” is derived from the movie title Tora! Tora! Tora! This movie features aircraft which resemble the T-28 Trojan in that they had a low wing and a single radial piston engine.

Traffic — Implies a traffic jam, or heavy traffic. Usually used as an adjective, referring to heavy traffic volume.

Trooper — Any serviceman. Normally this term refers specifically to a soldier in a cavalry or airborne unit. In the U.S. this term is also used for state policemen, whereas in the U.K. it is also used for special forces soldiers.

Tricycle — A public (for-hire) vehicle consisting of a motorcycle and an attached passenger sidecar.

Trying hard — Refers to an unsuccessful social climber. (outdated)

Turco — Carpenter term for an anti-rust paint used in roofs. From the Turco brand.

Tweetums — An adjective to describe a young lady, usually a “colegiala” (see above), who is very nice and very sweet. From t + sweet + ums. Akin to the British term “twee.”

University Belt — A part of the Quiapo district in the Philippine capital Manila, which has a large number of colleges. Also called U-Belt.

Washday — a day where an employee can wear casual clothes.

Xerox — as noun, it means a photocopier; as verb, to make a photocopy of. From the Xerox brand of photocopiers.

Yaya — This word means grandmother in Spain (Albacete, Aragon), but in the Philippines it means nanny. It is also possible that is an adopted Hindi word (aya) for nanny.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_English

Filed under: Pinoy Culture