CEBU CITY, Philippines— The Philippines is a country rich in heritage, culture, and diversity.

With over a thousand islands, it is no surprise that the Philippines also has quite a number of dialects to go with its different cultures and ethnic groups.

In the Philippines, there are eight major dialects.

According to www.csun.edu these eight major dialects are, Bikol, Cebuano, Hiligaynon (Ilonggo), Ilocano, Kapampangan, Pangasinan, Tagalog, and Waray.

People of Oriental Mindoro

Meanwhile, the languages that are being taught in the Philippines for major conversations are Filipino and English.

They say if not all, most of our dialect words are derived from Spanish terms.

In a short rundown let’s get to know some simple words from each of these eight major dialects in the Philippines.

www.csun.edu

In Bicol, if you would like to say beautiful you simply say, “Magayon,” if you want to compliment a beautiful girl you say, “Daragang magayon.”

Over in Cebu, if you want to say thank you in Cebuano you simply say the phrase, “Daghang salamat.”  And if you want to profess your love for your beau you say, “Gi higugma ko ikaw,” I love you in English.

Hiligaynon or the Ilonggo dialect is known to be gentle and sweet. Ilonggos have this distinct sweet tone every time they speak. If you want to ask someone to speak slow, you say, “Palihug hinaya ang pag-hambal,” or if you want to ask if they speak English you go and say, “Makahambal ka sang Ingles?”

The Ilocano dialect is a tad challenging than the first above ones. If you want to say “I am going out,” in Ilocano it is “Rumuarak,” and if you want to say “I’m waiting for you” in Ilocano it is “Ur-urayen ka ket.”

Do you want to know how to say you are handsome in Kapampangan, say it like this, “Masanting kang lalaki,” if you want to invite someone to eat you say, “Tara mangan!”

You want to ask what’s your name in Pangasinan? You say, “antoy ngaran mo” and for how old are you, you say, “pigay taon mo la?.”

In the Tagalog dialect, this should be very familiar to everyone in the country. The famous lines “Kumusta ka” (how are you) and “Mabuhay!” to welcome guests always work like a charm.

A group of young Tagalog people

In the Waray dialect, they say “edru” instead of airplane and “huyam” instead of borrow.

These are just some of the few words from the major dialects in the Philippines.

Do you know of more words from these dialects?