At first, I thought lihi translated to pregnancy cravings, but it’s more than that. It’s practically anything that a pregnant woman does, including throwing up in the morning, craving random food, and watching too many Justin Bieber music videos while she’s pregnant, in turn potentially causing her child to look like him because of it.
7. Ngalay
That feeling that you get when your hand/arm/foot/butt falls asleep coz you’ve been in the same position for too long. Yes, we have a word for that.
6. Pagpag
You know how people panic when you’ve come from a wake, a funeral or a cremation because you might be “carrying something with you”? I’m not exactly sure what it is we might be “carrying”, but I’ve experienced this panic in various cultures and we’ve got a word for the action of getting rid of that something: pagpag.
5. Pasalubong
Pasalubong isn’t a souvenir. It’s bringing back practically anything as a gift to people back home after traveling overseas. In an Inquirer interview, Michael Tan put it perfectly: “I’m glad to be back with people I love … and here’s something from that place.”
4. Pikon
It’s close to ‘sore loser’ and largely used on people who dish it out a lot but can’t take it when they’re the ones in the hot seat.
3. Sumbat
Most of the time, when we owe people something, those people don’t bring those favours up. When they do, and when they do so in an angry, I-regret-ever-helping-you-out way… that’s sumbat.
2. Tampo
When you’re disappointed or slightly mad about something, but not to the point of blowing up in anger, and just silently sulk about it because you’re lacking in lambing (see lambing above).
1. Umay
When you’ve eaten too much of something, heard a song one too many times or seen someone too many times that week, you’ve gotten sick of it/them. That’s umay.
While all of these words can be explained with some time and ingenuity, there is no direct translation for them in the English language, it seems. In fact, I’m not even sure if people have explained it to me properly. Have they? And are there any other untranslatable words I should learn? 🙂 Share them with me, please! 😀
Angeline Rodriguez is a geek and a self-proclaimed superhero. She reads. She writes. She loves. You may get to know her better on her personal blog: https://www.lilmisswonderwoman.com
16 Filipino Words We Cannot Translate into English Words
8. Lihi
At first, I thought lihi translated to pregnancy cravings, but it’s more than that. It’s practically anything that a pregnant woman does, including throwing up in the morning, craving random food, and watching too many Justin Bieber music videos while she’s pregnant, in turn potentially causing her child to look like him because of it.
7. Ngalay
That feeling that you get when your hand/arm/foot/butt falls asleep coz you’ve been in the same position for too long. Yes, we have a word for that.
6. Pagpag
You know how people panic when you’ve come from a wake, a funeral or a cremation because you might be “carrying something with you”? I’m not exactly sure what it is we might be “carrying”, but I’ve experienced this panic in various cultures and we’ve got a word for the action of getting rid of that something: pagpag.
5. Pasalubong
Pasalubong isn’t a souvenir. It’s bringing back practically anything as a gift to people back home after traveling overseas. In an Inquirer interview, Michael Tan put it perfectly: “I’m glad to be back with people I love … and here’s something from that place.”
4. Pikon
It’s close to ‘sore loser’ and largely used on people who dish it out a lot but can’t take it when they’re the ones in the hot seat.
3. Sumbat
Most of the time, when we owe people something, those people don’t bring those favours up. When they do, and when they do so in an angry, I-regret-ever-helping-you-out way… that’s sumbat.
2. Tampo
When you’re disappointed or slightly mad about something, but not to the point of blowing up in anger, and just silently sulk about it because you’re lacking in lambing (see lambing above).
1. Umay
When you’ve eaten too much of something, heard a song one too many times or seen someone too many times that week, you’ve gotten sick of it/them. That’s umay.
While all of these words can be explained with some time and ingenuity, there is no direct translation for them in the English language, it seems. In fact, I’m not even sure if people have explained it to me properly. Have they? And are there any other untranslatable words I should learn? 🙂 Share them with me, please! 😀
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About The Author
Angeline Rodriguez is a geek and a self-proclaimed superhero. She reads. She writes. She loves. You may get to know her better on her personal blog: https://www.lilmisswonderwoman.com