Let’s Talk Pinoy!

Kumusta? (How are you?) I hope you enjoyed my article last month and have amazed some of your family members, impressed your date, or scored some brownie points at work with your newfound lingo. So, what did we learn last month? Let’s review, and Let’s Talk Pinoy!

Good morning is “Naimbag a bigatmo” (nah-eem-bug-ah-bee-gut-mo) in Ilokano and it’s “Maayong buntag” (Mah-ah-yung-boon-tag) in Cebuano.
Good afternoon is “Magandang hapon” (Mah-gun-daang hah-poon) in Filipino and it’s “Mapia nga fugak nikaw” (Mah-pya-nga-foo-gaa-nee-cow) in Ibanag.
Good evening is “Mayap a bengi” (Mah-yaap-a-ben-geeh) in Kapampangan and it’s “Maayong gabi” (Mah-a-yoong-gah-bee) in Ilonggo.
Great! That wasn’t hard at all. Keep that in your back pocket, and let’s get into some new stuff.

Now, let’s talk about the phrases we would use that is related to eating or food. Who doesn’t want to know how to say “I’m hungry” in Ibanag or “Let’s eat” in Cebuano or even “It’s delicious” in Kapampangan?

“Let’s eat” in Pilipino, Baybayin script.

Do you want to learn how to say the different types of tastes like salty, sour or sweet in different languages?

The next time your Ilocano mother-in-law asks you “how’s the food,” reply and say, “Naimas”—Nah-ee-mas—with two thumbs up to impress her. Please don’t say “Naapgad”—Nah-up-god—to the pinakbet that she just served you. Instead, eat it, smile and give her the “A-ok” hand sign.

I would love to hear some of your comments, experiences, and suggestions when using these phrases out there in the real world. Let us know at our Fil-Am Voice facebook page or at www.filamvoicemaui.com.

Well, I think I’ve left you enough homework for a month to practice, and it’s time for me to go, because “mabisinak kon”—mah-bee-seen-nak kon—(I’m hungry in Ilokano), but “dacal a salamat”—dah-kal a-sa-la-maht—(Thank you in Kapampangan) for reading my article. I’m going to eat pancit and lumpia. “Hanggang sa muli”—Hung-gang-sah mo-lee—(Until next time in Pilipino).

Dulce Karen Butay was graduated from Maui High School and earned her Associate in Arts in Liberal Arts from Maui Community College and her Bachelors of Science in Business Administration, specializing in Accounting, from the University of Hawaii – West Oahu. She is currently the Administrative Officer at the County of Maui, Department of Finance.  Butay is a licensed Resident Producer of Life Insurance with World Financial Group and an Independent Consultant of Saladmaster. She recently became part of the Travel Club of Saladmaster and won an all-expenses paid trip to Cancun, Mexico with the love of her life. Butay recently returned from a trip to Texas as one of the delegates from Island Healthy Solutions, a dealer of Saladmaster here in Maui.