Pampanga is known for its Sinukwan Festival, the giant lanterns and of course, the good food but for me, one of things that makes our balen beautiful is the language. We have a lot of Kapampangan words that cannot be directly translated to Tagalog or English. I've decided to share my favorite words/phrases with you, most of these I use often and some, I hear from our elders, songs and during mass. So while you're reading this, make sure to play this song "Mekeni Tuki Ka! Malawus ka Pampanga!" (Let's go, come with me. Welcome to Pampanga) The Kapampangan language is formally called Amánung Sísuan ("breastfed, or nurtured, language"). We even have a formal sentence structure, grammar, vowels, suffixes, etc. I don't know how many words we actually have but I've handpicked some that I know the meaning and understand well because honestly, there are a lot of Kapampangan words that I don't understand. My most favorite would be lugud, meaning love. From the word lugud, we have kaluguran with two meaning depends on how you'll say it: Ka-luguran - friend Kalugu-ran - someone you love Another would be tau with so many different meaning depends on the tone: Tau - celebrate, banquet, example: "Mag-tau ka keng piyesta? (Are you going to prepare foo during fiesta?) or when there's a birthday or special occasion we ask "Mag tau tamo? which would be "Are we going to celebrate", in a Kapampangan sense it will also mean celebrating = eating = cooking Tau - person, human being Mitau - in a relationship, together romantically Example: "Tau me?" (Is she/he your girlfriend/boyfriend?) and when we say "Tau ke" it literally translates to "my person" Alanganga - forever, no ending Biye - life and also, it means to give, giving Timan - shy smile (My family and I talked about this over lunch, does it mean just a smile? or shy smile? or kilig smile? And we agreed, all of that is possible! Hahaha. We also use it as "timan-timan yan" meaning "smiling") Malaus ko pu - Please come in, you say this when you welcome someone into your home. I like the word "Malaus" because it has no direct Tagalog or English translation, it doesn't necessarily mean "welcome" but it's a Kapampangan thing of opening your home to these visitors. Mangan / Mamangan / Mangan Tamu - Eat / Eating / Let's Eat (of course!!! ;p) Manyaman / Kanyaman! - Delicious I noticed that when Kapampangan say this, you'd easily know which town they grew up because of the different tone/accent and what comes after like "Ay Kanyaman na!" "Manyaman na ne!". My lolo is from Sasmuan and when my Mom talks about our family there, her accent comes out. Same with my dad who is from Macabebe, his accent changes when we go home to lola's house. Mimtu - Full, example: "Mitmu yang tula" (Filled with joy/happiness) Tula - Joy, Happiness, sometimes it also means funny or laugh, example: Katula ku keka (you make me laugh) or Matula la keka deng matua (the elders are happy for you) Paynawa - Rest Luid - there's no exact translation for this but it means to last long. According to the FB post of Robby Tangtingco, it also means conservation or prolongation, like Lumuid ka sa bie (“May you live long”). Further, we often say Luid ka! or simply Luid! as a greeting and a wish to mean “May you live long!” or “Long life to you!” (the equivalent of the Tagalog “Mabuhay!”)." Kaputul or kapatad - sibling "Putul" or "patad" literally means "to cut" which would symbolically mean that you're a part of a whole, your family, or bloodline. Abe - Companion, example: "Ninung abe mu?" (Who are you with?) Kayabe or Makiyabe - accompany, to go with, to join Miabeabe - be together or stay together Pamikyabe - relationship Agkat - invite, example: "Agkat da kung munta keng bale da" (they invited me to go to their house) Tuki - to go with or accompany, example: "Tuki ku" (I wanna go with you) or "Tuki tamung munta mall" (Let's go with them to the mall) Abak - morning Bengi - evening/night So our good morning and good evening greetings are "mayap a abak/bengi" Mayap - Good Mabsi - full but usually used with food or eating Awa - yes, or say "Wapin" meaning "Yes, indeed" Upaya - forgiveness, compassion, mercy I would often hear "Ing upaya ni Ginu" (Mercy of the Lord) Also, Kapanupayan meaning apology. Uma- kiss Ganaka - kind, thoughtful, remembering Maganaka - Kind Paganaka - give a reminder Aganaka - I remember Pigaganakan - to worry, troubled, anxious I would often hear this when my mom or dad is angry because I didn't reply or stayed up too late outside "Ali mu balu ing pingaganakan" (you make us worry or you don't know how much worry I feel) Ganakan - to consider, to remember Agaganaka da ka - I miss you, I remember you Muli - to go home, example "muli ka?" (are you going home?) or "Muli ta na" (let's go home) Tune - genuine, true, certain or certainly Tibe - firmness, sturdy Tagtag - courage or strength, example "Tatagan mu" (be strong) Agyang - inspite of , even This reminds me of my Mama Jo (grandma), I would often hear her use it. Example: "Agyang ali ku biyasang maglutu, laguruan na ku" (Even though I don't know how to cook, he loves me) Amanu - speech, language,word, example: "Ing amanu ing Diyos" (The Word of the Lord) Aslag - light, bright, often we use it to describe a new beginning or something that's flourishing Takman - taste something Kaswelu - be satisfied, be happy with something one has or sometimes, it could also mean proud or lucky. Example: "Kaswelu da ding pengari mu keka" (your parents are lucky to have you or your parents are proud to have you) Santing - nice, beautiful, pleasing Pasantingan - to make something/someone nice Masanting - Handsome Lagu/Malagu - beautiful, blooming, often used to praise women It would also apply to describe something that is literally blooming or fruitful, example: "Malagu ing bunga ning mangga mu" (Your mango tree is fruitful) Siklod - to kneel, but it also means to kiss the hands of elders or relatives Bale - home Mikibale - house owner Kasiping bale - neighbor Balen/Kabalenan- town Kabalen - townmate I plan to add more words as I go along or if I remember/hear it but for now, these are my favorites! How about you? What's your favorite Kapampangan word? xoxo, M
6 Comments
Jingu Lee
5/8/2023 09:15:27 pm
Hello, monica,
Reply
Marco
6/1/2023 10:43:45 am
Hi,
Reply
Jeff Flores
8/9/2023 05:55:25 pm
Malaus Ko Pu!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
She wonders and wandersMonica writes about her life, what she eats, what she reads and where she goes. This space is where her thoughts, experiences, memories and feelings turn into words. She's glad that she can share with you. Archives
August 2021
|