Lagu
Kapampángan has a specific word that refers to female beauty, while its general word for beauty or nice appearance is used for the handsomeness of men. This is in contrast to Tagálog which uses its general word for beauty as its word for the beauty of women.
LAGU • (luh-GOO’)
beauty (of women)
Tagálog (Filipino): gandá, from Sanskrit गन्ध (gandhá) “aroma, fragrance” with semantic change
Derived Word
MALAGÛ
beautiful (for women)
Plural: mangalagû,
Past: mélagû, Past Plural: méngalagû,
Intensive: kalagû, Intensive Plural: pangalagû
Tagálog: magandá
Tagálog Comparison and Usage
In Kapampángan, “lagû” is the root word specifically used for female beauty, while “santing” is more general and used for the beauty of things or the handsomeness of men. This is in contrast to Tagálog which uses “gandá” as the more general word for beauty of things and women (while “guwapo” means “handsome” specifically for men).
beautiful woman
K: malagung babáyi
T: magandáng babáe
beautiful thing
K: masanting a bágé
T: magandáng bágay
handsome man
K: masanting a laláki
T: guwápong laláke
FALSE FRIENDS
Tagálog
LAGÔ = lush growth (of plants, hair, etc.)
MALAGÔ = lush, thick (growth of plants, hair, etc.)
Kapampángan: lábung > malábung
(Tagálog lábong means “young bamboo shoot”)
Malay/Indonesian
LAGU = song
Kapampángan: kanta
Possible Etymology
From Sanskrit लघु (laghú) “pleasing, agreeable, handsome, beautiful”
Derived Word
LEGUAN • (LEH-gwuhn)
beauty (formal/literary)
This word feels deeper/more artistic and is used more in literature or writing such as in songs, poems, or stories.
Tagálog: kagandáhan
Verb Conjugation
lágû, lálagû, línagû – to get beautiful (Actor Focus)
Example Sentence
Néng kalagú itang dalagíta! [Kap]
Ang gandá nung dalagíta! [Tag]
The little young lady was so beautiful! [Eng]
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