It’s Elderly Filipino Week and the International Day of Older Persons! Here’s the Kapampángan word for “old” or “elderly”! How do you say “old” in your language?
MATUA • (muh-TWUH)
old, elderly
Tagálog (Filipino): matandâ (not young), lúmà (not new)
Root Word
TUA • (twuh)
oldness, agedness
Tagálog (Filipino): tandâ (not young), lúmà (not new)
Usage Note
Tagálog distinguishes between “matandâ” for “old (people), not young”, from the root tandâ, and “lúmà” for “old (things), not new”.
Kapampángan uses “matua” for both senses. (Check example sentences.)
Plural Form of Adjectives
Certain adjectives can indicate plurality by replacing the prefix ‘ma-‘ with ‘manga-‘.
For Example:
matua > mangatua (plural)
However, this isn’t a strict rule as you can use ‘ma-‘ in any case. It’s just worth recognizing that ‘manga-‘ indicates plurality.
Past form of Adjectives
Adjectives form their past/perfective form by replacing the prefix ‘ma-‘ with ‘mé-‘.
For exampl:
matua > métua (“has aged, gotten old”)
mangatua > méngatua (plural past)
Verb Conjugation:
tumua, tútua, tinua – to age, get old (Actor Focus)
patuan, pápatuan, pépatua – to make someone/something old (Object Focus)
Example Sentence:
Balámu é ka tútua! [Kap]
Párang hindî ka tumátandà! [Tag]
You don’t look like you’re getting older! [Eng]
Matuá nó ring balé karin. [Kap]
Lúmà na ang mga báhay doón. [Tag]
The houses there are already old. [Eng]