Kapampangan Words

Fire Signs, hearts up! This year’s Holy Week will be notable as the transition between the first 2 Fire Signs of the Kapampángan Zodiac (Limbúlan), Punî and Mágdarámé, will coincide with it! Punî (the shrine of reading) & Mágdarámé (the penitent) are the 10th & 11th signs of Limbúlan. They are based on two iconic … Read more

Atsi In the Rayón Zoque language of Mexico, there is a very similar word that is the complete opposite of the Kapampángan word for “older sister”! ACHÎ / ATSÎ • (uh-CHEE’)older sisterTagálog (Filipino): áte Alternative forms: atchî, atsê (spoken) Etymology:Achî / atsê comes from Hokkien 阿姊 (á-chí) or Cantonese 阿姐 /äː³³ t͡sɛː³⁵⁻⁵⁵/ which both mean … Read more

Indredus It’s National Marites Day! or National Gossip Day! How do you say “gossip” in your language? INDRÉDUS • (in-DREH-doos)gossip, rumorTagálog (Filipino): tsísmis/chísmis, chíka/tsíka Etymology and Tagálog (Filipino) Comparison:Although Philippine languages share a lot of similar Spanish loanwords, there are instances when they use different or unique ones. An example would be the words for … Read more

Pusa Happy International Cat Day! How do you say “cat” in your language? PÚSÂ • (POO-sa’)catTagálog (Filipino): púsà Possible Etymology or CognateTamil (Southern dialect) பூச்ச (pūcca) “cat” You may want to read: Tapusan Festival

Did you know that Kapampángans have their móchi that is not etymologically related to the Japanese mochi? MÓCHI / MÓTSI • (MOH-chi)Kapampángan glutinous rice delicacy with bean paste filling served with sweetened coconut milk sauceAlternative forms: móche, múche, múchi/mútsi EtymologyFrom Hokkien 麻糍 (môa-chî) “ciba cake; muah chee”, a traditional southern Chinese rice cake made from … Read more