Kapampangan Words

It was Culinarians Day a few months ago and National Cooking Day today, so let’s look at the Kapampángan word for the part of the house that Kapampángans are known to thrive in—the kitchen! How do you say “kitchen” in your language? KUSÍNÂ • (koo-SEE-na’)kitchenTagálog (Filipino): kusínà EtymologyFrom Spanish cocina “kitchen” Derived Words (via Spanish)KUSINÉRA … Read more

Upaya It’s also Pardon Day, and coincidentally, the image of the Santo Cristo del Perdón accompanies the Virgen de los Remedios, the Patroness of Pampanga whose feast day is celebrated today. Here’s the Kapampángan word for “power, authority” and the root word for “pardon”! UPÁYÂ • (oo-PAH-ya’)power, authority; pardonTagálog (Filipino): kapangyaríhan EtymologyFrom Sanskrit उपाय (upāya) … Read more

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