Sulat Dictionary
Explore 24 major words across Philippine languages with authentic Baybayin transliterations, etymology roots, and derivatives.
Angel
meaning: Anghel
Derived from the Spanish 'ángel', which ultimately comes from the Greek 'ángelos' meaning messenger.
beautiful
meaning: maganda
Derived from the root 'ganda' meaning beauty, which comes from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ganda.
breathe
meaning: huminga
Derived from the Proto-Austronesian root *qiNawa, meaning to breathe or life force.
Dance
meaning: sayaw
Derived from the Proto-Philippine *sayaw, meaning to jump or dance.
Devil
meaning: Demonyo
Derived from the Spanish 'demonio', which originates from the Greek 'daimon' meaning a spirit or divine power.
Dog
meaning: aso
Derived from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *asu, the common term for domestic dog across the Austronesian family.
Dragon
meaning: Bakunawa
In Philippine mythology, the Bakunawa is a serpent-like dragon that swallowed the moon, rooted in ancient Austronesian beliefs.
Earth
meaning: Mundo
Derived from the Spanish 'mundo', which comes from the Latin 'mundus', meaning the world or the universe.
faith
meaning: pananampalataya
Derived from the Sanskrit 'sampratyaya', meaning trust or confidence, which entered Tagalog through Malay.
Fire
meaning: apoy
Derived from Proto-Austronesian *hapuy, referring to fire or light.
Fun
meaning: saya
Derived from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *sayaq, referring to joy or happiness.
God
meaning: Diyos
Borrowed from the Spanish 'Dios', which originates from the Latin 'Deus', meaning deity or divine being.
heart
meaning: puso
Derived from Proto-Austronesian '*pusuq', referring to the heart, bud, or center of something.
Hello
meaning: Kumusta
Derived from the Spanish phrase '¿Cómo está?' meaning 'How are you?'.
HOME
meaning: bahay
From Proto-Austronesian *balay, meaning a public building or house.
kwento
meaning: story
Derived from the Spanish word 'cuento', which means a story or narrative.
life
meaning: buhay
From Proto-Austronesian *buha-i, meaning to live or be alive.
Mine
meaning: akin
Derived from Proto-Austronesian *aken, used as a first-person possessive pronoun.
Puso
meaning: heart
Derived from Proto-Austronesian *pusuq, originally referring to the heart of a person or the flower of a banana.
Saviour
meaning: Tagapagligtas
Derived from the Tagalog root 'ligtas' meaning free or safe, prefixed with 'tagapag-' to denote a person who performs the action.
smile
meaning: ngiti
From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ŋisí, meaning to show teeth or grin.
Soul
meaning: kaluluwa
From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *duhua, meaning 'two' or 'double', referring to the spirit as a double of the body.
strength
meaning: lakas
Derived from the Proto-Malayo-Polynesian '*lakas', which originally referred to energy or force.
Water
meaning: tubig
From Proto-Austronesian *tubaR, likely referring to water or liquid.