Cebuano language

"Cebuano" redirects here. For other uses, see Cebuano (disambiguation).

Cebuano (also referred to as Bisaya) is one of the main languages spoken in the Philippines. More than 28 million people speak this language. Cebuano is a member of the "Visayan language family".

Standard Cebuano
Binisayâ, Sinugboanon
'Sinugbuanong Binisayâ' written in Badlit
Native to	Philippines
Region	Central Visayas, eastern Negros Occidental, western parts of Eastern Visayas, and most parts of Mindanao
Ethnicity	Visayans (Bisaya)
Native speakers	28.9 million (2020)
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Philippine Greater Central Philippine Central Philippine Visayan Standard Cebuano
Dialects	Standard Cebuano (Cebu island Urban Cebuano (Metro Cebu) Negros Cebuano Boholano Leyte (Kanâ) Mindanao Cebuano Davaoeño Cebuano
Writing system	Latin (Cebuano alphabet) Philippine Braille Historically Badlit
Official status
Recognised minority language in	Regional language in the Philippines.
Regulated by	Visayan Academy of Arts and Letters Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino
Language codes
ISO 639-2	ceb
ISO 639-3	ceb
Cebuano-speaking area in the Philippines

While Tagalog has more speakers than any other language in the Philippines today, Cebuano was the most widely spoken language in the Philippines from the 1950s until the 1980s. Cebuano is by far the most widely spoken of the "Visayan languages".

It is the most spoken language by many people in the Central Visayas, western parts of the Eastern Visayas, some western parts of Palawan and most parts of Mindanao. Cebuano is one of the three main Visayan languages, along with Waray, Hiligaynon and Davaoeño, which are more closely related to it.

Name

The name of the language comes from the Philippine island of Cebu, suffixed with the Spanish -ano (meaning nature, or a location). In other words, the language is more commonly called Bisaya. However, this can cause confusion among non-native speakers, as there are many other languages called Bisaya even though they cannot be understood by people who speak what linguists call Cebuano. In this sense, Cebuano applies to all speakers of the language who come from Cebu island, regardless of where they live now, as well as to the language they speak.

Some people do not like the term Cebuano. For example, many Cebuano speakers in Leyte, Bohol, and Northern Mindanao (Dipolog, Dapitan, Misamis Occidental, and Misamis Oriental, as well as in coastal areas of Butuan) say that their ancestors were Cebuano speakers who were native to their area, not immigrants or settlers from the Visayas. Also, they want to call themselves as Bisaya and their language Binisaya rather than Cebuano.

Cebuano numbers

Cebuano has two numeral systems. The native system is mostly used for counting things, like animals or houses. The Spanish system is only used for money and time. It is also used for counting from 11 and up.

Number	Native Cebuano	Borrowed from Spanish
0	walâ	nulo, sero
1	usá	uno
2	duhá	dos
3	tuló	tres
4	upát	kwatro
5	limá	singko
6	unóm	séys
7	pitó	siyete
8	waló	otso
9	siyám	nwebe
10	napulò, pulò	diyés
11	napúlog usá	onse
12	napúlog duhá	dose
13	napúlog tuló	trese
14	napúlog upát	katórse
15	napúlog limá	kinse
16	napúlog unóm	diyesiséys
17	napúlog pitó	diyesisiyete
18	napúlog waló	diyesiyotso
19	napúlog siyám	diyesinwebe
20	kaluháan (kaduháan)	beynte
21	kaluháag usá	beyntiwuno
22	kaluháag duhá	beyntidos
23	kaluháag tuló	beyntitres
24	kaluháag upát	beyntikwatro
25	kaluháag limá	beyntisingko
30	katlóan (katulóan)	treynta
40	kap-atan (kaupátan)	kwarénta
50	kalím-an (kalimáan)	sinkwénta
60	kan-uman (kaunóman)	sesenta
70	kapitóan	seténta
80	kawalóan	otsénta
90	kasiyáman	nobénta
100	usá ka gatós	siyén, siyento
200	duhá ka gatós	dosiyéntos
300	tuló ka gatós	tresiyéntos
400	upát ka gatós	kwatrosiyéntos
500	limá ka gatós	kiniyéntos
1,000	usá ka libo	mil
5,000	limá ka libo	singko mil
10,000	usá ka laksà, napulò ka libo	diyes mil
50,000	limá ka laksà, kalím-an ka libo	singkwenta mil
100,000	usá ka yaba, usá ka gatós ka líbo	siyén mil
1,000,000	usá ka yukót	milyón
1,000,000,000	usá ka wakát	bilyón (mil milyones)

Sample phrases

English	Cebuano
Hello?	Kumusta?
Good morning!	Maayo'ng buntag!
Good afternoon!	Maayo'ng udto! (specifically from 12:00 PM to 12:59 PM) Maayo'ng hapon! (specifically from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM)
Good evening!	Maayo'ng gabii!
Goodbye!	Adios! (Rarely, borrowed from Spanish word) Babay! (Informal, from English “Bye-Bye”)
Be careful.	Ayo-ayo. (Formal) Amping.
Until next time.	Hangtod sa sunod nga higayon.
Thanks.	Salamat.
Thank you very much!	Daghang salamat! Daghan kaayong salamat!
You're welcome.	Walang sapayan.
Do not! (Command)	Ayaw!
I don't know	Ambot.
Yes.	Oo.
Maybe	Tingali. Basin.
No.	Dili.
Nothing.	Wala.
Who?	Kinsa?
What?	Unsa?
Where?	Diin? (Past) Ása? (Present)
Which?	Hain?
When?	Kanus-a?
How?	Giunsa? Unsaon?

Related pages

• Cebuano Wikipedia

Other websites

• Cebuano Dictionary