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Ang pasalubong ay isang alaala o “souvenir” na ibinigay ng bagong dating na galing sa paglalakbay sa ibang pook o bansa.
root word: salubong (to welcome)
When Filipinos go on a trip or live overseas, they are expected to bring back gifts on their return. That’s pasalubong!
It’s a big deal. If you don’t bring pasalubong to people who welcome you, they’ll think you never thought of them while you were away.
The Tagalog word maarte originally meant artful or artsy. But it is now used to describe someone, especially a young woman, who can be nitpicky and by extension pretentious. It has a negative connotation, but not a very strong one.
maarte
persnickety, fussy
An adjective used to describe women who are contemptuous in speech.
root word: táray (arrogance or churlishness)
Kataray…
Napakataray…
How prickly…
Ang taray niya!
My, she’s so sassy!
The Tagalog word mataray is used to describe women who answer you back in a sharp, snappy way.
Filipino women are socially expected to be nice and modest. Any woman who answers back bluntly or brusquely is given the label mataray and is associated with pretentiousness and bitchiness.
A Filipina actress who has iconically managed to use her mataray image as an asset is Maricel Soriano.
Origin: from the Spanish peineta (meaning: decorative comb)
A paynéta is an ornamental comb that Filipinas in the old days wore in their hair, sometimes with a veil.
kantaro, tapayang maluwang ang bibig; balanga; palmabraba
bangâ ng tubig
earthen jar full of water
ang tubig sa bangâ
the water in the earthen jar
bangang puno ng tubig
earthen jar full of water
This word is from the Spanish chinela (meaning: slipper).
When Filipinos say “slippers” in English, half of the time they’re referring to flipflops made of synthetic resin. These are the contemporary tsinelas.
Kúlam is a type of Philippine witchcraft or sorcery.
A mangkukulam is a person who knows how to do kúlam.
