This is a colloquial shortening of iyong, which is short for the archaic word yaong (meaning: that). It should be properly spelled with an apostrophe in front to indicate the dropping of the “i” syllable.
Old-fashioned: Nakita mo ba yaong ibon?
Standard: Nakita mo ba iyong ibon?
Colloquial: Nakita mo ba ‘yung ibon?
Translation: Did you see the/that bird?
Note that a noun or noun phrase has to follow this ligated form.
Kinain mo ba ‘yun?
Did you eat it/that?
Kinain mo ba ‘yung saging?
Did you eat the banana?
The difference between ‘yung and ‘yang is that you use ‘yung for something far from the speaker and the person being spoken to, while ‘yang is for something close to the person you are speaking to.
Binili mo ba ‘yang lapis?
Did you buy that pencil?
The pencil is near the person being spoken to or is being held by the person being spoken to.
KAHULUGAN SA TAGALOG
yaón: iyón
KAHULUGAN SA TAGALOG
iyón: pamatlig na tumutukoy sa malayo kapuwa sa nagsasalita at kausap
Nalilito pa rin ako sa “yung at yong”
MAGKAIBA PALA SILA?
I thought it was supposed to be y’ong since it’s the short term for “yaong” that translates to “that”, and ‘yong is the short term for “iyong” that literally translates to “yours” and not “that”.
Thanks for that.
We’ll update the post.
I have been studying Filipino for four years and am incapable of having a conversation or saying a sentence without memorizing just before. How does anyone learn this language. Most Foreigners I know gave up here in the Philippines.