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Cebuano language
Cebuano[7] (/sɛˈbwɑːnoʊ/), also referred to by most of its
Cebuano
speakers simply and generically as Bisaya or Binisaya
(translated into English as Visayan, though this should not Cebuan,[1] Sebwano,[2] Visayan
be confused with other Bisayan languages),[8] is an Sugboanon, Bisayâ, Binisayâ,
Austronesian language, spoken in the southern Philippines. Bisayâng Sugboanon, Sinugboanong
Specifically, it flourishes in Central Visayas, western parts Binisayâ, Sinibwano
of Eastern Visayas and on most of Mindanao. It originated
on the island of Cebu, and now is spoken primarily by Pronunciation /sɛˈbwɑːnoʊ/[3][4][5]
various Visayan ethnolinguistic groups who are native to Native to Philippines
those areas, primarily the Cebuanos.[9] While Tagalog has Central Visayas,
Region
the largest number of native speakers among the languages eastern Negros
of the Philippines today, Cebuano had the largest native- Occidental,
language-speaking population in the Philippines from the western parts of
1950s until about the 1980s.[10] It is by far the most widely Eastern Visayas,
spoken of the Bisayan languages. and most parts of
Mindanao
Cebuano is the lingua franca of the Central Visayas, Cebuano
Ethnicity
western parts of Eastern Visayas, some western parts of
Palawan and most parts of Mindanao. The name Cebuano Native speakers 27.5
is derived from the island of Cebu, which is the original million (2020)[6]
locus of the language.[11][12] Cebuano is also the primary Language family Austronesian
language in Western Leyte — noticeably in Ormoc, and in Malayo-
other municipalities surrounding the city; most of the Polynesian
residents in the area refer to the Cebuano language by their Philippine
own demonyms, for example, as "Ormocanon" in Ormoc,
and as "Albuerahanon" in Albuera.[13] Cebuano is assigned Greater
Central
the ISO 639-2 three-letter code ceb, but not a ISO 639-1 Philippine
two-letter code.
Central
Philippine
Visayan
Contents Cebuano
Nomenclature
Dialects Standard
Classification Cebuano (Cebu
Distribution island)

History Urban Cebuano

(Metro Cebu)
Phonology
Vowels Negros Cebuano
Consonants Bohol Cebuano
Stress Leyte Cebuano
(Kanâ)
Grammar

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Vocabulary Mindanao
Phrases Cebuano

Dialects Writing system Latin (Cebuano

Bohol Cebuano alphabet)
Leyte Cebuano Philippine Braille
Southern Kanâ Baybayin or
Northern Kanâ originally known
as Badlit
Mindanao Cebuano (historical)
Davao Cebuano
Official status
Negros Cebuano
Recognised minority
 Philippines
Other dialects language in
Luzon Cebuano
Regulated by Visayan Academy
Saksak Sinagol
of Arts and Letters
Examples Komisyon sa
Numbers Wikang Filipino
Shapes Language codes
See also ISO 639-2 ceb (https://ww
Notes w.loc.gov/stand
ards/iso639-2/p
References hp/langcodes_na
External links me.php?code_ID=
77)
ISO 639-3 ceb
Nomenclature Glottolog cebu1242 (htt
p://glottolog.o
The term Cebuano derives from "Cebu"+"ano", a Latinate rg/resource/lan
calque, reflective of the Philippines's Spanish colonial guoid/id/cebu12
heritage. In common or everyday parlance, especially by 42)
those speakers from outside of the island of Cebu, Cebuano
is more often referred to as Bisaya. Bisaya, however, may
become a source of confusion as many other Visayan
languages may also be referred to as Bisaya even though
they are not mutually intelligible with speakers of what is
referred to by linguists as Cebuano. Cebuano in this sense
applies to all speakers of vernaculars mutually intelligible
with the vernaculars of Cebu island, regardless of origin or
location, as well as to the language they speak.

The term Cebuano has garnered some objections. For

example, generations of Cebuano speakers in northern
Mindanao (Dipolog, Dapitan, Misamis Occidental and
Misamis Oriental together with coastal areas of Butuan) say
that their ancestry traces back to Cebuano speakers native
to their place and not from immigrants or settlers from the
Visayas. Furthermore, they ethnically refer to themselves as
Bisaya and not Cebuano, and their language as
Binisaya.[14]

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The language is also sometimes referred to in English Cebuano-speaking area in the Philippines
sources as Cebuan (/sɛˈbuːən/ seh-BOO-ən).

Classification
Cebuano is an Austronesian language; it is generally classified as one of the five primary branches of
the Visayan languages, part of the wider genus of Philippine languages.[15]

Distribution
Cebuano is spoken in the provinces of Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor, Negros Oriental, northeastern Negros
Occidental, (as well as the municipality of Hinoba-an and the cities of Kabankalan and Sipalay to a
great extent, alongside Ilonggo), southern Masbate, western portions of Leyte and Biliran (to a great
extent, alongside Waray), and a large portion of Mindanao, notably the urban areas of Zamboanga
Peninsula, Cagayan de Oro, Davao Region, Surigao and Cotabato.[11] Some dialects of Cebuano have
different names for the language. Cebuano speakers from Cebu are mainly called "Cebuano" while
those from Bohol are "Boholano". Cebuano speakers in Leyte identify their dialect as Kanâ meaning
that (Leyte Cebuano or Leyteño). Speakers in Mindanao and Luzon refer to the language simply as
Binisaya or Bisaya.[13]

History
Cebuano originates from the island of Cebu.[12] The language "has spread from its base in Cebu" to
nearby islands[12] and also Bohol, eastern Negros, western and southern parts of Leyte and most parts
of Mindanao, especially the northern, southern, and eastern parts of the large island.[11]

Cebuano was first documented in a list of vocabulary compiled by Antonio Pigafetta, an Italian
explorer who was part of and documented Ferdinand Magellan's 1521 expedition.[16] Spanish
missionaries started to write in the language during the early 18th century. As a result of the eventual
300-year Spanish colonial period, Cebuano contains many words of Spanish origin.

While there is evidence of a pre-Spanish writing system for the language, its use appears to have been
sporadic. Spaniards recorded the Visayan script[17] which was called Kudlit-kabadlit by the
natives.[18] The colonists called the ancient Filipino script "Tagalog letters", regardless of the language
for which it was used. This script died out by the 17th century as it was gradually supplanted by the
Latin script.

The language was heavily influenced by the Spanish language during the period of colonialism from
1565 to 1898. With the arrival of Spanish colonists, for example, a Latin-based writing system was
introduced alongside a number of Spanish loanwords.[19]

Phonology

Vowels

Below is the vowel system of Cebuano with their corresponding letter representation in angular
brackets:[14][20][21]

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Standard Cebuano vowel

phonemes
Front Central Back
Close i ⟨i⟩ u ⟨u⟩

Mid ɛ ⟨e⟩ o ⟨o⟩

Open a ⟨a⟩

/a/ an open front unrounded vowel similar to English "father"

/ɛ/ an open-mid front unrounded vowel similar to English "bed"
/i/ a close front unrounded vowel similar to English "machine"
/o/ a close-mid back rounded vowel similar to English "forty"
/u/ a close back rounded vowel similar to English "flute"

Sometimes, ⟨a⟩ may also be pronounced as the open-mid back unrounded vowel /ʌ/ (as in English
"gut"); ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩ as the near-close near-front unrounded vowel /ɪ/ (as in English "bit"); and ⟨o⟩ or ⟨u⟩
as the open-mid back rounded vowel /ɔ/ (as in English "thought") or the near-close near-back
rounded vowel /ʊ/ (as in English "hook").[14]

During the precolonial and Spanish period, Cebuano had only three vowel phonemes: /a/, /i/ and
/u/. This was later expanded to five vowels with the introduction of Spanish. As a consequence, the
vowels ⟨o⟩ or ⟨u⟩, as well as ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩, are still mostly allophones. They can be freely switched with
each other without losing their meaning (free variation); though it may sound strange to a native
listener, depending on their dialect. The vowel ⟨a⟩ has no variations, though it can be pronounced
subtly differently, as either /a/ or /ʌ/ (and very rarely as /ɔ/ immediately after the consonant /w/).
Loanwords, however, are usually more conservative in their orthography and pronunciation (e.g.
dyip, "jeepney" from English "jeep", will never be written or spoken as dyep).[14][22]

Consonants

For Cebuano consonants, all the stops are unaspirated. The velar nasal /ŋ/ occurs in all positions,
including at the beginning of a word (e.g. ngano, "why"). The glottal stop /ʔ/ is most commonly
encountered in between two vowels, but can also appear in all positions.[14]

Like in Tagalog, glottal stops are usually not indicated in writing. When indicated, it is commonly
written as a hyphen or an apostrophe if the glottal stop occurs in the middle of the word (e.g. tu-o or
tu'o, "right"). More formally, when it occurs at the end of the word, it is indicated by a circumflex
accent if both a stress and a glottal stop occurs at the final vowel (e.g. basâ, "wet"); or a grave accent if
the glottal stop occurs at the final vowel, but the stress occurs at the penultimate syllable (e.g. batà,
"child").[23][24][25]

Below is a chart of Cebuano consonants with their corresponding letter representation in

parentheses:[14][20][21][26]

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Standard Cebuano consonants

Bilabial Dental Palatal Velar Glottal

Nasal m ⟨m⟩ n̪  ⟨n⟩ ŋ ⟨ng⟩

Stop p ⟨p⟩ b ⟨b⟩ t̪  ⟨t⟩ d̪  ⟨d⟩ k ⟨k⟩ ɡ ⟨g⟩ ʔ (see text)

Fricative s̪  ⟨s⟩ h ⟨h⟩

Affricate    

Approximant

j ⟨y⟩ w ⟨w⟩
(Lateral)
l̪  ⟨l⟩

Rhotic ɾ̪ ~r̪  ⟨r⟩

In certain dialects, /l/ ⟨l⟩ may be interchanged with /w/ ⟨w⟩ in between vowels and vice versa
depending on the following conditions:[14]

If ⟨l⟩ is in between ⟨a⟩ and ⟨u⟩/⟨o⟩, the vowel succeeding ⟨l⟩ is usually (but not always) dropped
(e.g. lalom, "deep", becomes lawom or lawm).
If ⟨l⟩ is in between ⟨u⟩/⟨o⟩ and ⟨a⟩, it is the vowel that is preceding ⟨l⟩ that is instead dropped (e.g.
bulan, "moon", becomes buwan or bwan)
If ⟨l⟩ is in between two like vowels, the ⟨l⟩ may be dropped completely and the vowel lengthened.
For example, dala ("bring"), becomes da (/d̪ aː/); and tulod ("push") becomes tud (/t̪ uːd̪ /).[14] Except
if the l is in between closed syllables or is in the beginning of the penultimate syllable; in which
case, the ⟨l⟩ is dropped along with one of the vowels, and no lengthening occurs. For example,
kalatkat, "climb", becomes katkat (/ˈkatkat/ not /ˈkaːtkat/).

A final ⟨l⟩ can also be replaced with ⟨w⟩ in certain areas in Bohol (e.g. tambal, "medicine", becomes
tambaw). In very rare cases in Cebu, ⟨l⟩ may also be replaced with ⟨y⟩ in between the vowels ⟨a⟩ and
⟨e⟩/⟨i⟩ (e.g. tingali, "maybe", becomes tingayi).[14]

In some parts of Bohol and Southern Leyte, /j/ ⟨y⟩ is also often replaced with d͡ ʒ ⟨j/dy⟩ when it is in
the beginning of a syllable (e.g. kalayo, "fire", becomes kalajo). It can also happen even if the ⟨y⟩ is at
the final position of the syllable and the word, but only if it is moved to the initial position by the
addition of the affix -a. For example, baboy ("pig") can not become baboj, but baboya can become
baboja.[14]

All of the above substitutions are considered allophonic and do not change the meaning of the
word.[14]

In rarer instances, the consonant ⟨d⟩ might also be replaced with ⟨r⟩ when it is in between two vowels
(e.g. Boholano ido for standard Cebuano iro, "dog"), but ⟨d⟩ and ⟨r⟩ are not considered allophones,[14]
though they may have been in the past.[27]

Stress

Stress accent is phonemic, so that dapít (adverb) means "near to a place," while dāpit (noun) means
"place."
dū-ol (verb) means "come near," while du-ól (adverb) means "near" or "close by."

Grammar
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Vocabulary
Cebuano is a member of the Philippine languages. Early trade contact resulted in a large number of
older loan words from other languages being embedded in Cebuano, like Sanskrit (e.g. sangka, "fight"
and bahandi, "wealth", from Sanskrit sanka and bhānda respectively), and Arabic (e.g. salámat,
"thanks"; hukom or hukm, "judge").[28]

It has also been influenced by thousands of words from Spanish, such as kurus [cruz] (cross), swerte
[suerte] ("luck"), gwapa [guapa], ("beautiful"), merkado [mercado] ("market") and brilyante
[brillante] ("brilliant"). It has several hundred loan words from English as well, which are altered to
conform to the phonemic inventory of Cebuano: brislit (bracelet), hayskul (high school), syáping
(shopping), bakwit (evacuate), and dráyber (driver). However, today, it is more common for
Cebuanos to spell out those words in their original English form rather than with spelling that might
conform to Cebuano standards.

Phrases
A few common phrases in Cebuano include:[29]

How are you? (used as a greeting) - Komosta?

Good morning - Maayong buntag
Good afternoon (specifically at 12:00 Noon up to 12:59 PM) - Maayong udto
Good afternoon - Maayong hapon
Good evening - Maayong gabii
Good bye - Ayo-ayo ("Take care", formal), Adios (rare), Babay (informal, corruption of "Goodbye"),
Amping ("Take care"), Hangtod sa sunod nga higayon ("Until next time")
Thank you - Salamat
Many thanks! - Daghang Salamat
Thank you very much! - Daghan kaayong salamat
You're welcome - Walay sapayan
Do not (imperative) - Ayaw
Don't know - Ambot
Yes - O
Maybe - Tingali, Basin
No[30][31]

Dili - for future verb negation ("will not", "does/do not", "not going to"); and negation of
identity, membership, property, relation, or position ("[he/she/it/this/that] is not")
Wala - for past and progressive verb negation ("have not", "did not"); and to indicate the
absence of ("none", "nothing", "not have", "there is not")

Who - Kinsa
What - Unsa
Where
diin - where (past)
Ása - where (present)

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Which - Hain
When - Kanus-a
How - Giunsa
Why - Ngano
These/This - Kini
That/Those
kana - that/those (near)
kadto - that/those (far)

Dialects
The de facto Standard Cebuano dialect (sometimes referred to as General Cebuano) is derived from
the conservative Sialo vernacular spoken in southeastern Cebu (also known as the Sialo dialect or the
Carcar-Dalaguete dialect). It first gained prominence due to its adoption by the Catholic Church as the
standard for written Cebuano. It retains the intervocalic /l/.[14] In contrast, the Urban Cebuano
dialect spoken by people in Metro Cebu and surrounding areas is characterized by /l/ elision and
heavily contracted words and phrases.[14] For example, waláy problema ("no problem") in Standard
Cebuano can become way 'blema in Urban Cebuano.

Colloquialisms can also be used to determine the regional origin of the speaker. Cebuano-speaking
people from Cagayan de Oro and Dumaguete, for example, say chada or tsada/patsada (roughly
translated to the English colloquialism "awesome")[32] and people from Davao City say atchup which
also translated to the same English context;[33] meanwhile Cebuanos from Cebu on the other hand
say nindot or, sometimes, aníndot. However, this word is also commonly used in the same context in
other Cebuano-speaking regions, in effect making this word not only limited in use to Cebu.

There is no standardized orthography for Cebuano, but spelling in print usually follow the
pronunciation of Standard Cebuano, regardless of how it is actually spoken by the speaker. For
example, baláy ("house") is pronounced /baˈl̪ aɪ/ in Standard Cebuano and is thus spelled "baláy",
even in Urban Cebuano where it is actually pronounced /ˈbaɪ/.[14]

Cebuano is spoken natively over a large area of the Philippines and thus has numerous regional
dialects. It can vary significantly in terms of lexicon and phonology depending on where it is
spoken.[14] Increasing usage of spoken English (being the primary language of commerce and
education in the Philippines) has also led to the introduction of new pronunciations and spellings of
old Cebuano words. Code-switching forms of English and Bisaya (Bislish) are also common among
the educated younger generations.[34][35]

There are four main dialectal groups within Cebuano aside from the Standard Cebuano and Urban
Cebuano. They are as follows:[36][37][38][39]

Bohol Cebuano

The Boholano dialect of Bohol shares many similarities with the southern form of the standard
Cebuano dialect. It is also spoken in some parts of Siquijor. Boholano, especially as spoken in central
Bohol, can be distinguished from other Cebuano variants by a few phonetic changes:

The semivowel y is pronounced [dʒ]: iya is pronounced [iˈdʒa];

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Ako is pronounced as [aˈho];

Intervocalic l is occasionally pronounced as [w] when following u or o: kulang is pronounced as
[ˈkuwaŋ] (the same as Metro Cebu dialect).

Leyte Cebuano

Southern Kanâ

Southern Kanâ is a dialect of both southern Leyte and Southern Leyte provinces; it is closest to the
Mindanao Cebuano dialect at the southern area and northern Cebu dialect at the northern
boundaries. Both North and South Kana are subgroups of Leyteño dialect. Both of these dialects are
spoken in western and central Leyte and in the southern province, but the Boholano is more
concentrated in Maasin City.

Northern Kanâ

North Kanâ (found in the northern part of Leyte), is closest to the variety of the language spoken in
northern part of Leyte, and shows significant influence from Waray-Waray, quite notably in its pace
which speakers from Cebu find very fast, and its more mellow tone (compared to the urban Cebu City
dialect, which Kana speakers find "rough"). A distinguishing feature of this dialect is the reduction of
/A/ prominent, but an often unnoticed feature of this dialect is the labialisation of /n/ and /ŋ/ into
/m/, when these phonemes come before /p/ /b/ and /m/, velarisation of /m/ and /n/ into /ŋ/ before
/k/ /ɡ/ and /ŋ/, and the dentalisation of /ŋ/ and /m/ into /n/ before /t/, /d/ and /n/ and sometimes,
before vowels and other consonants as well.

Sugbu Kana Waray English

Kan-on Luto Lutô Cooked rice/maize
Kini/kiri Kiri/kini Ini This
Kana Kara'/kana Iton That
Dinhi/Diri ari/dinhi/diri Didi/Ngadi/Aadi/Dinhi Here
Diha/Dinha Dira/diha/dinha Dida/Ngada/Aada There
Bas/Balas Bas/Balas Baras Soil/Sand
Alsa Arsa Alsa To lift
Bulsa Bursa Bulsa Pocket

Mindanao Cebuano

This is the variety of Cebuano spoken throughout most of Mindanao and it is the standard dialect of
Cebuano in Northern Mindanao.

Local historical sources found in Cagayan de Oro indicates the early presence of Cebuano Visayans in
the Misamis-Agusan coastal areas and their contacts with the Lumads and peoples of the Rajahnate of
Butuan. Lumads refer to these Visayan groups as "Dumagat" ("people of the sea") as they came in the
area seaborne. It became the lingua franca of precolonial Visayan settlers and native Lumads of the
area, and particularly of the ancient Rajahnate of Butuan where Butuanon, a Southern Visayan
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language, was also spoken. Cebuano influence in Lumad languages around the highlands of Misamis
Oriental and Bukidnon was furthered with the influx of Cebuano Visayan laborers and conscripts of
the Spaniards from Cebuano areas of Visayas (particularly from Bohol) during the colonial period
around the present-day region of Northern Mindanao. It has spread west towards the Zamboanga
Peninsula, east towards Caraga, and south towards Bukidnon, Cotabato and the Davao Region in the
final years of Spanish colonial rule.

Similar to the Sialo dialect of southeastern Cebu, it is distinctive in retaining /l/ sounds, long since
considered archaic in Urban Cebuano. For example: bulan instead of buwan ("moon" or "month"),
dalunggan instead of dunggan (ear), and halang instead of hang ("spicy").

Due to the influx of migrants (mostly from Western Visayas and Leyte) during the promotion of
settlement in the highlands of Central Mindanao in the 1930s, vocabulary from other Visayan
languages (predominantly Hiligaynon and Waray-Waray) have also been incorporated into Mindanao
Cebuano. For example, the Hiligaynon sábat ("reply") is commonly used alongside Cebuano tubag,
bulig alongside tábang ("help"), and Waray lutô alongside kan-on ("cooked rice"). Though, these
influences are only limited to the speakers along the port area and Hiligaynon-speaking communities.

Davao Cebuano

A branch of Mindanao Cebuano in Davao is also known as Davaoeño (not to be confused with the
Davao variant of Chavacano which is called "Castellano Abakay"). Like the Cebuano-speakers of
Luzon, it contains some Tagalog vocabulary to a greater extent. Its grammar is similar to other
varieties. However, speakers nowadays exhibits stronger Tagalog influence in their speech by
substituting most Cebuano words with Tagalog ones. One characteristic is the practice of saying atà,
derived from Tagalog yatà to denote uncertainty of a speaker's any aforementioned statements. For
instance, "Tuá man atà sa baláy si Manuel" instead of "Tuá man tingáli sa baláy si Manuel".
However, the word atà exists in Cebuano though it means 'squid ink' (atà sa nukos).

Other examples include: Nibabâ ko sa jeep sa kanto, tapos niulî ko sa among baláy ("I got off the
jeepney at the street corner, and then I went home") instead of Ninaog ko sa jeep sa kanto, dayon
niulî ko sa among baláy. The words babâ and naog mean "to disembark" or "to go down", while
tapos and dayon mean 'then'; the former is Tagalog, and the latter Cebuano. It also sometimes add
some Bagobo and Mansakan vocabulary, like: Madayaw nga adlaw, amigo, kumusta ka? ("Good
day, friend, how are you?", literally "Good morning/afternoon") rather than "Maayo nga adlaw,
amigo, kamusta ka?" The words madayaw and maayo mean 'good'; the former is Bagobo, and the
latter Cebuano.

Negros Cebuano

The Cebuano dialect in Negros is somewhat similar to the Standard Cebuano (spoken by the majority
of the provincial areas of Cebu), with distinct Hiligaynon influences. It is distinctive in retaining /l/
sounds and longer word forms as well. It is the primary dialectal language of the entire province of
Negros Oriental and northeastern parts of Negros Occidental (while the majority of the latter province
and its bordered areas speaks Hiligaynon/Ilonggo), as well as some parts of Siquijor. Examples of
Negrense Cebuano's distinction from other Cebuano dialects is the usage of the word maot instead of
batî ("ugly"), alálay, kalálag instead of kalag-kalag (Halloween), kabaló/kahíbaló and
kaágo/kaántigo instead of kabawó/kahíbawó ("know").

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Other dialects

Luzon Cebuano

There is no specific Luzon dialect, as speakers of Cebuano in Luzon come from many different regions
in Central Visayas and Mindanao. Cebuano-speaking people from Luzon in Visayas can be easily
recognized primarily by their vocabulary which incorporates Tagalog words. Their accents and some
aspects of grammar can also sometimes exhibit Tagalog influence. The dialect is sometimes
colloquially known as "Bisalog" (a portmanteau of Tagalog and Binisaya).

Saksak Sinagol

The term saksak sinagol in context means "a collection of miscellaneous things" and literally "inserted
mixture", thus those other few Cebuano-influenced regions that have a variety of regional languages
uses this term to refer to their dialect with considerable incorporated Cebuano words. Example of
these regions are places likes those in Masbate.

Examples

Numbers

Cebuano uses two numeral systems:

The native system (currently) is mostly used in counting the number of things, animate and
inanimate, e.g. the number of horses, houses.

The spanish-derived system, on the other hand, is exclusively applied in monetary terminology and
is also commonly used in counting from 11 and above.

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Number Native Cebuano Spanish-derived

0 walà 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 katló-an (katuló-an) treynta
40 kap-atan (kaupátan) kwarénta
50 kalím-an (kalimá-an) sinkwénta
60 kan-uman (ka-unóman) sesenta
70 kapitó-an seténta
80 kawaló-an otsénta
90 kasiyáman nobénta
100 usá ka gatós siyén, siyento
200 duhá ka gatós dosiyéntos
300 tuló ka gatós tresiyéntos

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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 napulò ka laksà, usá ka gatós ka líbo siyén mil
1,000,000 usá ka yukót milyón
1,000,000,000 usá ka wakát bilyón (mil milyones)

Shapes

English Term Common Cebuano Term Rare Cebuano Term

Circle Lingin Alirong
Triangle Trayanggulo Gitlo
Rectangle Rektanggulo Gipat
Square Kwadrado Lado

See also
Boholano dialect
Cebuano grammar
Cebuano literature
Cebuano people
Languages of the Philippines

Notes
1. "Definition of Cebuan" (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Cebuan). www.merriam-
webster.com. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
2. The Commission on the Filipino Language, the official regulating body of Philippine languages,
spells the name of the language as Sebwano.
3. "Definition of Cebuano" (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Cebuano). www.merriam-
webster.com. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
4. "Definition of Cebu" (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Cebu). www.merriam-
webster.com. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
5. "Cebu (province)" (http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Cebu+(province)).
TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
6. Philippine Statistics Authority 2014, pp. 29–34.
7. The Commission on the Filipino Language, the Philippine government body charged with
developing and promoting the national and regional languages of the country, spells the name of
the language in Filipino as Sebwano.

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8. Reference to the language as Binisaya is discouraged by many linguists, in light of the many
languages within the Visayan language group that might be confounded with the term.
9. "Cebuano" (https://www.ethnologue.com/language/ceb). Ethnologue. Retrieved 6 September
2018.
10. Ammon, Ulrich; Dittmar, Norbert; Mattheier, Klaus J.; Trudgill, Peter (2006). Sociolinguistics: An
International Handbook of the Science of Language and Society (https://books.google.com/book
s?id=LMZm0w0k1c4C). Volume 3. Walter de Gruyter. p. 2018. ISBN 9783110184181.
11. Wolff 1972
12. Wolff, John U. (2001). "Cebuano" (https://archive.org/details/rosettaproject_ceb_detail-2) (PDF).
In Garry, Jane; Galvez Rubino, Carl R. (eds.). Facts About the World's Languages: An
Encyclopedia of the World's Major Languages, Past and Present. New York: H. W. Wilson.
13. Pangan, John Kingsley (2016). Church of the Far East (https://archive.org/details/ChurchOfTheFa
rEastPreview). Makati: St. Pauls. p. 19.
14. Endriga 2010
15. Zorc, David Paul (1977). The Bisayan Dialects of the Philippines: Subgrouping and
Reconstruction (https://archive.org/details/bisayandialectso0044zorc). Pacific Linguistics Series C
- No. 44. Canberra, Australia: Dept. of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian
National University. doi:10.15144/PL-C44 (https://doi.org/10.15144%2FPL-C44). hdl:1885/146594
(https://hdl.handle.net/1885%2F146594). ISBN 0858831570.
16. "Cebuano language, alphabet and pronunciation" (http://www.omniglot.com/writing/cebuano.htm).
Omniglot.com. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
17. "Alphabets Des Philippines" (https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/4e/af/c8/4eafc8e5f572d
9a7bf7668bd35de9270.jpg) (JPG). S-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
18. Eleanor, Maria (16 July 2011). "Finding the "Aginid" " (https://www.philstar.com/cebu-lifestyle/7064
09/finding-aginid). philstar.com. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
19. "Cebuano" (https://web.archive.org/web/20150407170329/http://www.alsintl.com/resources/langu
ages/Cebuano/). www.alsintl.com. Archived from the original (https://www.alsintl.com/resources/la
nguages/Cebuano/) on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
20. "Cebuano Phonetics and Orthography" (http://dila.ph/cebuano%20phonetics%20and%20orthogra
phy.pdf) (PDF). Dila. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
21. Thompson, Irene (11 July 2013). "Cebuano" (http://aboutworldlanguages.com/cebuano). About
World Languages. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
22. Steinkrüger, Patrick O. (2008). "Hispanisation processes in the Philippines" (https://books.google.
com/books?id=4kacyicU4BgC&pg=PA203). In Stolz, Thomas; Bakker, Dik; Palomo, Rosa Salas
(eds.). Hispanisation: The Impact of Spanish on the Lexicon and Grammar of the Indigenous
Languages of Austronesia and the Americas. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 203–236.
ISBN 9783110207231.
23. Morrow, Paul (16 March 2011). "The basics of Filipino pronunciation: Part 2 of 3 • accent marks"
(http://www.pilipino-express.com/history-a-culture/in-other-words/1180-basics-of-filipino-pronunciat
ion-part-2.html). Pilipino Express. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
24. Nolasco, Ricardo M.D. Grammar notes on the national language (http://fhl.digitalsolutions.ph/site
s/default/files/grammar-notes.pdf) (PDF). Fhl.digitalsolutions.ph.
25. Schoellner, Joan; Heinle, Beverly D., eds. (2007). Tagalog Reading Booklet (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20131127030759/http://www.supadu.com/images/ckfinder/26/pdfs/PIMSLEUR/Tagalog_Ph
ase1-Bklt.pdf) (PDF). Simon & Schister's Pimsleur. pp. 5–6. Archived from the original (http://ww
w.supadu.com/images/ckfinder/26/pdfs/PIMSLEUR/Tagalog_Phase1-Bklt.pdf) (PDF) on 27
November 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
26. Bollas, Abigail A. (2013), Comparative Analysis on the Phonology of Tagalog, Cebuano, and
Itawis (https://www.academia.edu/4427395), University of the Philippines - Diliman

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27. Verstraelen, Eugene (1961). "Some further remarks about the L-feature" (http://philippinestudies.n
et/ojs/index.php/ps/article/download/2806/5450). Philippine Studies. 9 (1): 72–77.
28. Kuizon, Jose G. (1964). "The Sanskrit Loan-Words in the Cebuano-Bisayan Language" (https://nir
c.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/646). Asian Folklore Studies. 23 (1): 111–158. doi:10.2307/1177640 (https://
doi.org/10.2307%2F1177640). JSTOR 1177640 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/1177640).
29. "Useful Cebuano phrases" (http://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/cebuano.php). Omniglot.
Retrieved 25 December 2016.
30. "Wala / Dili" (http://learncebuano.com/wala-dili/). Learn Cebuano: Cebuano-Visayan Language
Lessons. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
31. Curtis D. McFarland (2008). "Linguistic diversity and English in the Philippines" (https://books.goo
gle.com/books?id=YnUgBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA138). In Maria Lourdes S. Bautista & Kingsley Bolton
(ed.). Philippine English: Linguistic and Literary. Hong Kong University Press. p. 137–138.
ISBN 9789622099470.
32. "10 Fun Facts about Cagayan de Oro" (http://aboutcagayandeoro.com/10-fun-facts-about-cagaya
n-de-oro/). About Cagayan de Oro. 5 February 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
33. "Atchup Boulevard Explained" (http://www.ilovedavao.com/2015/01/what-do-you-mean-by-atchup-
boulevard.html). www.ilovedavao.com. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
34. Nissan, Ephraim (2012). "Asia at Both Ends: An Introduction to Etymythology, with a Response to
Chapter Nine" (https://books.google.com/books?id=rdcxBwAAQBAJ&q=BISLISH&pg=PA299). In
Zuckermann, Ghil‘ad (ed.). Burning Issues in Afro-Asiatic Linguistics. Cambridge Scholars
Publishing. p. 299. ISBN 9781443864626.
35. Meierkord, Christiane (2012). Interactions Across Englishes: Linguistic Choices in Local and
International Contact Situations (https://books.google.com/books?id=W5cXvmMg4_cC&q=BISLIS
H&pg=PA209). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 209. ISBN 9780521192286.
36. "Cebuano" (https://www.ethnologue.com/language/ceb). Ethnologue. Retrieved 28 December
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37. Dingwall, Alastair (1994). Traveller's Literary Companion to South-East Asia. In Print Publishing,
Limited. p. 372. ISBN 9781873047255.
38. Blake, Frank R. (1905). "The Bisayan Dialects" (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F592885). Journal of
the American Oriental Society. 26 (1905): 120–136. doi:10.2307/592885 (https://doi.org/10.2307%
2F592885). JSTOR 592885 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/592885).
39. Gonzalez, Andrew (1991). "Cebuano and Tagalog: Ethnic Rivalry Redivivus". In Dow, James R.
(ed.). Focus on Language and Ethnicity (https://books.google.com/books?id=tm4T59MWHNUC).
Volume 2. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing. p. 115–116.
ISBN 9789027220813.

References
Endriga, Divine Angeli (2010). The Dialectology of Cebuano: Bohol, Cebu and Davao (https://mle
phil.wordpress.com/2012/04/04/the-dialectology-of-cebuano/). 1st Philippine Conference
Workshop on Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education held from February 18–20, 2010 (htt
p://mothertongue-based.blogspot.com/2010/01/plenary-sessions-doing-mother-tongue.html).
Capitol University, Cagayan de Oro.
Bunye, Maria V. R.; Yap, Elsa P. (1971a). Cebuano for Beginners (https://books.google.com/book
s?id=v1nGDwAAQBAJ). University of Hawaii Press. hdl:10125/62862 (https://hdl.handle.net/1012
5%2F62862). ISBN 9780824879778.
Bunye, Maria V. R.; Yap, Elsa P. (1971b). Cebuano Grammar Notes (https://books.google.com/bo
oks?id=HVrGDwAAQBAJ). University of Hawaii Press. hdl:10125/62863 (https://hdl.handle.net/10
125%2F62863). ISBN 9780824881306.

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9/23/21, 11:23 PM Cebuano language - Wikipedia

Wolff, John U. (1972). A Dictionary of Cebuano Visayan (https://web.archive.org/web/2018093005

4015/http://www.gutenberg.ph/previews/wolff/WCED-complete.pdf) (PDF). Ithaca, New York:
Cornell University, Southeast Asia Program and Linguistic Society of the Philippines.
hdl:1813/11777 (https://hdl.handle.net/1813%2F11777). Archived from the original (http://www.gut
enberg.ph/previews/wolff/WCED-complete.pdf) (PDF) on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 7 May
2017 – via Gutenberg.ph.

External links
Cebuano Dictionary (http://cebuano.pinoydictionary.com/)
Cebuano English Searchable Dictionary (https://web.archive.org/web/20170227010738/http://ww
w.wikapinoy.com/glossary/)
John U. Wolff, A Dictionary of Cebuano Visayan: Volume I (http://seapdatapapers.library.cornell.e
du/cgi/t/text/text-idx?idno=seap085a), Volume II (http://seapdatapapers.library.cornell.edu/cgi/t/tex
t/text-idx?idno=seap085b), searchable interface (http://www.bohol.ph/wced.php), Downloadable
text at Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/40074)
Ang Dila Natong Bisaya (https://archive.org/details/AngDilaNatongBisaya)
Lagda Sa Espeling Rules of Spelling (http://bismag.pbworks.com/w/page/9015814/Lagda-Sa-Esp
eling) (Cebuano)
Language Links.org - Philippine Languages to the world - Cebuano Lessons (http://www.language
links.org/lessons/cebuano/cebuano.html)
Language Links.org - Philippine Languages to the World (http://www.languagelinks.org/index.html)
Online E-book of Spanish-Cebuano Dictionary (http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-id
x?c=philamer;cc=philamer;q1=cebuano;rgn=full%20text;view=image;seq=00000001;idno=APT64
90.0001.001;didno=APT6490.0001.001), published in 1898 by Fr. Felix Guillén
Cebuano dictionary (http://cebuano.free.fr/index_uk.php)
Online bible (https://www.jw.org/ceb/librarya/bibliya/), video and audio files, publications and other
bible study material in Cebuano language [1] (https://www.jw.org/ceb/)

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