Ay Agi, Agayla Ya! -- Traditional Expressions

The following are common expressions that have been traditionally used in Bayambang and other parts of Pangasinan. They are listed here separately as they are generally non-idiomatic in usage, i.e., they have more or less literal meaning. Put another way, they are favorite non-idiomatic utterances to express specific thoughts and feelings.

 

Aga ibaliwan na asawak so agi to./Aga ibaliwan na agik so asawa to. (My wife will not wear mourning cloth for her sibling./My sibling will not wear mourning cloth for his wife.) - I will not allow it (a negative incident) to happen.
 

Agayla ya! - an expression of exasperation; roughly, "Ano ba yan!" or "Oh, geez!"

 

Agka mangitaltalek; Aga mangabkabilang ("Di ka sumusunod [sa utos]!"?) - "You're not giving due respect, as though you hear nothing [I say]!"; synonym: Dengel ka layag, talos ed pagpag. (Listen, ear; out on the other.)

 

Agka manisia, lakad tumbong nen Alicia (vulgar usage: You don't believe it? Get inside Alicia's butt!)

 

Agka mapaga ta say paga walad ponsya. (Don't worry because worrying lies in feasting.)

 

Ag ka pad 'tan! (Huwag ka nga diyan!; roughly, Don't you be so...?) - roughly, "Scram!" or "Leave me alone!"

Agkayo mapaga ta wala kayo'd amaga. (Don't worry because you are on dry ground.)

 

Agko intilak sa paltak kod batalan mi! (I did not leave my balls in our bathroom!) - I will show you who the man of the house is!
 

Agmo nalingaw so layag mo'd samit. Karapas mo wadtan. - You can't see your ears with how delicious it is! Touch them, they are there.

 

Agmo pinunuyan tan ta atan ya too katipunan Kastila. (Don't mind him because he is a ____ Spaniard.)
 

Akidadoy - aki-poncia; nagpunta sa kainan; went to a feast; syn. akibagkong, akiponcia, akibangaw, akikan, aki-angot

 

Alig-alig, kapinsa'y dalig (copycat, cousin of wheel) 

 

Aliston kapakapa. (Active but ineffective.) 

 

Ambalbalanga syanga - (so red) - came from a local riddle: "Ambalbalanga si Anga, Andekereket si Aket, say makabitla, nakewet; Answer: Bugayong"

 

Anac na lasi; Anac na lasi ka; Lasi ka (anak ka ng kidlat; child of lightning) - local version of "Anak ng pating!"; a filler expression that has a range of meanings, from mock irritation to being a mild expletive

 

Andeket mareret - Ang maitim tapat. The dark one has love sincere.

Andekereket siaket, no mangaro malet. - Maitim man ako, malupit naman kung magmahal. Though I am dark, when I fall in love, I fall hard.  

 

Anggan wala kad akwalan nen inam, sukiten taka. (Even though you are on your mother's lap, I will come pick you with a stick.) - Agtoka niagel nen inam ed pasnok ko. Even your mother can't protect you from my anger.

Anggapo la'd bilay (wala na sa buhay; no longer in life) - patay na; is dead

 

Anggapo ni'y kalakal to - wala pa sa tamang edad o pag-intindi; does not have maturity of mind yet or proper understanding; he is too immature to know or understand

 

Angapo'y arom, Kanayon/Kapinsan/Etc. ya peteg, ____ tayo - expressions that establish kinship: There's no difference; First-degree relative/cousin/etc.; Our _____ (example: Who else but our John and no other.)

 

Anggapo'y wala (walang meron; nothing there) - that's nothing; don't mention it (equivalent of "you're welcome")

 

Anigang met!/Animas! (euphemism for "Animal!") - exclamatory element in a situation like, Anigang met. Akin inbagam lan tampol? Animas la yan traffic, na-late ak la lamet! (roughly, What the heck! Why did you say it right away? What the heck, I'll be late again!)

 

Apaterter to'y luac (Caused my tears to fall) - has caused me to cry

 

Ay agi! - roughly, "Hay, naku!" or "Oh, brother!"

 

Bandyaw - sa mga kababaihan, baduy na pagdadala ng damit; lousy dressing style among women, i.e., those who love wearing ill-fitting because extra-loose skirts and the like

 

Bari, bari, apo laki, bai/Bambano lalig - an expression used when one is new to a place, to tell spirits not to hurt him

 

Batot-banting ([no translation]) - burloloy; tiny, insignificant adornment; Ex.: Nambabangil ya batot-banting to!; synonym: bakbakutot

 

Dengel ka layag, talos ed pagpag - a local version of "In in one ear and out of the other"

 

Dia'd samit to nalingwanan mo'y katulangan mo. - You will forget your mother-in-law with how delicious it is!

 

Ey - a term used to emphasize a point, like the Ilocano "ngay." Example: "Akin ey?" (Why so?); no Tagalog equivalent

 

Gala, gala ____ (name of person)! - an expression used when someone is shocked out of sheer fright; used purportedly to call someone's soul back after leaving someone's body in shock

 

Gagawen mo? - an expression that roughly means, "Really?!"; kagagawa: one's ways; gawa-gawa(noun): pretense/falsity

 

Imbaga-bagam! ("Sinabi mo pa!") - "Oh, you said it right!"

 

Inatey so angabil. - (The one who hurt someone was the one who died.) The one who intended evil was the one who got hurt.
 

Kiyen - literally, short for kayarian or the thing owned, but used as a filler word like "kuwan" or "that thing" 

 

Maim-impis lay layag mo (ya laki), ta patawin ka lan patawin. (Your ears are too thin because you keep on carrying someone on your back.)

 

Manlilingwanan kami la. - Then let's forget one another. - said when very angry at what someone did to you, usually something perceived as an unjust act

 

Manpasangi kila pian makataway lay tooy taba-taba.

 

Mareen la'y panamaley to (has a peaceful married life) - refers to a person who has settled down (gotten married and started his/her own family)

 

Matog-makok - matog is short for malastog (braggart), while makok is short for malakok or matila (braggart and/or liar), malakok is another term for malastog or matila; bragging liar
 

No adiwit, nala. No akablit, akila (when touched, it is hit; when nudged by fingers, it goes with it) - 

"Parehas lamlamang!"; "Yun din yun!"; even if a word is not pronounced or spelled correctly, if it’s used and pronounced similarly as it should be, then the meaning is the same

 

No laki ka, laki ak met. (If you are a man, so am I.)

 

No oleg tan, kinetket to ka la. (If that was a snake, you would have been bitten already.)
 

Panangasi'y Diyos - local version of "kung may awa ang Diyos" or God willing

 

Pawilen ko'y anaiyan, agko pawilen yan lugar. - literally: I will go back to where I took a dump, (but) I will not go back to this place.

 

Puera anto ca man - "May nothing (bad) happens!"; expressed when someone says something ominous to you

 

Puera baltik! - uttered to dispel the supposedly negative energy as a result of someone's unsolicited praise

 

Puera bungis - "May I not lose a tooth." - uttered when one smells an intense sweet smell

 

Puera buril! - uttered when one sees a witch

 

Puera bwisit - "May I not fall into bad luck." - an expression used whenever one sees a skink, which is considered to be a harbinger of bad luck

 

Say dakel.... - literally, the many...; an exasperated expression; e.g. Say dakel binuntalan ta ka'd tan! (roughly: Mamaya mo, buntalin kita diyan! If you're not careful, I will hit you.)

 

Sirin? (ah ganun?; oh yeah?) - a local version of ngarud in Ilocano, gani in Visayan, and na in Tagalog; a sentence filler serving an intensive or emphatic purpose; Example: Onla ti la sirin. -- instead of just Onla ti la.

 

Tabi, tabi, tabi! - an expression to warn unseen beings (spirits) when one is about to throw away some trash or hot water in the vicinity so as not to hurt them 

 

Tunggal daiset (per little bit) - utay-utay, unti-unti; bit by bit; Ex.: Tunggal daiset ya napelag

 

 

 
Informants:

 

Bayambang Culture Mapping Facebook page members

 

Lorenzo Frianeza, citing KSD Wikaalaman and personal knowledge and other members of Saray Taga Pangasinan Facebook page