Interesting Pangasinan Words

Pangasinan language has so many terms that have an interesting sound and often have precise meanings that are quite a challenge to translate to Tagalog or English with just one equivalent or corresponding word. Here are just a few that can be heard sometimes from the elderly, which means they are not being used as often as they used to be.

Abanalan - got dead tired from working or traveling late into the night that it's hard to wake up early for work as usual; Mabanal - tiresome not just physically but psychologically/emotionally

Agnasabaan - can't deal with its sheer magnitude/number

Akabigta - hit the big time

Akwal - kandungin; carry on one's lap

Alangkongan - nahuli ng gising; woke up late

Ambaling - has the smell or taste of camote that has gone stale with worm or fungal growth

Amuyakat - manpikkat, mannelnab, maringot, marutak; dirty in wet and sticky kind of way

Amuyanggo - amay singa kabango bangon mo, ya ag kani aka sagaysay na buek, asaganet, amurakday, magulo-gulo ya buwek; with hair disheveled as though one has just woken up straight out of bed. Example: “Akin, kabangobangon mo, amuyanggo ka! Mansagaysay ka pa!”

Apakil - got exhausted for nothing after getting something somewhere

Apuyot - basang-basa; sopping wet

Asagapet - no say ayëp ët kapananak insan mo nengnengen o diwiten so anak to, ag to la aroen tan taynanan to; no say ateng agto amtan aroen tan asikasoen so anak to; used to describe a dog, parent, or child that does not care about his child/parent and leaves him/her alone or forgets him or her

Atalangkab - nagkalat, kalat-kalat at nakakahilo; synonym: akitungilang; related idiom: man-uusilan; synonym: asiwaklat - disorderly in a dizzying way  

Ataratar - is riddled with, as in bullets

Atingapol - akirurutak so lupa. Example: Atingapol so lupam. Akin aki-angal ka'd buaya?!

Bastiral - bastian!, aga mangabkabilang. Example: Bastiral kan ugaw!

Inambungalan - attacked (as in by bees) in massive numbers

Kumarakara - mibabali, saro-saro, mikakwati, kwatit

Madiwak, Mariwak - maaksaya sa tubig; using water so much more than necessary; pandiwak means water generally used to wash things

Makakaraëg - bwisit o managtawag na malas, makaamling, makapakapoy; nagtatawag ng malas; having an air of negative portent or bad omen

Makasambot - can assist you in a huff; opposite: agmakasambot - can't be depended upon when needed

Makaskasding - aliwliwan nengnengen, makabanbanlig, singa mabanbanday; masagwa; awkward, embarrassing. Example: “Saltan mo tay paldam ya antiktikey, makaskasding kan pawaypaway ed karsada ngalngali la umpaway so kutitkutit mo, makapabaing!”

Makautob - can be distributed to a lot of people, like food

Mamaong - siñga togtua, siñga nayaryari; siga-siga, may kayabangan at pagkadominante; pretending to be somebody, domineering; feeling like a big shot

Manburildil - complaining in a loud, nonstop manner

Mankinon - mataltalker so tenger to; aga mamanpansin; snobbish because feeling superior

Mansalti - manalinsyar, mandyalteng; restless or can't be in one place at a time not because one is sick but just to get the attention of others, so she flits from one point to another

Manwatil - synonyms: manlanger, tanger-tanger, taoy-taoy; moving to and fro while hanging about

Mapalyon - used to describe a place full of ghosts or harmful spirits

Maraskal - rough in character

Masyasyangob - marunong ya manradar no iner so grasya o panangan; magaling ang pang-amoy pagdating sa grasya

Mikukunetket, Mikukungetnget - nakikisali pa kahit di na dapat; still taking a part or a piece of something despite it being not enough for everyone

Mitirol - mibabalid agto kagawaan; pakialamero; refers to someone who gets his hands on things he has no right or business being into, literally or figuratively

Nanpalbog - peed while asleep

Niparukan - slightly choked by water or a liquid food

Pabes - palpak; like a firecracker that fails to go off; Apabes - pinmalpak; pumalpak; did not go as planned

Pasitsirayew - pa-epal, papansin; trying hard to impress or get noticed

Pawëg - maan-anos balët no makapasnok ag to napukpokan so laman to, antikey so koldon to, agmo nalurey-lurey, amputi'y layag, mipapasnok, barumbado; gets easily angry

Posisaoan - amputi-puti'y busalég to; mamutla-mutla; literally somewhat pale (from posisao - pale), not exactly pale but kind of pale

Sangap-sangap - saro-saro, mibabali, misasawsaw, mikwakwatit, sarsarit; synonym: Laot - nakikisawsaw sa usapan; unnecessarily being around a group of people or a conversation where a person’s presence is not being sought

Siblet-kerew - makerekerew balet masibsiblet; fond of asking something yet so stingy himself

Tabayawan - "to put cold water to hot water so as to temper or lower the temperature"

 

Tandag, Tandagan - look or gaze at something while on a higher vantage point; cf: Usdong - look down on; Takiling - look from a distance; Tangay - look up on; Siim - espy on

(Acknowledgment: Bayambang Culture Mapping Project members)