Thursday, October 23, 2025

Tanol: Pangasinan Onomatopoeias

Tanol: Pangasinan Onomatopoeias

Salien ti met pan tuupen so saray salitan Pangasinan para ed tanol ya nibaga yo lad dya? Just for fun. Sarag to? It would be fun to see what insights this compilation will lead us to.


Pangasinan poet and book author Santiago Villafania has observed that Pangasinan language has an unusually high number of synonyms for sound compared to other languages such as Tagalog or Filipino.

Local mediaman and musician Oscar Ora points out that part of the reason is that a lot of Pangasinan words related to sound are onomatopoeic.

More recently, in an FB page for Pangasineses, someone posted with this prompt: "Translate the sound of 'kumukulo' (ang tiyan, for example) to Pangasinan." The ensuing answers in the comment boxes were incredibly varied:

mandalakerek (so eges)

malarakerek (also used for bamboo and voice)

makalarukor

man-ingal 

magalarugor, magalareger

man-ganurgor

matanol, ontatanol

mantaknol

mankiyaos

manpiyak

inatey so pusa'd agayep

mankibwal

mansikal

unaasagasang

What an amazing level of variation for something so common and simple!

*** 

Now, let’s take a look at these mostly onomatopoeic words:

alaldis - the sound of whipping

alalbog - the sound of bumping, as in one's head on the wall

alaltog, abagtog - the sound of bumping, as in one's head on the wall

alalsik - the sound of splashing water

matalangatang - the sound of a tin can

mapalakapak - the sound of firecrackers

mapalagapag - strong booming sound

makakilem - nakakangilong tunog or a sound that causes discomfort to the teeth

manateet - the sound of, say, bamboo branches rubbing against each other

mataningting - the tinny sound of, say, spoon falling on the floor

mansanitsit - the sizzling sound of oil while frying

matalagutog - the sound of, say, big drums

matalakutok - the clucking sound of fowl

matalakatak - the sound of raindrop

sutsot - to call someone using the sound "Psst!"

tansit - to issue a sound of annoyance from one's mouth using roughly the /tst/ sound

magalasagas - anything that sounds like glas, glas, glas

magalareger - anything that sounds like grr, grr, grr

makalasakas – anything that sounds like klas, klas, klas

mapalasapas? – anything that sounds like plas, plas, plas

mabayakabak - ?

mammalasemes - ?

manbusawsaw - is this a sound or more of a movement?

manlaltog - sounds like "tog-tog-tog..."

mantitit - tumitili; shouting in high pitch

manateet - creaking sound: "teeettt! teeettt!"

makalatikit - ?

mabalangobong - ?

mantanit-tit - sounds like "tiittt! tit! tiiitt!"

manlalbong - "bong! bong! bong!"

manlaldis - whipping sound

mansaniwsiw - ?

mangngisiw - ?

unsasalangisiw, mansalangisiw - ?

mantikap - making unpleasant chewing sound like that of a pig eating

mapalakapak - the sound of firecrackers

matalangatang - the sound of tin can

manungol - groaning

manasusot – the sound one makes when one’s tongue or mouth is scalded

 manukok – coughing

mansugkok – coughing loud

mansugkak – loud coughing with vomiting

mansugakgak – the sound one makes when vomiting aloud or with force

 man-iyek – wheezing as in asthma

mabanugbog, manbanugbog – the loud bass or percussion sound during parties

matning – high-pitched

malungog – low-pitched

mansigam – the sound of ‘ahem’; the sound of clearing one’s throat

manpyuos - whistling

 mangkansyon - singing

mantareren – ?

 man-ngengem – making the sounds of ________

 

ANIMAL SOUNDS

mangkutak – clucking as in a hen

mangkukaok – crowing as in a rooster

mandangol – barking as in a dog

man-ngiyaw – mewing, meowing

mansiyap – the sound of chicks crying

mantagluong - howling

mantiktik - the sound of house lizards

mansitsit - the sound of "psst"

 

AKIS: Pangasinan Words for Cry


Lastly, let us in particular distinguish between (or among) different intensities of crying (akis), using a post by our language maestro, Dr. Melchor Orpilla, among other contributors:


akis, manakis - cry, crying

maningel - low but deep groaning

mansibsibek - sobbing

mannangis - crying

manurangal - crying loudly like a child

manugaog - crying loudly with deeper sound

managugol - crying aloud with prolonged deep sound evidencing deep sorrow

mankarangkang - refers to the loud cry of a dog that is hurting or wanting to free itself from its chain

manngaralngal - a variation of manurangal

mantulaab - humahagulgol

mantagluong - the haunting sound of dogs howling in the middle of the night

taol - cry

angís - a variation of nangis

ngayengey, manngayengey

ngilngil, angilngil, manngilngil  - an onomatopoeic for a certain kind of crying 

ngesnges, angesnges 

mannguyngoy, mannguyangoy

mankoyangyang - the cry of a little hungry child

man-ngisngis

mantulaab - crying incessantly loud; in Tagalog, humahagulgol


Related Words:


ey-ey -  earnest or passionate request or appeal

aglem - "aralëm tan maksil ya ëy-ëy o ungol na mampapautot o naiirapan ya agmakayari"; deep and loud groanings of someone helplessly suffering from intense pain

taglëëy - lamentation in words 


abët-ábët - taglëëy that is sung like the dung-aw of the Ilokanos


Related Idioms for "Cry"

Manakis na belas (crying rice grains) - crying copiously; tagaktak ang luha sa iyak; manterter so luwa ed akis

Napelag la'y butayong (malalaglag na ang bunga ng niyog na korteng luha; the tear-shaped young coconut fruit is about to fall) - unakis la; iiyak na; about to cry

No onakis singa birkakakan. (He cries like a birkakakan fish.) - agaylay kasil na akis to, singa berkakakan o sakey ya uri na sira ya no onorangal et makapakebiew; cries aloud like a birkakakan fish, which issues a fearsome cry

Agmo napaakis (di mo mapaiyak; can't make him cry) - aga makapangilaem, aga napanlibre; can't be bothered to set aside your portion or give a free treat


 

 

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