Cabalen. [ka ba len´] A native of Pampanga, a prosperous and prominent province about 80 kilometers northwest of Manila. Many of them were of Mexican and Spanish decent, having come with the galleon trade that ran between Mexico
and Manila.

Cabise. [ka bi se´] From the Spanish word cabeza or head.
He was normally the head of the community similar to a barangay captain.

Cachichas. [ka chee´chas] Smelly feet. This term was very popular when we were children in the 60s and 70s. I asked teenage kids now and they’ve never heard of the term!

Cacique. [ka see kee´] Really a Spanish word for wealthy
landlord. The term unfortunately had a negative connotation during the Spanish times because many a landlord mistreated their tenants--pure-blooded Filipinos
or Indios.

Calabasa. [ka la ba´sa] The Spanish word for squash or
pumpkin. Way back, calabasa meant getting failing grades in school. A Spanish television game show gives losers a fresh squash as a consolation prize.
Calamansi. [ka la man see´] Lemon and lime are poor substitutes for the calamansi because we think that our little round citrus  is tangier and better tasting.

Camiseta. [ka mee seh´ta] The generic (crew neckline) t-shirt. A homegrown upscale boutique (spelled Kamiseta) for the young Pinay. Upscale, no kidding. Natalie Portman and Kate Hudson are its endorsers.

Camisa de Chino. [ka mee´sa  de  chee´no]. Literally, a Chinese shirt.  Collar-less, long-sleeved and loose, it is usually worn with pants resembling pajamas.

Camison. [ka mee son´] From the Spanish word for chemise or slip, used as undergarments of silk or cotton. We were not allowed out of the house without them. It seems this was a general rule for all, even if you were raised abroad. See what we mean by going to www.happyslip.com.

Camote. [ka mo´teh] The yam or sweet potato. A favorite root crop of Filipinos, more popular than the potato. Filipinos are  fond of anything sweet so that may explain our preference. In the old days, to flunk in school was na-nga-mote, similar to calabasa.

Canal. [ka nal´] Means the same thing in English, but in the Philippines, the term conjures images of dirty, stagnant water. Although our father said that the canals of Tondo, Manila, were once so clean that he and his brothers would swim there instead of at Manila Bay.
Capitan. [ka pee tan´] The Filipino and Spanish translation for captain. Lucio Tan, the Filipino Chinese taipan  (an influential entrepreneur) is reverently called capitan by his people.

Carabao. [ka ra bow´] The water buffalo. Also called the kalabaw. Why it was chosen as the national animal beats us, because it is big and rather lazy. Most Filipinos are small in stature, and are usually hard working.

Caribal. [ka ri bal´] From the word rival or carival in Spanish. Usually used in relation to one’s rival in courtship. And since courtship has become a unisex ritual, rivals can now come in both sexes.

Carino brutal. [ka rin´yo  brew tal´] The Filipino or version of tough love. Not appreciated by a girlfriend or wife when the partner uses it to regulate
shopping binges.

Casa Fuego. [kah´sah  fu’ ego] Literally, the fire house. It is a dated term for matchbax.

Cebuano. [se boo´an o’] The natives of Cebu province who have migrated all over the Philippines. Their dialect of the same name is spoken in the eastern part of the Visayas and all over Mindanao. Cebu is so prosperous that it has direct flights to the world.

Chaka. [cha´ka] Plain ugly. Not pleasing to the eyes.

Champoy. [cham poy´] A Chinese preserved fruit that’s sour enough to make you shudder. Pinoys have forever been buying this from our Chinese relatives on the mainland.

Champorado. [cham po ra´do] A  porridge with lots lots of chocolate mixed with glutinous rice and sugar. Most likely of Spanish origin. Eaten usually for breakfast. Try putting some shredded tuyo (dried fish) for contrast.Cheche boreche. [cheh cheh´ bo reh´ cheh] Not sure if this is spelled as one word, but its
meaning is a tortuous as its pronunciation. This means not going straight to the point, keeping the unessential. See also kiaw-kiaw.

Chepar or chuvah [cheh par/cheh vah] Thirty years ago, the English words that best approximated them were thingy or stuff.  Or kwan or‘yong ano in Filipino. Originally gay speak until becoming mainstream.

Chibug. [chi boog´] Food or to eat. A popular term that appeared in the 1970s.

Chika. [chee´kah] From the Spanish chica to mean little girl. Recently, it has meant talking with girl friends (although men are said to engage in the same behavior) about unimportant things--gossip included.

Chicharon. [chee cha ron´] Pork rind fried crisp to perfection. If you don’t have a heart attack, your cardiologist will.

Chichirya [chee cheer´ ya] Any dried snack food like chips or nuts sometimes downed with soda or alcohol.

Chilax [chil lax´] ! A combination of chill and relax. Our 15 year-old says that kids use this 30 times a day.

Chinelas. [chee neh´las] Slippers. Way before Havaianas got popular, Pinoys called them Japanese slippers. They are so informal, yet people (those under 30 mostly) wear them anywhere. Call me a fan of Miss Manners, but slippers of any kind (even if they cost $30 or more) should stay at home or at the beach!

Chinovela. [chee´no ve´la] A Chinese television novel with English subtitles started by Viva Productions because they’ve been cheaper to buy than produce from scratch. Now we watch the more popular Korean soaps—dubbed in Tagalog—for the 99.9% of us who don’t understand Korean.

Chismis. [chees´mis] Gossip. Like everyone else, Filipinos love it; but spreading rumors can be dangerous as they can start a revolution or overthrow a government.

Chixilog. [chik see lug´] A new term for hermaphrodite.

Chokaran. [cho ka ran´] The play on the words ka and rancho (ranch in Spanish) to mean friends, group mates, or people on the same wavelength.

Chocolate-ah and eh. [cho ko la´teh  ah/eh] The rich cocoa drink popularized during the Spanish times. The thicker it was (+eh) the more prominent the
person drinking it. Chocolate+ah was served to plebeians.

Choge. [cho´geh] New slang  for dead, death or dying.

Chong. [chong´] A very close friend. Closer than pare. Not
to be confused with Tiong (pronounced the same way) that means uncle.

Chopi or tsiopi. [cho´pi] Check out baduy. Someone worse than unsophisticated.

Chopsuey. [chop sooy] A hodgepodge of sauteed veggies. A staple Chinese dish we all love. It can also also mean assorted and mixed up.

Chorva. [chore´va] Someone who acts silly, artificially. Another contribution of gay speak.

Chu-chu. [chew chew] A brownnoser or peon. People who follow celebrities and anyone with clout or money--hoping for favors or even a dole out.

‘Ciano or ‘Siano. [si ya´no] Some one from the rural areas. The country mouse. From the word provinciano. Also see promdi and probinsiano.

Coks. [kuks] The way we say Coke, the Pinoy’s favorite soda or soft drink. Did you know that the largest Coke factory in the world is in Sta. Rosa, Laguna? That’s how much Coks we gulp down.

Collegiala. [ko leh hee ya´la] Literally means college girl in Spanish. Schools for women during the Spanish times were few, teaching social niceties and preparing women for marriage. Then one-gender colleges became popular. Nowadays, when one is an Atenean or Lasallite, half of the time the person is female.

Colorum. [koh lo´rum] A term to mean fake or unlicensed. Taxis, jeepneys, buses and trikes that operate without a permit are good examples. Or an illegal water, light or cable connection.

Comadre or kumadre. [ koo ma´dre] A favorite Spanish term used by matrons to address each other when they are not related by blood. A social title to designate kinship, as in fellow-godparents. Or parents of a married couple like to call each other comadre for the women and compadre for the men.

Comadrona. [koo mud´droh na] A midwife who assists in most births in this country. We so lack physicians that about a quarter of all Filipinos will die without ever seeing one.

Comander. [koo man´der] The woman who wears the pants in the family. The head honcho, referring more to the domineering wife.

Comare or Kumare. [koo ma´re] A familiar term for comadre.

Compadre or kumpadre. [kum pa´dre] The male version of comadre. Sometimes this kinship may be used to foster one’s wealth or power, like an old boys’ club.

Conchaba. [kon cha´ba] In cahoots with. Teenagers are usually in cahoots with their yayas (nannies) who’ve taken care of them since childhood. Nannies make sure their charges are not caught for coming home at 4am, when the curfew was for 11pm.

Condensada o kape. [kon den´ sah dah  o ka peh´] Condensed milk or coffee. Euphemistically to mean a fair person or a brown-skinned one.Duringmyhusband’s childhood, he was known as white rabbit in reference to a candy brand that had the same color as condensed milk.

Connectment. [ko nek´ment] One’s network, contacts. “Use your connectment,” I was told by a dear friend who helped me in this book project.

Coño kid. [kon´yo] A derogatory term for a male brat of Spanish decent or lineage. Coño really means female genitalia. It is also used as a cuss word.

Consuelo de bobo. [kons we´loh  de  bo´bo] A consolation prize that is worth very little, but is given to appease the loser. Bobo is dumb in Spanish. The term consuelo literally means to console or to appease.

Contrapelo. [kon´ tra  peh lo] From Spanish to mean competitors.  Literally, it means butting heads.

Cool ka lang dyan. [kewl  ka  lang di yan´] Our version of cool it—no need to panic.

Coup. [koo] Probably its real spelling is lost to most Pinoys, but we sure know what it means! Several uprisings, from Cory Aquino's presidency until the one on National Heroes Day in 2007, have failed to overpower our government. The people—representing a cross section of society (but admittedly more middle  class)—have, however, overthrown two lousy heads of state.

CR. Pinoy-styled acronym for comfort room which puzzles the foreigner because they call them  rest rooms in the US, washrooms in Canada, water closets in England, and toilettes in France.

Crab mentality. Have you ever seen a bunch of crabs caught in a pail or deep basket? When one of these crustaceans reaches the top of the container, the other crabs claw the unlucky fellow down. Some Filipinos are said to adhere to this mentality that basically means, misery loves company. Or if I can’t—I won’t let you either!

Crony. A buddy, a special pal. Cronies in the time of Marcos meant his golf buddies and close associates who gained special favors from the dictator. Most politicians have cronies galore: relatives, classmates, neighbors. Anyone who has a mutually beneficial relationship with these people.

Crush ng bayan. [crush nang  ba´yan] Everybody’s sweetheart. The darling
of all.Cry-cry. The installment plan where borrowers give what they can for an
item they are purchasing. The term comes from the word paiyakan to mean the borrower cries each time a payment is made because one cannot afford it
each time.

Cuentas claras. [kwen´tas  kla´ras] A Spanish phrase to mean clear accounts. Used often in business to mean balanced books. In a figurative sense, Pinoys use it to mean that things or situations are understood by everyone concerned. Usually best done in writing.

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