Daan. [da an´] The road, the way. Pinagdaanan [pee nag´da a´nan] means the road already taken. Pinoys say that those who don’t acknowledge their origins won’t reach their destination. (See utang na loob.)  If the accent is on the first syllable, daan means one hundred.

Dabiyana/o. [dub ya´na/o] An overweight person. Filipinos by nature are skinny. Credit our sauna-like weather that makes us perspire, and discourages us from eating during hot, humid days.

Dabog. [da bog´] To throw a tantrum, a fit.  Is this another onomatopoeia—Pinoy style? The person usually stamps his or her feet (bog-bog-bog) while making dabog. Just our theory!

Dakdak. [dak´dak´] To speak without thinking. To babble away. A fish monger’s pastime.

Daga. [da ga´] The Filipino word for mouse or rat. Rats that grow in rice paddies are eaten by rural folk, because they assume that these animals only eat grain and nothing else. In metro areas, rats’ diets are—never mind.

Dagdag. [dag dag´] To add or to add on. Housewives like to bargain by beseeching sellers to add a little more of this or that: an additional piece of fruit, a little more of the fabric, or even a gram or two more of meat, fish
or veggies.

Dagdag-bawas. [dug dug´ ba´was] An unscrupulous method of adding and subtracting votes to rig the results of an election.

Dahil sa Iyo. [da hil´ sa ee yo´] A popular Filipino love song that translates into because of you… The ballad is often song by hundreds of Pinoy entertainers who perform at hotels, dinner clubs, bars, and cruise ships.

Daing. [da´ing] Dried fish. Usually fish from the sea dried (with the tangy salt water still in it) under the bright, tropical sun. The same word can mean a complaint or to gripe, if the accent falls on the second syllable.

Dalaga. [da la´ga] An unmarried woman. At any age, Filipinas are some of the most beautiful women in the world. And they know it!

Nagdadalaga [nag da´ da la ga´] means blooming into womanhood.

Daldal. [dal´dal´] Someone who is talkative, or to talk too much. This is in comparision to dakdak when someone speaks without thinking.

Dali! [da li´] Hurry!  I learned that word from my grandmother who used it often to give orders to her staff. It made the help more anxious, mistake-prone, and slower to follow her. I find myself saying the same to my children, with the same results! See bilis.

Damatands. [da´ma tunds] Slang for an old person. From the word matanda

Dambuhala. [dam boo ha´ la] A whale. Colloquially the word means a really huge person or animal. If you overhear someone calling you this, it’s time to see Jenny Craig or Marie France.

Damdamin. [dam da´min] Feeling or emotions. As a verb (accent on the last syllable) it is to feel hurt, sensitive. Also nagdadamam. Pinoys are
sensitive to others’ feelings, as well as identifying with these emotions: makipagdamdam [ma kee pag´dam dam].

Damo. [da mo´] Grass. Used colloquially to mean marijuana. Ligaw na damo [leegaw´ na da mo´] those who’ve strayed from the fold.

Dapat naman. [da´pat na man´] That’s the way it should be; or the Pinoy version of duh!

[May] dating. [mae duh ting´] When someone or something comes across as unique and classy.

Datong. [da tong´] Slang for money. Something typical students always lack. For that matter, something 99% of Pinoys have little of.

Daw. [daw] Pinoy version of he said, she said. Used in attributing statements one refuses to claim as one’s own. See also raw.

Daya. [da´ya] The word means to cheat. A cheater is a mandaraya. [man dara´ya] Every election time, Pinoy politicians love to accuse each other of cheating and stealing money from the very people they serve. But again, don’t many politicos do that all over the world?

Deadma. [ded´ma] A relatively new slang word to mean unresponsive, boring, or deadbeat.

Debut. [de boo] To many rich or wannabees, it means a lavish
all-out party for the 18 year old daughter, complete with a cotillion, long gowns and a sumptuous dinner dance. Thankfully, harder times have made them scarce. Some compassionate debutantes forego the party and give instead to charities like the Gawad Kalinga.

Dehins. [deh´hins] A hip term, to mean no: the syllables of the word hindi are transposed.

Delicadeza. [deh lee kah deh zah] Propriety. How have we ever unlearned this trait?

Dengoy. [deng´goy] To be fleeced. Like when you’ve bought a knock off, thinking it was really a Gucci.

Derechuhan. [deh re choo´han] Being frank or straightforward. Mincing no words. Hard for some Pinoys whose favorite word for a confrontation is daplis [dup lis´] (in tangent).
Deskarte. [des kar´teh] Decisions or to make a decision. Walang deskarte is a wishy-washy person. May deskarte is the opposite.

Deysi. [day´see] A slang word for teenagers 18 and below from the Spanish desiocho.DH. Short for domestic helper. The Philippines exports more than half a million domestic workers. Many of these women (mostly) work for nothing under harsh conditions. The exceptions are those at EU countries, Canada, the US and Australia—although there have been exceptions. Like one who worked 18 years for a US-based Pinoy doctor. She wasn’t paid and was made to sleep with the pets. Her employers were justly jailed.
DI. A dance instructor. Many Pinoy matrons hire them to teach ballroom dancing for exercise. Most of these moneyed women do so to keep from climbing walls.

‘Di [dee] Short for hindi (no)

Di ba? [di ba´] We Pinoys say this often as if to constantly require confirmation for something we’ve said or done. It means, isn’t it so? Or don’t you agree?

Di hamak… [dee´ ha´mak] Means nothing in comparison to… Use it often when you want to make your boyfriend, husband or son feel really good by comparing him to Chiz Escudero or Willy Revillame.

Di mahulugan ng karayum. [dee´  mah hoo loo´gan nang kah rah yoom] A place so tight that even a needle won’t fit.

Di makabasag ng pinggan [dee´ ha´mah kah bah sug nang ping gun] So proper and prim that one can’t break or ruin anything. Literally, can’t even break china.

Dikiam. [dik´yam] A sweet-more-than-sour preserved fruit (a plumb, possibly?) we’ve been importing from China since our first contact with the Chinese. This is in contrast to champoy that will make you wince from its tangy taste.

Diko. [dee´ko] The second eldest brother. Some families, especially those of Chinese decent, like to distinguish the children by birth order. Everyone calls the eldest male child Kuya, and the eldest female is called Ate. Dicho is for the second sister

Dilag. [dee lag´] Word for fair maiden. A favorite term used by poets and songwriters for lovely females.

Dilaw. [dee law´] Yellow. During the Marcos dictatorship when we eagerly awaited Ninoy Aquino’s arrival from exile, some of his braver supporters hung outyellow ribbons to imitate the American folk song, Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree: a jailbird asks his girlfriend to tie a yellow ribbon around their favorite tree if she still cared. After Ninoy was murdered as he left his plane (never seeing the numerous yellow ribbons), dilaw became the unifying color of those who opposed the Marcos government.  

Dilis. [dee´lis]  A tiny fish like a minnow that is caught, dried and sold by the kilo. It is then fried to a crunch. Really good with fresh tomatoes, salted eggs and hot rice. The smell gets many non-Filipinos wondering what the cat dragged in the night before.

Dinuguan. [dee noo goo´an] Literally blood porridge that—unknown to many—is also a Brit delicacy (but not cooked the same way). Here’s how it’s made: one  boils the blood in a pot of vinegar, onions, hot green peppers, garlic and salt. Once it boils, pork cut up in small cubes is added. The more exotic version calls for pig’s innards, ears and skin, instead of just pork. Once you’ve gotten a taste for this dish, you’ll crave it like our son who goes to Toronto’s Chinatown just to eat it.

[Ka] Diri! [ka dee´ri] Something so repulsive like a bunch of cockroaches in the cutlery tray, or maggots in a piece of fruit. One can use this to describe a person, but that’s going a little too far!

Dirty kitchen. The informal kitchen usually found near the “clean” kitchen. Where the real action takes place. In many big houses (before the advent of condo living), everything was prepared and cooked here. The mistress of the house didn’t want to dirty her designer appliances or have her kitchen-for-display-only sullied by the smell of bagoong or the sight of chicken entrails.

Dirty ice cream. The best ice cream in the country. Sold in hand-painted, brightly colored carts. The vendor usually has a large brass bell to coax little kids out. Because it is home made, many mothers are afraid that the cold treat is made in unsanitary conditions. But who could care less when you are six
years old?

Dios Ko! or Dios Mio! [dee yos´koh/dee yos  mee´yo] This literally means: My God!  One word is Spanish (Dios) and the other is Filipino (ko meaning my). Dios mio is a purely Spanish interjection. A cry for help from us mortals.

Dismaya. [dis´ma ya] To be disheartened; to almost collapse from frustration.
Spanish in origin: desmayar, to be discouraged.

Diwata. [dee wah´ta] A nymph, a goddess. A magical creature of our folk tales and legends. Some of us name our kids this, hoping the good aspects of the name rub off.

Dokleng. [dok leng] From duling, meaning cross-eyed. DOM. Short for dirty old man. Yuck, what else can we say?

Don/doña. [don/don´ya] Spanish titles given to commoners (as opposed to members of royalty) who are a tad higher on the social registry than señors or señoras. The wealthy, especially those of Spanish decent, expect to be addressed this way. Today, those who use this anachronistic title must think they are related to the Zobels and the Ayalas.

Drop-drop. The installment plan where borrowers give what they must for an item they are acquiring. Also see cry-cry and paiyakan.

Dukha. [dook ha’] The downtrodden, the poor. Seventy per cent of Filipinos live below the poverty line. Among Asians, we are just a tad better off than the natives of Bangladesh or Myanmar.

Dukot. [doo´ kut] To extract from within an enclosed space, like a pocket or a box. A mandurukot [man doo roo’ kot] is a pick pocket.

Dungis. [doo´ngis] Dirt or a stain. Madungis is the adjective to
usually describe someone who needs a good scrubbing.

Dungaw. [doong´aw] To look out of the window. We wonder why Filipinos have a special word for this behavior. Might be because it is a national pastime.

Dugo. [doo go´] Blood. Madugo, the adjective, is used idiomatically to mean something that will require some “blood-letting” before it is obtained. Like a
passing grade for a student who is absent from class 90% of the time.
Dugo dugong gang. [doo go´ dugong] A bunch of shoplifters. Now where that came from is a mystery.

Dugong berde. [doo goong´ ber´deh] A closet queen. This is a new one for us.Dugong berde means green blood so the connection isn’t clear!

Dugo’t pawis. [doo goo’t´ pa´wis] Blood and sweat. To say blood, sweat and tears, you have to add luha.

Dunong. [doo´nong] Wisdom; intelligence. One is madunong or marunong.

Durog. [doo rog´]  Broken up in pieces. Colloquially, high on drugs. A durogista issomeone, parents pray, will not be part of the family.

Dusa. [doo´sa] To suffer, to endure suffering. Pinoys are a long-suffering people. We take our hats off to mothers in particular, who will endure almost anything for their children.

Duster. [dus’ ter] Not the feather one that spreads more dust than it is supposed to remove. Dusters are loose and shapeless dresses. Usually worn by any Pinay who has lost her curves and would usually like to hide this fact. A favorite attire
of seniors because it is cool and comfortable.

Duyan. [doo´yan] A word to mean hammock made of wicker or cloth, for infants so that they can be rocked to asleep.

Dwende [doo wen´deh] A dwarf. Said to live within small mounds of earth (like ant or termite hills). Children are told to greet the dwende when they pass these mounds. The wicked one who lives within may turn them into dwarves too if they don’t.

Dyog-dyogan. [dee yog’ dee yog’ an] A crude Tagalog word to mean love making.

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