Jasmin. [has min´] A sweet-smelling, star-shaped flower about the size of a 25 centavo piece. Its essence is made into perfume. My Mama had a vine full of it when we were little. Early in the evening, we would collect the flowers for her.  You don’t see many Jasmine plants in the city anymore, perhaps because gardens themselves are getting scarce.

Jeepney. [jip´nee] Another proof of Pinoy ingenuity. After World War II, the US Army left a lot of versatile diesel vehicles made by Chrysler. Inventive Pinoys
converted them into public utility vehicles because the transport system was in ruins. The first jeepneys charged two centavos per ride.

Jeprox. [jep roks] Grungy.
Cool in a tacky way. The word was used extensively in the ‘80s. I doubt it if kids in the 21st century know what it means!

Jerjer. [jer jer’] A crude Visayan word taken from the English word jerk to mean sexual intercourse.

Jetropa. [jet roh´pah] The plant touted by the government as a biofuel. Known as tuba-tuba. Used  as a linament to treat sores. Sturdy and easy to grow, it is used for fences. Many farmers are abandoning food crops for this toxic substitute that may or may not be cost effective as a biofuel.Joke only! Pinoy version of it’s only a joke. As usual, we omit the pronoun, the verb, and the article—making us sound like full-fledged pidgin users.

Jologs. [joh´logs] Ghetto. Tacky. A favorite used by the young as this 1st edition goes to press. To them, anything that is not cool  
is jologs.

Jowa. [joh´wah] Probably from the English term jo to mean sweetheart. This word can mean either a boyfriend or a girlfriend; husband or wife.

Jubos. [joh´bos] There’s a story behind this word that to Pinoys means a dye. In the 1940’s there was an American businessman named Joe Bush (no relation to W) who had a dyeing and cleaning factory. Pinoys couldn’t pronounce the guy’s name or product, so any dye became jubos.

Jueteng. [hoo eh´teng] The illegal numbers game that brought down a Philippine president. Joseph Estrada was found guilty of taking a cut from every juenteng game played from the time he took office in 1999, to the time he was impeached in 2001. The game came from China. Jue means flower and teng means bet. A bet is made up of a pair of numbers from 1 to 37. Mostly, the two numbers are significant to the one who makes the bet: birthdays, anniversaries or even numbers dreamt about.

Juts. [jutes´]. Marijuana. Possibly from jute, a type of hemp fiber. Can anyone please confirm this?