▸ 1. Part of Speech, Meaning & Short Examples
• Part of speech: numeral / determiner
• Meaning: “sixteen (16)” — Spanish-line form dise sais (lit. diez y seis, often written diyes-sais in Cebuano spelling)
Dise sais ang puntos sa team.
→ The team has sixteen points.
Mupalit ko og dise sais ka tiket. (digit-style count)
→ I will buy sixteen tickets.
Dise sais ra kabuok ang nahibilin.
→ Only sixteen remain.
▸ 2. Cebuano or Spanish?
▸ 3. Difference Between the Two Sets
- dise sais – used for phone/ID digits (otso-dise sais-tres), sports scores (kwatro-dise sais), official figure reading.
- napulo ug unom – used in daily counting of objects, days, people, idioms.
Rule: Do not mix systems inside the same number.
▸ 4. Detailed Usage
- Digits aloud – nwebe-dise sais-dos (9-16-2)
- Scoreboard – tres-dise sais (3-16)
- Quick answer – “Pila? — Dise sais.”
- Decimals – uno punto dise sais (1.16)
▸ 5. Five Common Pitfalls
- Adding ka → ✗ dise sais ka libro (Spanish numerals never take ka).
- Pronouncing /di-séys/ as /dí-si-says/ – keep “di-sésais”.
- Using dise sais in casual talk where napulo ug unom is expected.
- Mixing dise sais with native parts in one bigger number (✗ dise sais ug duha).
- Writing dise sais ka mga tawo – never add plural marker mga.
▸ 6. Common Collocations
- dise sais-otso (16-8 score)
- dise sais mil (16 000)
- numero dise sais (rank #16)
- dise sais por dise sais (16 × 16)
- dise sais punto tres (16.3)
▸ 7. Mistakes & Things to Watch Out For
- Money & phone digits: follow the Spanish chain katorse, kinse, dise sais, dise siyete …
- Everyday counting: switch to napulo ug unom.
- Avoid Tagalog labing-anim when speaking Cebuano.
▸ 8. Five Handy Conversational Phrases
- Dise sais ra ko kabuok anak. — “I have only sixteen children.”
- Numero dise sais siya sa listahan. — “He is number sixteen on the list.”
- Dise sais ang imong gusto? — “You need sixteen?”
- Dise sais pa lang ko ka tuig diri. — “I’ve been here just sixteen years.”
- Dise sais ka beses na ko nisulay. — “I’ve tried sixteen times already.”
▸ 9. Five Mini-Dialogues
1
Q: Pila ka tiket—dise sais?
A: Oo, dise sais ra.
→ “Sixteen tickets?” — “Yes, only sixteen.”
2
Q: Dise sais ba ang score nila?
A: Dili, kinse pa.
→ “Is their score sixteen?” — “No, still fifteen.”
3
Q: Pwede ko mangayo og dise sais ka kopya?
A: Sige, ihatag nako.
→ “May I have sixteen copies?” — “Sure, I’ll hand them over.”
4
Q: Dise sais ka slot libre?
A: Wala, napulo ra.
→ “Are sixteen slots free?” — “No, only ten.”
5
Q: Dise sais ra ka adlaw imong leave?
A: Oo, balik ko sunod buwan.
→ “Only sixteen days off?” — “Yes, I’ll be back next month.”
▸ 10. Multiple-Choice Dialogue Questions
(Each question uses dise sais. Choose the ONE declarative answer with correct Cebuano word order.)
Q1. Dise sais ba ka libro imong gipalit?
A. Libro dise sais ka akong gipalit.
B. Gipalit ko dise sais ka libro.
C. Dise sais ka libro akong gipalit.
Q2. Dise sais ba mo ka adlaw mag-puyo dinhi?
A. Mag-puyo dinhi mo dise sais ka adlaw.
B. Dinhi dise sais ka adlaw mo mag-puyo.
C. Mo mag-puyo dinhi dise sais ka adlaw.
Q3. Dise sais ba ka bata ang nag-dula sa gawas?
A. Dise sais ka bata nag-dula sa gawas.
B. Sa gawas nag-dula dise sais ka bata.
C. Nag-dula dise sais ka bata sa gawas.
Q4. Dise sais ba ta ka botelya ang paliton?
A. Paliton ta dise sais ka botelya.
B. Botelya dise sais ka paliton ta.
C. Ta dise sais ka botelya paliton.
Q5. Dise sais ba sila ka beses ni-adto didto?
A. Dise sais ka beses sila didto ni-adto.
B. Didto sila dise sais ka beses ni-adto.
C. Ni-adto sila didto dise sais ka beses.
▸ Answer Key
- Q1 – B Verb gipalit ko then object; numeral phrase sits right before the noun.
- Q2 – A Natural flow: verb → place → subject → numeral; others mis-place helper mo.
- Q3 – A Subject phrase dise sais ka bata precedes verb; B/C move adverbials awkwardly.
- Q4 – A Imperative Paliton ta followed by full object is correct order.
- Q5 – C Frequency phrase sounds best at clause end; A/B split sentence parts.
