higugma

« Back to Glossary Index

1. Part of Speech, Meaning, Usage, and Example Sentences
Part of speech

  • Verb (object-focus) – “to love,” “to cherish,” typically placed first in the clause.
  • Noun (abstract) – “love,” normally preceded by the article ang; pluralised with mga when talking about several “loves” or kinds of love.

Meaning
“Higugma” conveys deep affection, attachment, or esteem directed toward a person, place, thing, or idea.

Usage overview

  • As a verb, it is most common in imperative or declarative sentences: Higugma ko ikaw.
  • As a noun, it highlights an emotion: Ang higugma sa inahan dili masukod.

Example sentences

  • Higugma ko ikaw. – “I love you.”
  • Higugma ang imong trabaho aron malipayon ka. – “Love your job so you will be happy.”
  • Wala’y sukod ang higugma sa ginikanan. – “A parent’s love is immeasurable.”
  • Kung higugma nimo ang kinaiyahan, ampingi kini. – “If you love nature, take care of it.”
  • Mi-padayag siya sa iyang tinuod nga higugma. – “He revealed his true love.”

2. Singular & Plural Forms (noun use)

  • Singular: higugma
  • Plural: mga higugma (literally “loves” – rare but grammatical when speaking of varieties or many objects of affection)

3. Where it appears in a sentence
Cebuano is predicate-initial. For the object-focus verb higugma, the typical pattern is Verb + Object + Subject:

Higugma (verb) ko (subject) ikaw (object).

When used as a noun it follows the determiner:

Ang higugma sa Dios dili ikalimod. – “The love of God cannot be denied.”

4. Common Collocations

5. Detailed Usage Notes

  • In everyday speech, speakers often prefer the shorter root gugma for the noun and employ inflected forms such as gihigugma (loved), gahigugma (is loving). The bare form higugma is still widely understood and is especially common in exhortations and literary or religious contexts.
  • Because it is object-focus, the doer is marked with ko/siya/nila, while the loved object follows the verb directly.
  • Intensifiers like kaayo (“very”) may follow the clause: Higugma ko ikaw kaayo.

6. Common Mistakes to Watch For

  • Mixing up subject and object positions (e.g., Ikaw ko higugma ✗)
  • Forgetting the verb-first rule in declarative clauses.
  • Omitting the article ang when higugma functions as a noun.
  • Using English word order (“I love you” → Ko higugma ikaw ✗).
  • Adding redundant focus markers (Higugma ko ikaw ko ✗).

7. Five Frequently Used Conversational Phrases

8. Five Simple Everyday Conversation Exchanges

  1. Q: Higugma ba ka sa kape? – “Do you love coffee?”
    A: Higugma ko ang kape. – “I love coffee.”
  2. Q: Higugma ba nimo ang pagbasa og libro? – “Do you love reading books?”
    A: Higugma ko ang pagbasa og libro. – “I love reading books.”
  3. Q: Higugma ba siya sa iyang iro? – “Does she love her dog?”
    A: Higugma siya sa iyang iro. – “She loves her dog.”
  4. Q: Higugma ba nimo ang dagat? – “Do you love the sea?”
    A: Higugma ko ang dagat. – “I love the sea.”
  5. Q: Higugma ba ninyo ang musika? – “Do you (plural) love music?”
    A: Higugma namo ang musika. – “We love music.”

9. Multiple-Choice Dialogue Questions

Q1. Higugma ba nimo ang kape?
A. Higugma ko ang kape.
B. Ko ang kape higugma.
C. Ang kape higugma ko.

Q2. Higugma ba ka sa dagat?
A. Ang dagat ko higugma.
B. Higugma ko ang dagat.
C. Ko higugma ang dagat.

Q3. Higugma ba niya ang iyang trabaho?
A. Higugma niya ang iyang trabaho.
B. Ang iyang trabaho higugma niya.
C. Niya higugma ang iyang trabaho.

Q4. Higugma ba ninyo ang inyong klase?
A. Higugma namo ang among klase.
B. Namo ang among klase higugma.
C. Ang among klase namo higugma.

Q5. Higugma ba sila sa musika?
A. Musika sila higugma.
B. Higugma sila sa musika.
C. Sila sa musika higugma.

Answer Key

  1. Correct: A. Higugma ko ang kape. – Verb comes first, followed by the object and then the subject marker ko.
    • B & C are wrong because the verb is not in initial position, breaking Cebuano syntax.
  2. Correct: B. Higugma ko ang dagat. – Proper verb-object-subject order.
    • A & C place the subject or object first, which is ungrammatical in a declarative clause.
  3. Correct: A. Higugma niya ang iyang trabaho. – Verb first; niya marks the subject after the object.
    • B & C fail to keep the verb first, so they read awkwardly or incorrectly.
  4. Correct: A. Higugma namo ang among klase. – Verb first; namo (we) after the object.
    • B & C start with the subject or object, violating the preferred word order.
  5. Correct: B. Higugma sila sa musika. – Verb first, subject sila next, then the prepositional phrase.
    • A & C move parts of the clause ahead of the verb, making them ungrammatical.
« Back to Glossary Index
Copied title and URL