kaayo

Cebuano Word: kaayo

1 Part of Speech, Meaning, and Example Sentences

• Part of speech: adverb of degree
• Core meaning: very; extremely; too much

Example sentences

• Lami kaayo ang sinugba. — The grilled meat is very tasty.
• Kapoy kaayo ko karon. — I am extremely tired now.
• Init kaayo ang panahon sa ting-init. — The weather is very hot in summer.

2 Learning Points for Adverbs like kaayo

1. Intensifier: Kaayo magnifies adjectives/adverbs; English “very.”
2. Position: almost always after the word it modifies: “gwapa kaayo” (very pretty).
3. With verbs: combine with kaayo ang + noun phrase: “Nalingaw kaayo ang mga bisita.”
4. Negation: “Dili kaayo” = “not very”; softens criticism.
5. Avoid redundancy: Do not add another intensifier (“sobra kaayo” sounds exaggerated).

3 Common Collocations

• gwapa kaayo – very beautiful
• kapoy kaayo – very tired
• maayo kaayo – extremely good
• gamay kaayo – very small
• lami kaayo – very delicious

4 Typical Sentence Position

• Immediately after adjective/adverb: “Dako kaayo ang isda.”
• After clause-level verb phrase via ang phrase: “Nidagsa kaayo ang tawo.”

5 Five Frequently Used Conversational Phrases

• “Salamat kaayo!” — Thanks a lot!
• “Pasensya kaayo ha.” — I’m really sorry, okay?
• “Dili kaayo lisod.” — It’s not very difficult.
• “Nindot kaayo imong idea.” — Your idea is extremely nice.
• “Paspas kaayo ang internet diri.” — The internet here is very fast.

6 Five Everyday Conversation Exchanges

1. A: Unsa’y imong ika-comment sa pagkaon?
   B: Lami kaayo, murag restaurant-quality.
   A: What do you think of the food?
   B: Very delicious, like restaurant quality.
2. A: Kapoy ba imong biyahe?
   B: Kapoy kaayo kay dugay ang byahe.
   A: Was your trip tiring?
   B: Extremely tiring because it was long.
3. A: Dako ba ang bayranan?
   B: Dili kaayo, makaya ra nato.
   A: Is the payment large?
   B: Not very; we can manage.
4. A: Nalingaw ka sa salida?
   B: Oo, nalingaw kaayo ko sa ending.
   A: Did you enjoy the movie?
   B: Yes, I really enjoyed the ending.
5. A: Gamay ra ba ang classroom?
   B: Gamay kaayo, pirme mi mag-huot.
   A: Is the classroom small?
   B: Very small; we’re always cramped.

7 Multiple-Choice Dialogue Questions (use kaayo)

Q1. Init kaayo ba kung Agosto?
A. Kaayo init ba kung Agosto.
B. Init kaayo kung Agosto.
C. Agosto init kaayo kung ba.

Q2. Gwapa kaayo ba siya sa personal?
A. Siya gwapa kaayo sa personal.
B. Sa personal kaayo gwapa siya.
C. Gwapa kaayo siya sa personal.

Q3. Lami kaayo ba ang dessert?
A. Lami kaayo ang dessert.
B. Dessert lami kaayo ang.
C. Ang dessert kaayo lami.

Q4. Dako kaayo ba ang problema?
A. Dako ba kaayo ang problema.
B. Problema dako kaayo ang.
C. Dako kaayo ang problema.

Q5. Dili kaayo ba mahal ang hotel?
A. Mahal hotel dili kaayo ang.
B. Dili kaayo mahal ang hotel.
C. Ang hotel mahal dili kaayo.

Answer Key