▸ 1. Part-of-Speech & Meaning
• Part of speech: numeral / determiner
• Meaning: “five hundred (500)”
Lima ka gatos ka estudyante ang nidawat sa award.
→ Five hundred students received the award.
Nag-order ko og lima ka gatos ka puto.
→ I ordered 500 rice cakes.
Lima ka gatos ra ko ka minuto nag-huwat.
→ I waited only 500 minutes.
▸ 2. Native or Spanish?
- Native (Cebuano): lima ka gatos
- Spanish-based: kinyentos (quinientos)
▸ 3. Typical Usage Differences
| Context | lima ka gatos (native) | kinyentos (Spanish) |
|---|---|---|
| Counting people / things | ✓ | — |
| Money, phone digits, codes | — | ✓ |
| Ordinal form | ika-lima ka gatos (500ᵗʰ) | Spanish ordinals almost unheard |
▸ 4. How to Use lima ka gatos
lima ka gatos ka + Noun
Lima ka gatos ka tiket among gipalit.
Mini-phrases → lima ka gatos ra = only 500 ／ … pa = 500 more
Frequency → Lima ka gatos ka beses siya mi-praktis sa tuig.
Ordinal → ika-lima ka gatos = 500ᵗʰ
▸ 5. Five Common Pitfalls
- Skipping ka → ✗ lima ka gatos mansanas
- Double plural → ✗ lima ka gatos ka mga tawo
- Mixing kinyentos inside a native sentence
- Reversing order → ✗ mansanas lima ka gatos ka
- Forgetting ordinal when ranking items
▸ 6. Quick Collocations
- lima ka gatos ka ___ — five-hundred …
- lima ka gatos ra — only 500
- lima ka gatos pa — 500 more
- ika-lima ka gatos — 500ᵗʰ
- sa lima ka gatos ka adlaw — in 500 days
▸ 7. Learner Alerts
- Prices & phone numbers are often read as kinyentos or English “five-hundred.”
- Pronounce /LÍ-ma ka GA-tos/ (stress LÍ & GA).
- Avoid Tagalog limandaang in Cebuano contexts.
- Use mga, hapit for approximate counts.
▸ 8. Handy Phrases
- Lima ka gatos ra mi kabuok karon. — “There are only 500 of us now.”
- Pwede ko mangayo og lima ka gatos pa ka kutsara? — “May I have 500 more spoons?”
- Lima ka gatos na lang ang nahibilin. — “Only 500 remain.”
- Magkita ta mga lima ka gatos ka oras gikan karon. — “Let’s meet about 500 hours from now.”
- Lima ka gatos ka beses nako gisulayan — nakaya ra gyud! — “I tried 500 times and finally did it!”
▸ 9. Mini-Dialogues (Cebuano ⇄ English)
| # | A — Question | B — Answer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tag-pila ang lima ka gatos ka mangga? | ₱2 500 ra tanan. – “Only ₱2,500 for all 500.” |
| 2 | Lima ka gatos ba ka adlaw ka mag-bakasyon? | Dili, tulo ka gatos ra. – “No, just 300 days.” |
| 3 | Naa kay lima ka gatos ka tiket? | Wala, upat ka gatos ug siyamnapu ra nabilin. – “Only 490 left.” |
| 4 | Lima ka gatos na ka tuig ta nag-kaila? | Grabe, lima ka gatos ka tuig na gyud! – “Wow, 500 years already!” |
| 5 | Mopalit ta og lima ka gatos ka botelya? | Daghan ra; duha-gatos lang usa. – “Too many—let’s get 200 first.” |
▸ 10. Multiple-Choice Dialogue Questions
Q1. Lima ka gatos ba ka libro imong gipalit?
A. Libro lima ka gatos ka akong gipalit.
B. Gipalit ko lima ka gatos ka libro.
C. Lima ka gatos ka libro akong gipalit.
Q2. Lima ka gatos ba mo ka adlaw mag-puyo dinhi?
A. Mag-puyo dinhi mo lima ka gatos ka adlaw.
B. Dinhi lima ka gatos ka adlaw mo mag-puyo.
C. Mo mag-puyo dinhi lima ka gatos ka adlaw.
Q3. Lima ka gatos ba ka bata ang nag-dula sa gawas?
A. Lima ka gatos ka bata nag-dula sa gawas.
B. Sa gawas nag-dula lima ka gatos ka bata.
C. Nag-dula lima ka gatos ka bata sa gawas.
Q4. Lima ka gatos ba ta ka botelya ang paliton?
A. Botelya lima ka gatos ka paliton ta.
B. Ta lima ka gatos ka botelya paliton.
C. Paliton ta lima ka gatos ka botelya.
Q5. Lima ka gatos ba sila ka beses ni-adto didto?
A. Lima ka gatos ka beses sila didto ni-adto.
B. Ni-adto sila didto lima ka gatos ka beses.
C. Didto sila lima ka gatos ka beses ni-adto.
▸ Answer Key
| Q | Correct | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | C | Numeral phrase then subject + verb; A/B mis-order elements. |
| 2 | A | Pattern: verb → place → subject → numeral is smooth. |
| 3 | A | Subject phrase before verb; B/C move adverbial awkwardly. |
| 4 | C | Imperative Paliton ta followed by full object is natural. |
| 5 | B | Frequency phrase fits best at clause end; others invert parts. |
« Back to Glossary Index
