niana

English – “niana”

Part of speech & meaning
• Oblique (prepositional) demonstrative pronoun / determiner
• Means “of / on / to that (near you)” – refers to something close to the listener, used only after a preposition

Contracted form
• Casual clips: ana
• Formal / careful speech keeps the full form niana

Typical sentence position
• Always follows a preposition:

sa niana – on that (by you)
gikan niana – from that (near you)
para niana – for that (by you)

Common collocations

sa niana – in/on that
gikan niana – from that
para niana – for that
ibabaw niana – on top of that
tungkol niana – because of that

Detailed usage

Choose niana when the referenced item or spot is right beside the listener.
It substitutes for an entire noun phrase inside a prepositional phrase; never use it as the subject or direct object (switch to kana in that case).
Distance set: niini (this, speaker) / niana (that, listener) / niadto (that over there).

Common mistakes
• Dropping the preposition (❌ Niana maayo → ✔ Maayo kana).
• Mixing distances and using niana for something by the speaker.
• Adding nga after niana (not needed).

Everyday example sentences & POS breakdown

Cebuano sentence	English meaning	Parts of speech
Ibutang sa niana ang papel.	Put the paper on that (near you).	ibutang (V) put • sa (PREP) on • niana (DEM-OBL) that-near-you • ang (ART) the • papel (N) paper
Gikan niana ang tingog.	The sound comes from that (near you).	gikan (PREP) from • niana (DEM-OBL) that-near-you • ang (ART) the • tingog (N) sound
Para niana ni Pedro.	That is for Pedro.	para (PREP) for • niana (DEM-OBL) that • ni (PN) of • Pedro (N) Pedro

Questions
Rearrange the following Cebuano sentence into the correct word order.

Liza: Unsay kolor niana nga bag nga imong gihuptan?

Miko: Puti, pero medyo dunay asul nga linya.

Liza: ( mall / Tag-pila / sa / Kanindot! / niana / ba )?

Miko: Mga mil pesos ra; naka-diskuwento ko gahapon.

Liza: Sulayi kuno ug dala sunod semana, ganahan sad ko mopalit niana.

Carlos: Mag-meeting ta alas-tres. Okey ba niana nga oras nimo?

Dana: Okey ra, pero basin malangan ko gamay.

Carlos: Kung mao, puwede ta mag-start quarter-past three.

Dana: Sige, akong i-update ang team bahin niana.

Carlos: Salamat. Dalha usab ang report niana nga adlaw, ha?

Dana: ( ko / na / andam / Oo / niana / para / , ).

Eva: Dili ko mouyon sa gisulti nimo bahin sa plano.

Gio: ( man? / Ngano / Unsa / may / nga / problema / sugyot / niana )?

Eva: Para nako, kulang pa sa datos ang basehan niana.

Gio: Sabta ko. Mangita ko’g dugang nga impormasyon bahin niana.

Eva: Maayo. Kung makompleto na nimo, mosuporta ko niana.

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