Learn everyday Cebuano (Bisaya) expressions with this easy-to-follow lesson!
In this video, we’ll practice common phrases such as “simbako” (God forbid), “puyra buyag” (thank you for the compliment), “puhon” (hopefully, in God’s will), and more.

📌 What you’ll get in this lesson:

• Vocabulary with English translations
• Dialogue practice for daily situations
• Useful expressions you can use in real conversations
• Exercises and a short quiz to test your understanding

Whether you are a beginner learning Cebuano or someone who wants to practice daily conversation, this video will help you sound more natural and confident.

VOCABULARY

dinhi

Meaning (EN): here; in/at this place (near the speaker)
Part of speech: locative demonstrative; adverb (place)

Usage & nuance:

• dinhi marks a location near the speaker (static place): dinhi sa balay = “here at home.”
• Interchangeable with diri; dinhi can sound a bit more careful/formal, while diri is very colloquial.
• dinhi ra / dinhi lang = “just here / only here”; dinhi dapit = “around here.”
• Contrast: anhi/ari = “come here” (motion toward the speaker); diha = “there (near listener)”; didto = “there (far).”

Example sentences (with translations):

1. Naa ko dinhi sa opisina karon. — I am here at the office right now.
2. Ibutang dinhi ang dokumento, palihog. — Please put the document here.
3. Dinhi ra ko maghulat samtang nag-ulan. — I’ll just wait here while it’s raining.

nagsuroy-suroy

Meaning (EN): strolling around; wandering about; going around (for leisure/sightseeing; “just looking around”)
Part of speech: verb phrase — nag- (progressive/recent past) + suroy-suroy (reduplicated “sightsee/roam”)

Usage & nuance:

• nagsuroy-suroy = “(am/was) strolling around” (often casual, with no fixed purpose).
• Common with places: nagsuroy-suroy sa mall/siyudad/merkado/baybayon.
• Softeners: ra/lang → nagsuroy-suroy ra ko (“I was just looking around”).
• Related forms: magsuroy-suroy (will/plan to stroll), nisuroy/suroy-suroy ta (“let’s stroll”).
• Near-synonyms: laag(-laag) “hang out/go out (leisurely)” (very colloquial); Tagalog pasyal.

Example sentences (with translations):

1. Nagsuroy-suroy ra mi sa mall, walay palit. — We were just strolling around the mall, not buying anything.
2. Nagsuroy-suroy siya sa baybayon samtang naghuwat sa iyang amiga. — She wandered along the beach while waiting for her friend.
3. Kapoy ko karon; nagsuroy-suroy ko sa tibuok siyudad karong buntaga. — I’m tired now; I was roaming around the whole city this morning.

kuyog

Meaning (EN): to accompany; to go with; together; companion
Part of speech: verb; predicate adjective/state; noun (“companion”)

Usage & nuance:

• Core verb for going along with someone: mokuyog/nikuyog/nagkuyog/magkuyog (will/went/are/will be together).
• Predicate/state near “together (with)”: Kuyog ko nimo = “I’m with you / I’ll go with you.”
• ikuyog = “to bring (someone) along”; magpakuyog/pakuyog = “to ask to tag along.”
• Close synonym: uban (“with; accompany”). apil = “join (participate).”

Example sentences (with translations):

1. Mokuyog ko nimo padulong sa merkado. — I will go with you to the market.
2. Nikuyog mi ni Ana sa outreach kagahapon. — We went with Ana to the outreach yesterday.
3. Ikuyog ang imong igsoon, palihog. — Please bring your sibling along.
4. Magpakuyog ko nimo ugma kung moadto ka sa city hall. — I’ll ask to tag along with you tomorrow when you go to city hall.

minyo

Meaning (EN): married (marital status of a person)
Part of speech: adjective (predicate/state)

Usage & nuance:

• Core way to state someone is married: minyo na siya (“he/she is already married”).
• Negation/“not yet”: dili pa ko minyo / wala pa ko minyo.
• Related verbs: magminyo (“to get married” in general), magpakasal (“to hold the wedding ceremony”).
• Related nouns: kaminyoon (marriage), kasal (wedding).

Example sentences (with translations):

1. Minyo na ka? — Are you married already?
2. Minyo na siya; duha na ilang anak. — He/She is already married; they have two children.
3. Nagminyo sila sa Cebu niadtong 2023. — They got married in Cebu in 2023.
4. Dili pa ko minyo; single pa ko. — I am not married yet; I’m still single.

anak

Meaning (EN): child; son/daughter; offspring (one’s own child)
Part of speech: noun (also used as a term of address: “child/dear”)

Usage & nuance:

• Refers to someone’s own child (relationship). For “a young kid” in general, Cebuano often uses bata.
• Plural mga anak = children.
• Specify gender with anak nga lalaki (son) / anak nga babaye (daughter).
• As a tender vocative to a younger person: Anak, … (“child/dear, …”).

Example sentences (with translations):

1. Pila ka anak nimo? — How many children do you have?
2. Si Ken akong anak nga lalaki. — Ken is my son.
3. Anak, ayaw pagdula sa kalsada. — Child/dear, don’t play in the street.

dako

Meaning (EN): big; large; great (in size/extent); significant
Part of speech: adjective; stative/inchoative verb (e.g., modako/nagdako/nidako “to become bigger/grow”); noun via nominalization (kadako “size/bigness”)

Usage & nuance:

• Predicate vs. attributive: Dako ang balay (“The house is big”) / dakong balay (“a big house”).
• Degree & comparison: dako kaayo (“very big”); mas dako (“bigger”); pinakadako (“biggest”). Antonym: gamay (“small”).
• Growth/change: modako / nagdako / nidako = “(to) become bigger, grow, increase” (also for prices, business, problems).
• Plural adjective form: dagko (for plural nouns): dagkong isda (“big fish [plural]”).
• Exclamatory/size as noun: kadako (sa …)! = “How big (the … is)!”

Example sentences (with translations):

1. Dako ang balay sa akong lola. — My grandmother’s house is big.
2. Mas dako kini kaysa sa imong bag. — This is bigger than your bag.
3. Nagdako ang gasto sa proyekto matag bulan. — The project cost is increasing every month.

liwat

Meaning (EN): to take after; to resemble; like (in looks/traits)
Part of speech: adjective/stative verb (used as a predicate)

Usage & nuance:

• Pattern: liwat sa + person/thing / liwat ni + name = “(to) take after / resemble.”
• Used for appearance, voice, or character: liwat sa amahan (takes after the father), liwat sa inahan sa batasan (like the mother in behavior).
• Near-synonyms: pareho/pariho (sa) “same/similar as,” murag “seems/looks like.”
• Related noun: kaliwatan = lineage/descent/clan.

Example sentences (with translations):

1. Liwat siya sa iyang amahan sa dagway. — He looks like his father in the face.
2. Ang bata liwat ni Ana sa batasan—hilumon ug mahuyang ang tingog. — The child takes after Ana in character—quiet with a soft voice.
3. Liwat sa iyang lola ang iyang pagtindog ug paglakaw. — The way she stands and walks is like her grandmother’s.

ikagasto

Meaning (EN): money to spend; funds for expenses; spending money (i.e., the means with which to spend)
Part of speech: noun (derived with ika- “means/instrument for doing an action” from gasto “expense/spend”)

Usage & nuance:

• Refers to the available money one can use for a particular purpose: ikagasto sa plete/tuisyon/kasal (“money to spend for fare/tuition/wedding”).
• Often with possession: akong/imong/among ikagasto (“my/your/our funds to spend”).
• Contrast: igasto = “to spend (money) on [something]” (verb, object-focus); gasto = “expense” (noun); magasto = “costly/expenses pile up.”

Example sentences (with translations):

1. Wala koy ikagasto karon; wala pa niabot ang sweldo. — I have no money to spend right now; my salary hasn’t arrived yet.
2. Asa nimo kuhaon ang ikagasto para sa pamasahe? — Where will you get the money for the fare?
3. Dili pa igo ang among ikagasto sa kasal. — Our funds for the wedding are not enough.

ihatag

Meaning (EN): to give; to hand over; to deliver (patient-focus/“-en/-on” class)
Part of speech: verb (patient-focus; often imperative or infinitive)

Usage & nuance:

• ihatag + object (+ sa/kang + recipient): Ihatag ang libro sa maestra / kang Ana.
• Agent can be expressed with nako/nimo/niya (“by me/you/him-her”): Ihatag nako ang yawi sa guard.
• Contrast: mohatag/naghatag (actor-focus “to give”), gihatag (was given; past/result), ipanghatag (to distribute).
• Polite command: Palihog ihatag… (“Please give/hand over …”).

Example sentences (with translations):

1. Palihog ihatag ang resibo sa cashier. — Please hand the receipt to the cashier.
2. Ihatag nako ang yawi sa guard pagkahuman sa miting. — I will give the key to the guard after the meeting.
3. Ayaw ihatag ang dokumento sa bisan kinsa. — Do not give the document to anyone.

FLASHCARDS

DIALOGUE PRACTICE

Directions: Listen and repeat after your teacher.
Situation: Aki met Anna in the mall.

Cebuano

Aki: Oi Anna!
Anna: Oi Aki! Ikaw diay na.
Aki: Nag-unsa ka dinhi?
Anna: Nagsuroy-suroy ra. Ikaw?
Aki: Nagsuroy-suroy sad kuyog akong pamilya.
Anna: Minyo na diay ka? Asa imong anak?
Aki: O. Pagniaging tuig lang. Mao to akong anak.
Anna: Dako naman diay.
Aki: Puyra buyag. Liwat nako sa?
Anna: O liwat nimo.
Aki: Ikaw? Kanus-a man imoha?
Anna: Hoy! Simbako. Wala pako’y ikagasto.
Aki: Naa lagi na.
Anna: Puhon kung ihatag sa Ginoo.
Aki: Mao sad. Sige Ann oi adto sa mi.
Anna: Sige. Ayo ayo mo.

English

Aki: Hey Anna!
Anna: Hey Aki! It’s you.
Aki: What are you doing here?
Anna: Just wandering around. And you?
Aki: I’m also wandering around with my family.
Anna: Are you already married? Where’s your child?
Aki: Yes. Just last year. That’s my son.
Anna: He’s already big.
Aki: God bless. He looks like me, right?
Anna: Yes, looks like you.
Aki: And you? When is yours?
Anna: Hey! God forbid. I have nothing to spend.
Aki: There is.
Anna: Someday, if God will give it.
Aki: Yeah it is. Well Ann, we’ll go.
Anna: Okay. Take care.

LESSON

Useful expressions/phrases in Cebuano.

Simbako
This means “God forbid” / “knock on wood” to reverse the said misfortune.

Leah: Batia lagi sa akong damgo gabii Joyce kay natagak ko sa building.
[I had a nightmare last night that I fell down from a building.]

Joyce: Simbako sad oi.
God forbid, knock on wood.

Leah: Mao lage.
Yeah, it is.

Balika palihug
“Balika palihug” means: “Please repeat (that).”　Palihug = “please” Balika = “repeat it”

Leah: Joyce Joyce!
Joyce: Ha? [Yes? or What?]

Leah: Palihug kog pangutanang Jaydee napawng ba niyang suga.
[Could you ask Jaydee if he turned the lights off, please?]

Joyce: Ha? Balika palihug.
[What? Please repeat that.]

Puyra buyag
This expression means that she’s grateful for the compliment.

Leah: Hala gwapaha nimo day oi
[Wow Ms you’re so beautiful.]

Joyce: Puyra buyag.
[Thank you, God bless.]

Pastilan
This expression means that she’s surprised of the boy’s carelessness

Leah: Pastilan bataa dili jud maghinay
Gosh, why won’t you slow down!

Ambot lang
This expression is used for a lot of situations. This means a person has no idea.

Leah: Joyce asa si Amanda?
[Joyce, where is Amanda?]

Joyce: Ambot lang.
[I don’t know.]

Wala ko kasabot
This means ‘I don’t understand’
Amanda: Blaah Blaah…..

Joyce: Kasabot ka?
[Do you understand it?]

Leah: Wala ko kasabot.
[I don’t understand it.]

Pasensya kaayo
This means that you’re very sorry of what happened.

Joyce: Pasensya kaayo.
[I’m very sorry.]

Puhon
This expression means hopefully or in God’s will that something will happen in the future.

Joyce: Murag makaadto jud tag Japan, Leah.
[I think we can go to Japan, Leah.]

Leah: Puhon.
[Hopefully, in the future.]

COMPREHENSION QUIZ

Directions: Identify what is referred to in column A with the expressions/phrases in column B.

EXERCISE

Directions: Arrange the words to make sentences.

1. maghinay / bataa / dili / pastilan / jud
2. kasabot / ko / wala
3. oi / simbako / sad
4. kung / sa / puhon / Ginoo / ihatag
5. nimo / oi / hala / gwapaha / day

REVIEW

Directions: Share to your teacher what situation can you possibly use those expressions/phrases.

For example:
Joyce: Murag makaadto jud tag Japan, Leah.

I think we can go to Japan, Leah.

Leah: Puhon.

Hopefully, in the future.