As a historical colony of the United States, the Philippine English lexicon shares most of its vocabulary from American English, but also has loanwords from native languages and Spanish, as well as some usages, coinages, and slang peculiar to the Philippines. Some Philippine English usages are borrowed from or shared with British English or Commonwealth English, for various reasons. Due to the influence of the Spanish language, Philippine English also contains Spanish-derived terms, including Anglicizations, some resulting in false friends, such as salvage and viand. Philippine English also borrows words from Philippine languages, especially native plant and animal names (e.g. ampalaya and balimbing), and cultural concepts with no exact English equivalents such as kilig and bayanihan. Some borrowings from Philippine languages have entered mainstream English, such as abaca and ylang-ylang.
Words unique to Philippine English Here are some examples of words that are unique to Philippine English: Abaca — The Manila hemp. Academician – A teacher in a college or higher education institution. Shared with American English. From French. Ading — Younger sibling. From Ilocano. Agawan base — A team game whose main objective is to touch the base of the opposition without getting tagged. Called washington in Baguio. Aggrupation — A group or an organization. Anglicized from Spanish. Aircon — Short for air conditioner. This word is shared with British English. Ambush interview — surprise interview Alcalde — A mayor during the Spanish Colonial period. From Spanish. Aling — a title of a woman roughly equivalent to Ms. or Mrs. From Tagalog. Amboy — A Filipino perceived to be extremely pro-American. From American and boy. Ampalaya — The Momordica charantia or bitter gourd. Anak — Child. From Tagalog. Anito — ancestor spirit Anting-anting — amulet Apartelle — A budget hotel based on an apartment building. Also spelled as apartele or apartel. Apo — grandchildren or grandparent. From Tagalog. Arnis — Martial arts practiced in the Philippines employing sticks, bladed weapons, and bare hands. Asianovela — Any television drama series made in Asia. Ate — older sister From Tagalog. Atis — The Annona squamosa or sugar apple. Awardee — One who is given an award. Shared with American English. Bagoong — fermented fish or shrimp paste Bagyo — A typhoon. This word is a borrowing from Philippine Spanish. Bakya — referring to the lower socioeconomic class balete — A Philippine tree Balikbayan — A Filipino returning to the Philippines after spending time in another country. Balikbayan box — A carton shipped or brought to the Philippines from another country by a Filipino who has been living overseas, a balikbayan, typically containing items such as foods, clothing, toys, and household products. Balimbing — The star fruit; the fruit of Averrhoa carambola. From Tagalog. In Philippine politics, it refers to a turncoat. Balisong — A folding pocket knife from the Batangas, Philippines. Ballpen — Short for ball point pen. Balut — Asian street food consisting of a developing duck embryo boiled alive and eaten in the shell. Either from Malay or Tagalog. Banaba — A Southeast Asian tree with medicinal leaves. Banana cue — A Philippine snack made by coating a deep-fried banana in caramelized brown sugar, served on a skewer. Banca — A dug-out canoe. bangkal — A Philippine tree Baon — packed lunch or money taken to school, work, or a journey. From Tagalog. Barangay — The smallest local government unit in the Philippines. From Tagalog. Barkada — a group of friends Barong – shortened form of barong tagalog. From Tagalog. Barong tagalog — A formal shirt made of piña; the national dress shirt of the Philippines. From Tagalog. Baro’t saya — National dress of the Philippines worn by Filipino women. From Tagalog. Barrio — A hamlet; a rural barangay or neighborhood. From Spanish. Basi — An Ilocano fermented alcoholic beverage or wine made with sugarcane juice. Batchmate — A person in a graduating class. Bayanihan — Mutual cooperation for the public good. From Tagalog. Bedspacer — A person who rents a bed in a shared room or dormitory. Behest loan — A loan granted to individuals or corporations favored by a powerful government official despite their lack of qualifications to receive such a loan. It is a mechanism for graft and political corruption particularly used in authoritarian regimes, where financial institutions such as banks are placed under intense pressure to approve such loans "at the behest" of high officials. The term has historically been most associated with the cronies of 10th president Ferdinand Marcos, although other officials have also been accused of engaging in the practice. Bibingka — A Philippine type of baked rice cake. Bihon — A Philippine type of noodle. Bodega — A storage room or storehouse. From Spanish. Blocktime — Units of air time sold by a broadcaster sold for use by another entity, often an advertiser or politician. Bolo — a long machete-like heavy knife Bond paper — writing paper Bongga – extravagant; flamboyant; impressive; stylish. From Tagalog. Boodle fight — A large communal meal where food is placed directly on top of banana leaves across a long table where diners typically eat standing with their hands or using plastic gloves usually without cutlery. Initially adopted from the U.S. Military Academy by the Philippine Military Academy, which spread across the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) before spreading to the populace. Bring house — Take-out food; transliterated from Tagalog . Brown joke — toilet humor; jokes about excretory functions. Brownout — A power outage. This is shared with Hong Kong English and Australian English. Buko — coconut. From Tagalog. Buko juice — coconut juice Bunso — Youngest sibling or child. From Tagalog. Buri — A species of palm and its fiber. Calachuchi — The Plumeria rubra. Camote — sweet potato Carinderia — A small restaurant, typically in a market or roadside, serving Filipino dishes. From Philippine Spanish. Carless — Having no car. Carnap — To steal a motor vehicle. Carnapper — A person who steals a motor vehicle. Cartolina — A large sheet of colored paper. From Portuguese. Cash gift — Cash remittance. Cedula — originally, tax receipt; residence certificate. From Spanish. Centavo — cent. From Spanish. Center island — A barrier or structure on the median strip dividing opposing lanes of a road. It is typically lined with plants, trees, streetlights, and/or pillars supporting road or railroad overpasses. Chancing — make sexual advances Charter change/Cha-cha — Processes used to amend the constitution of the Philippines; constitutional reform. Chika — stories; light gossip. From Tagalog. Chinita — A person who has squinty, Asian eyes. City folk — Someone who lives in a city. Coconut milk — coconut water Colgate — Generalized trademark for toothpaste. Colorum — Unlicensed operation of public utility vehicles. Corrupted from Latin. Comfort room — A bathroom or a restroom. Abbreviated as CR usually in speech. Community quarantine — A cordon sanitaire or stay-at-home order. Devised by the IATF-EID to distinguish a series of lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic from military lockdowns resulting from civil disorder or armed conflict, the latter being associated with Martial law. Compare with Malaysian English movement control order or Singaporean "circuit breaker" measure. Compadre — A friend or close associate. From Spanish. Compañero — A companion. From Spanish. Condotel — A budget hotel based on a condominium. Cotton bud — A cotton swab. This word is shared with British English. Course — Academic degree. Shared with British English partly due to the Spanish word curso and its borrowed form in many Philippine languages. Cutex — Nail polish. Genericized from a popular brand of nail polish currently owned by Revlon. Dean's lister — A person awarded a dean's list Despedida party — A farewell party. The word despedida is a borrowing from Spanish. Can simply be called a despedida. Dirty kitchen — A kitchen where everyday cooking is done by household staff, as distinct from a kitchen that is purely for show or for special use by the owner of the house. Also a kitchen, sometimes auxiliary or situated outside the house, used primarily for preparing messy and smelly dishes or cooking with firewood or charcoal. This is also used for cooking for a large group of people and found in some West Asian countries. Dirty ice cream — Local ice cream often made using coconut milk and sold by street hawkers. Dormmate — A person who stays at the same dormitory with someone. Downy — Generalized trademark for fabric softener. Duhat — The Java plum or Syzygium cumini. Dutertard — A derogatory term for a fanatic supporter of Rodrigo Duterte. Eat-all-you-can — all-you-can-eat Economic plunder — The embezzlement of public funds. Endo — A labor contracting system where workers are hired by employment agencies to work for a specific period of time until being replaced and prohibited from being re-hired. Coined from end of contract, as used on the contracts given to workers under the system. Ensaimada — A Filipino spiral-shaped pastry topped with grated cheese and sugar. From Spanish. Estafa — The legal term for fraud. This term is borrowed from Spanish. Fantaserye — fantasy series Filipinism — Filipino nationalism Fiscal — A public prosecutor or a district attorney. From Spanish. Fiscalize — To serve as check and balance. Five-six/5-6 — A moneylending scheme stereotypically associated with Indian nationals, especially Punjabis. Named after the high interest rate where 6 must be returned if 5 is borrowed. Flyover — An overpass. This word is shared with British English. The term overpass, which is shared with American English, is also used. Gobernadorcillo — A municipal mayor during the Spanish colonial period. From Spanish. Government-owned and controlled corporation — A state-owned enterprise that conducts both commercial and non-commercial activity. Grease money — A small bribe. Guyabano — The soursop. From Tagalog. Hacienda — a large estate. From Spanish. Hacendero — A landlord or estate owner. From Spanish. Halo-halo — A Philippine dessert consisting of a mixture of shaved ice and milk with various boiled sweet beans and fruits, served cold in a tall glass or bowl. Handcarry — carry-on luggage Hilot — A traditional Filipino healing practice involving massage. From Tagalog. Holdupper — One who carries a robbery at gunpoint. Hurado — panel of judges in talent/musical competitions. From Tagalog. Ylang-ylang — A Philippine tree. Ilustrado — A wealthy and elite Filipino during the Spanish colonial period. From Spanish. Illustration board – A piece of hard paper or thin cardboard that can be drawn or painted on. Imeldific — Something ostentatious or in bad taste. Named after Imelda Marcos. Inihaw — grilled or roasted food. From Tagalog. Ipil — A Philippine and Pacific island tree (Intsia bijuga) yielding a valuable brown dye and having a very hard and durable dark wood. Istambay — Slang for a bystander. From Tagalog. Japayuki — A Filipina who travels to Japan to work as an entertainer, with implications of prostitution. Jeepney — A vehicle used as public transport in the Philippines, originally made from US military Jeeps left over from World War II and well known for their flamboyant decoration and crowded seating. Joy — Generalized trademark for dishwashing liquid.