Aug 3, 2013 - Bisaya script or Suwat Bisaya (Baybayin Bisaya) - is an Ancient pre-Filipino writing system, it's member of the Brahmic family and closely related to other writing system in Southeast Asia, Suwat Bisaya is an Abugida or an alpha-syllabary writing system. Jun 19, 2017 - No one has the right to judge you, because no one really knows what you have been through. They might have heard the stories, but they didn't feel what you felt in your heart.
My Arabic is just conversational but for 13 years of my daily use of the language; I learned that there are many words in Arabic which are similar to ours.
For several years, I had wanted to make a list of all those words but I didn’t have the interest to do it. Last week, I was fired with enthusiasm to start listing and to my amazement, I was able to find more words than I had expected.
Such amazement drives me to write this article.
A Brief History
In AD 711, the Umayyad army invaded the Iberian Peninsula from the Germanic Kingdom and brought most of the region under Islamic rule. Al-Andalūs (Land of the Vandals) is the Arabic name given the Iberian Peninsula by its Muslim conquerors and its subsesquent inhabitants. From the 8th-15th centuries, parts of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar and Andorra) were ruled by the Muslims (mainly Berber and Arab) who had crossed over from North Africa.
In 1380, an Arab trader named Makhdum Karim brought Islam to an Archipelago (now named Philippines). Subsequent visits of Arab and Malay missionaries helped strengthen the Islamic faith of our ancestors, most of whom (except for those in the Mindanao) would later become Christian under the Spanish colonization.
Filipino words with Arabic origin
(compiled by Tas Espiritu from his own posting in Patnubay E-Group)
The following Filipino words could have originated directly through the Arab traders or through the Malay missionaries, or the Spaniards during their colonial rule in our country.
To gather all these words, I made use of my conversational Arabic, my little knowledge in Spanish and my fluency in Visayan Languages and Tagalog and Google Translator for Malay Language.
Similar Words
kamison, kamisita (shirt) – from the arabic word “qamis” to the spanish word “camisa”
asukar – from the arabic word “sukar” to spanish word “azukar”
tasa – from the arabic word “tassa” (cup, goblet) to spanish word “tazza”
salawal – in arabic, “sarwal” which means underwear..
pantalon – the arabic word is “bantalon” (note p in arabic is pronounced as b, like baba for father)
Suwat Bisaya Font
akala – from the arabic word “aqala” which means intellect
bukas – from the arabic word “bukra” (which means tomorrow)
pinsan – the arabic word is “Al insan” (descendants, “insan adam” means “sons of adam” which means humans; “hukok al insan” means human rights )
kuba, – from the arabic word “quba” which means dome,arch or curve
bakal – in ilonggo bakal means buy.. magbakal means to buy.. in arabic the word “bakala” means store..
salamat – the arabic word “salamat” is used to express be safe, welcome back.. also salam means hello… in malaysia it is selamat… the word was then used in philippines for saying thank you.
alakdan – the arabic word is “acrab” it is common for arabic to put the syllable “al” (which means the) to every noun. so in arabic it is “al acrab”, to spanish “alacran” then to the tagalog word “alakdan”
alboroto – from the arabic word “al buroz” to spanish word “alboroto”
alam – from the arabic word “alam” (know)
alamin – from the arabic word “al amin” (secretary, record keeper, kalihim) or from the arabic word “alam” (know)
alkalde – from the arabic word “al qadi” (judge) to spanish word alcalde
hukom – from the arabic word “hukom” which means “judgment”
hukoman – from the arabic word “hukom” (judgment) or “hukuma” which means “government”
Manila – I read once from a very old arab history book in yemen, Manila was “Fi Amanillah” (which means in God Safety).. with the advent of internet, old history books of some countries in Africa mentioned the place Fi Amanillah as ancient trading port in the far east.
Fulos – Money
“walay pulos” is a bisayan expression which means “no value”.. “fulos” in arabic means money… understandably, NO MONEY = NO VALUE
thus the root word for the other bisayan words
kapuslanan – how valuable a thing is
pahimuslan/gipahimuslan – to use or to take advantage of.
makapahimulos – to make use/advantage of.
and here is one more..
the word “juwa” in arabic means INSIDE.. in egypt since they pronouce “j” as “g”, it is “guwa”.. in bisaya the word “guwa” means outside..
The words LIFE and DEATH from Arabic to Malay to Filipino
Arabic (LIFE)
– HAY
– Hi (the arabic alphabet “ya” can be used as y or i)
– HAYat or HIat (in arabic if the word used is a noun, the syllable “at” is added at the end of the word)
Malay (LIFE)
– HAYat
– HIdup
– keHIdupan
Filipino (LIFE)
– buHAY
– buHI
– mabuHAY
– mabuHI
– kinabuHI
The word DEATH from Arabic to Malay to Filipino
Arabic – (DEATH)
– MOWT
– MATA
Malay (DEATH)
– MAUT
– MATI
– keMATIAN
Filipino (DEATH)
– MATAY
– kaMATAYan (tagalog)
– kaMATAYon (bisaya)
– PATAY (so it is clear now that PATAY is not root word but the word MATAY)
and the root for the following Filipino words
– and MAOT in bisaya? (nalugas, tumanda, nabulok)
– gi-HAYA – in bisaya ay paglagay ng patay na katawan sa isang lugar para makita ng kaanak bago ito ilibing.. in english ay “wake”, in Tagalog, it’s lamay … the word haya, ay malamang ginamit ng ating mga ninuno dahil yon yong last moment ng tao (katawan) sa mundo.. thus the root word of visayan word for the position of the body, “HAYAng” or in tagalog, nakati-HAYA..
MASAH
when performing wudhu (ablution before prayer), the passing of wet fingers (gentle touch) over the nape is called “masah”… could be the etymology for the word masaje in spanish, then to the word massage in english)
A masah can also be applied to the feet.. thus the etymology for the bisayan word “himasa” which means to wash the feet.. which could be linked to the tagalog word “himas” which means “gentle touch”
masah in wudhu must be performed with wet hands.. thus the malay word for wet is “basah”.. thus we as malay by race, we use the word basa…
Here is one more pa
Ruku
ruku – means bowing down.. in salah (prayer), the ruku is executed after recitation of verses from the Holy Quran in standing position..
Malay = Rukuk , Philippines – duko (bisaya) , yuko (tagalog)
also in our Salah (prayer) we have the sujud position, which ang tuhod namin ay nakatouch sa ground (our palms, forehead and nose ay nakatouch din sa ground).. may also be the etymology of the word LUHOD.
heto more pa.. whewww ang dami na..
pataqa in arabic means identification card.. it could be the root word of pitaka.. di ba ang mga wallet kung bibili ka ay may id card na sample?
and the word “SA !” in bisaya as an expression for agreement sa iyong kausap.. ay parehong pareho sa ARabic. sakto SA! di ba SA!
Qatil – Arabic for Kill / Murder
Kitil – in tagalog “kumitil ng buhay” means “to take ones life”..
(note: Buno in bisaya is derived from Malay’s membunuh but not from Arabic)
Kalas – stop, finish, end or to cease
Suwat Bisaya Translation
kumalas – in tagalog has the same meaning
kalas – in bisaya means to waste something
sura – Arabic for image or picture (facial)
hitsura – in tagalog and bisaya
ri-Sala(t) – Arabic for “message” (specifically a letter)
surat – Malay
sulat – Tagalog (Bisaya)
suwat – Bisaya
Arabic word for BROTHER
– aki
– aku
– akuya
Arabic word for SISTER
-ao’kte
If you have some words to add please don’t hesitate to write these in our comment box. Thank you so much.
“If you know your history
Then you would know where you’re coming from
Then you wouldn’t have to ask me
Who the ‘eck do I think I am”
Suwat In Bisaya Meaning
– Bob Marley (Buffalo Soldier)
Readers’ Contributions
Suwat Bisaya
Romy Tangbawan
Ilocanos would say “ala!” when someone makes a mistake. It’s like saying “lagot ka” in Tagalog. I wonder if they picked that up long ago from Muslims exclaiming “Allah.”
And then there’s this mysterious “illa illa illallay” phrase often used by Kalinga and the Tingguians of Abra when they sing indigenous songs. I’ve asked our old folks and nobody could say what it really means. Maybe our folks of long, long ago have picked that up from Muslims praying.
Enrico Luga
ilaha = other gods/dieties or for the english word “except”
Ilaha = in Visayan language it means “for others”
Kaliwali = Baliwala, Walang Saysay, Useless
From: Khaled Essale
To: Patnubay Online
Sent: Wednesday, June 5, 2013 5:42 PM
Subject: Filipino words of Arabic Origin
Salam Alaykum
I want to add few words
Maitim = Mo’etim = black
Madilim= Modlim = dark
Amain = Amm = uncle
Suwat Bisaya Download
Kutub = kutub = hanch
Alam = elim = Knowlege
Gasgas = qasqas = cut or scratch
Laglag= mlaglag = fail or hesitate
Lamasin = lams = touch gently
Hiya = Hayaa = shame
It’s worth mentioning that some families in Philippines are also of Arab origin see the following link
Khaled Essale
I am a Palestinian refugee from Majdal Yaba http://www.palestineremembered.com/al-Ramla/Majdal-Yaba/index.html