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Collection of Cebuano Repeated Words


cebuano repeated words

Cebuano Words that are repeated

(Mga pulong nga gibalik-balik)

Below list is a collection of Cebuano words that are necessarily repeated (gibalik-balik) to provide a whole new meaning. There are several cebuano or bisaya terms that are repeated but it sometimes mean not the true “thing” or true meaning of the word, like duwa-duwa (from word duwa which means play hard and repeated to mean just playing for fun). Another is pusil, this means a gun but if you say pusil-pusil, it means a toy gun.

 

Here are samples of those words that needs to be repeated.

 

1. Habal-habal – skylab (Habal only refers to animals mating)
2. Otot-otot – a kind of plant/flower (Otot only is fart)
3. Bis-bis – watering a plant
4. Duk-duk – could also be duk-dok or dok-dok, means to hammer
5. Kat-kat – climb up
6. Tang-tang – to untie
7. Barong-barong – a small house or nipa hut (Barong only means a traditional/old Filipino dress for men)
8. Tas-tas – damaged stitch in a bag or sack
9. Hong-hong – whisper
10. Bit-bit – to carry
11. Data-data – to pay in installment terms
12. Kuri-kuri – doing something or just anything
13. Bola-bola – bola means ball, bola-bola means a little ball, this supposed not quality with repeated words but there is a viand which is called bola-bola which translate to “meatballs”
14. Ubay-ubay – there are more
15. Kiling-kiling – like a boat in the sea, sway to left and right by waves
16. Kum-kum (or kumkum) – to grasp with a hand closed
17. Kup-kup (or kupkup or kopkop) – raised and cared of/for
18. Sip-sip – feeling close with superior to get promotion
19. Bad-bad (or badbad – another term for hubad) – similar to tang-tang; to untie
20. Ayu-ayu – take care
21. Tagod-tagod – to chop (as meat or vegeatables)
22. Igot-igot – part near the anus. Igot alone means a squeaking sound
23. Ibid-ibid – do something to get noticed, as in courtship
24. Bagol-bagol – head; skull (bagol only means coconut shell)
25. Bot-bot – telling lies
26. Us-os – going down; went downwards, like a short pants with loose garter.
27. Pito-pito – larva of a young mosquito; another pito-pito in Bisaya is a kind of grass used as a herbal plant.
28. Tumo-tumo – fabricate a story; fake stories , fake news!
29. Wak-wak – a fictional character which attacks animals even humans.
30. Pitok-pitok – blinking of the eyes
31. Kaskas – as scratching, like cats
32. Kuskos – rubbing.. like that of manual laundry
33. Kaang-kaang – difficulty of walking; cannot walk upright straight

 

See also, parts of the body that are repeated. You might also be interested in Words with multiple meanings.

 

Please bookmark as we will add some more and of course you too can add by simply writing it into the comments below.

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