What is the Meaning of Kamakailan?
What is the meaning of Kamakailan?
Life has become so busy that we don’t even have time to sit and have a nice conversation with our significant other, right? Yes, we know most of you can relate to this. Our modern lifestyle makes us live like a robot; everyone is so busy that they can’t even convey their message to others without keeping it short, which is why we always use slang language.
Despite all that, slangs a quite fun and helpful in so many ways. We use slang in the English language all the time, but do you know English is not the only language that uses slang? There are other languages as well, such as Spanish, French, and Filipino that use slang. Filipino slang, just like English, is an ever-growing expansive list that will help you to sound like locals.
In this article, we will discuss different Filipino slang, their meanings, and their origin. In addition, we will have a look at one of the famous Filipino slang “Kamakailan”, its meaning and origin specifically. But before that, let’s have a quick overview of the Filipino language!
THE FILIPINO LANGUAGE
Filipino is the national language of the Philippines. It has also the status of the official language in the country. It is one of the most widely spoken languages in the Philippines. Filipino belongs to the Austronesian language family. The language has 24 million native speakers and 45 million people use it as a second language.
The Filipino has origin from the Tagalog language. People often get confused about Filipino and Tagalog languages, and consider them different languages; however, the Filipino is just the evolved form of the Tagalog language. Know more about the Spanish to Tagalog Translation.
FILIPINO SLANG WORDS
If you are planning a trip to the Philippines, learning Filipino slang is something you must do before even applying for a visa. If you want to have a good conversation with locals out there, it is very important to understand the meaning behind slang.
The Filipino has a rich vocabulary and is greatly influenced by languages like English and Spanish. Slang words are created by locals and evolved throughout history. Level up your knowledge of the language by digging the origin and meaning of each slang you learn, it will help you to blend in better with Filipinos.
Here are some of the Filipino Slangs with their meaning that will be helpful for you to better understand the Filipino language and culture:
1. Kamakailan
Kamakailan Lamang is a Filipino slang that means “recently; a very short time”. It comes from the word other Filipino word “Kailan” which means “when”. The slang-Kamakailan refers to the expression of time. For example, “her newborn died recently”.
It also has roots in the Hindi language; Hindi Kamakailan also means the same “lately or recently”
2. Gigil
It is another Filipino slang that has no exact translation in English, but it is used in daily life conversation. You will hear this from people when they feel overwhelmed by a situation and often get an uncontrollable urge to squeeze something. It refers to the expression of positive feelings. A Filipino woman, for instance, who saw a cute and chubby baby girl would feel a desire to squeeze her cheeks out of gigil. However, this term may also refer to some negative expressions sometimes, when someone feels extreme anger towards a situation or another person.
3. Kilig
What emotions do you experience when watching romantic movies or catching your crush looking at you? Most often, people will describe this as some kind of loved-up giddiness feeling. In the Philippines, people often refer to this kind of feeling as “Kilig”. There is no direct translation of “Kilig” in English, but you can describe the word as the butterfly in the stomach during a romantic encounter!
4. Nyek
The English word for the Filipino slang- nyek is “oops”. It has different variations such as “nge”, “nye” or “ngek”. Apparently, they are different but they all mean the same. People use it in pleasantly surprised or shocking situations. You may hear it when someone cracks a corny joke. You’ll hear this phrase when delivering a bad knock-knock joke while traveling.
5. Chibog
The Filipino slang is pronounced either as it is or “bogchi” by reversing the syllables. Both mean the same-“food or eating time”. You will hear it at informal Filipino gatherings and parties. Expecting to hear the host say “Chibugan na” means eating time when all the guests arrived and the food is ready.
6. Charot
Charot is one of the most popular Filipino slangs that locals love to inject into their daily life conversations. When you accidentally say something that can offend others, and they think you’re being serious, add this slang at the end of the sentence and you are good to go. People will instantly believe that you are joking. In short, this slang is used when you are being sarcastic.
In addition, Filipinos use this slang in their jokes, as in Filipino culture you can’t crack any joke that’s too direct or blunt.
7. Jowa or Jowah
In English we the word boyfriend for males and girlfriends for females specifically; but in the Philippines, people used the Filipino slang word-Jowa to refer to the friend’s significant other. Syota is a closely related Filipino slang to Jowa, which has a stigma attached to it since it originates from the Filipino phrase for “short time”. It refers to a relationship that is just for a short period of time and is not a serious one. For example, if you want to ask someone “Are you still in the dating phase?” just say “jowa mo na?”
8. Lodi
If you reverse this Filipino slang, you would get the word “idol”, which reflects its meaning. In short, this Filipino slang refers to “the person you idolize or look up to”. Millennials like using this popular Filipino slang because they think it sounds cool.
When people achieve something important like passing an exam, graduating college, etc., you would call that person a “Lodi” in order to congratulate him/her.
9. Basta
This Filipino slang word comes from Spanish, which simply means “enough”; however in the Philippines, it has a different meaning. There is no direct translation of the word, it is used when someone wants to say “just because I want to/don’t want to”. In addition, people sometimes say “Basta” when wanting someone to go away.
10. Bes
The Filipino slang-bes is the term that refers to the love and affection between friends. It originates from the word “best friend”, and has some other variables such as beshie, beh, or besh. People use this in their daily life conversations and on social media. In some cases, however, people don’t restrict themselves to using the term among just their close friends; they instead use it to refer to anyone.
HOW TO LEARN FILIPINO SLANG WORDS?
Slang in any language is pretty amazing. Different words or combination of them creates a unique and new rhythmic pattern. As we know the Filipino language is highly influenced by other languages, which makes it easy to learn and the most interesting foreign language.
If you want to interact with your Filipino friends, loved ones, and colleagues, start to learn the basic Filipino slang and then gradually move to full language courses. There is an application-Ling App, it will help you to start learning those slang today.
