Tagalog profanity

Owing partly to its use in speeches by Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, the phrase putang ina mo (sometimes shortened to tang ina or minced as PI)[6] has received considerable international attention and controversy as to its meaning. Puta is a borrowed word from Spanish, in which language it means "whore". Ina is Tagalog for mother, while mo is the indirect second person singular pronoun. Therefore, if translated word-for-word, the phrase means "your mother is a whore".[7]

However, most Tagalog speakers dispute this simplistic translation, instead alternately rendering the phrase as "son of a bitch"[8] or as a variation of the word "fuck".[9]

According to linguist Ben Zimmer, given the context and how the meaning of puta has shifted in Tagalog, the best translation of Duterte's original "Putang-ina, mumurahin kita diyan sa forum na iyan. Huwag mo akong ganunin." would be "Fuck, I will cuss you out at that forum. Don't do that to me."[7]

Besides being directed at people, putang ina can be just as well directed at inanimate objects: University of the Philippines Los Baños alumnus Cheeno Marlo M. Sayuno has documented the use of "tang ina error!" as an expression of exasperation due to PC errors, and "Uy net! Putang ina mo!" as something akin to "Hey, [slow] internet [connection], fuck you!"[6] As in the English fucking, the phrase can also be used as an adjective, as in the case of "putanginang aso" ("fucking dog") or "Diyos ko, putanginang buhay ko!" ("God, fuck my shitty life!")[10]

This non-literal meaning of the phrase putang ina mo has twice been affirmed by the Supreme Court of the Philippines: first in 1969 in its decision to Rosauro Reyes v. The People of the Philippines (G.R. No. L-21528 and No. L-21529),[11] and then in 2006 in its decision to Noel Villanueva v. People of the Philippines and Yolanda Castro (G.R. No. 160351).[12] In Reyes, a certiorari appeal to a criminal defamation and grave threats case, the court acquitted the defendant, ruling that his use of a protest sign reading "Agustin, putang ina mo" did not constitute defamation as[11]

[Putang ina mo] is a common enough expression in the dialect that is often employed, not really to slander but rather to express anger or displeasure. It is seldom, if ever, taken in its literal sense by the hearer, that is, as a reflection on the virtues of a mother.

In Villanueva, another slander case involving two local politicians of Concepcion, Tarlac, the court reiterated its interpretation of the phrase, but the other facts of the case precluded acquittal.[12]

Hiya is a Filipino psychological concept similar to face and modesty in other cultures. Author Mary Isabelle Bresnahan has described it thus: "just as the sensitive makahiya plant protects its inside from direct touch, so too do people hold back in defense of loob [their inner selves]."[13] When translated to English, the words "shame", "embarrassment" and "dishonor" can be employed as a substitute for hiya depending on context.[3]

Like much Tagalog profanity, the phrase "Walang hiya ka!" (You have no shame!) can vary in offense taken from very little to "the ultimate loob-wounding comment" depending on context and the relationship between the speaker and the receiver.[13] According to Gerhard van den Top, allegations of shamelessness are most damaging when the social class of people differ, and the poor may consciously avoid interaction with the rich to prevent even unspoken damage to hiya.[14]

In his oft-cited 1964 article "Hiya", psychologist Jaime C. Bulatao defines Walang hiya as "recklessness regarding the social expectations of society, an inconsideration for the feelings of others, and an absence of sensitivity to the censures of authority or society."[15]

Unlike in many other languages, Tagalog has no word for excrement that would be considered considerably vulgar, such as English shit or Spanish mierda. The two Tagalog words for feces, tae and dumi, are closer to the sense of the English poop.[3] In fact, these words are often used even in medical contexts: a pagtae is a bowel movement, while magtae references diarrhea.[16] Tae, is, however, considered by some to be slightly more crass than the more euphemistic dumi.[17] Nevertheless, these words can still be used to cause offense if the speaker adds to them, of course, as in the expression Kain tae (eat shit).

Descended from the Spanish puñeta, the Tagalog version of this word is seldom used in the Spanish sense of "wanker", but rather as an interjection expressing frustration, disappointment,[2] or misery.[18] When punyeta is used as an insult directed at a person as in "Mga punyeta kayo!" (You are all punyeta(s)!),[19] it has a sense similar to the English word asshole.[18]

This word was used heavily by John Arcilla's character in the 2015 Philippine epic film Heneral Luna in lines such as "Ingles-inglesin mo ko sa bayan ko?! Punyeta!" (Speaking English to me in my own country? What nerve!).[20] Ambeth R. Ocampo, writing in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, criticized the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) for giving the film a R-13 rating despite the use of this word and others just because the swear words were Spanish-derived.[21] Other observers have described punyeta as being as obscene as putang ina mo.[10][18]

Gago is a descendant of the Spanish word gago, meaning "stupid", "foolish" or "ignorant". It is interchangeable with the related words tanga, (b)ugok, “botlog”,(b)ulol and bobo. In Spanish, gago means "stutterer", but in Tagalog it has completely changed its meaning.[3]

Slang terms derived from gago are kagaguhan ("a foolish action"), ogag (same meaning as gago),[22] and nakagago ("to be made to feel stupid").[18] Ulol, loko, and sira ulo can be used similarly, but they are not interchangeable; they also imply madness or mental retardation on top of stupidity.[3]

According to Article 27 ("On-Air Language") of the Association of Broadcasters of the Philippines's 2007 Broadcast Code of the Philippines, "Name-calling and personal insults are prohibited."[23] While this code is strictly voluntary and only affects members of the organization, as the organization counts among its members widely syndicated channels such as ABS-CBN and TV5, penalties for breaking this rule affect a large number of broadcasters and media personalities: fines start at ₱15,000, and quickly escalate to ₱25,000 and a 90-day suspension.[23]

To avoid breaching this rule, some stations have trialed neural networks which listen to the speech of actors and guests/contestants real time during live performances, and automatically censor certain words.[24] In a paper explaining the system, particular attention was paid by the De La Salle University researchers to censoring potentially insulting words such as gago and ulol.[24]

Like many Spanish words borrowed into Tagalog, gago is gendered: the female form for a single woman or group of women is gaga, while gago is used for a single man, a group of men, or a group of men and women.[18][25]

According to the UP Diksiyonaryong Filipino, gago is also used in the sense of mahina ang ulo (a slow learner).[26]

Pakshet is a portmanteau of the English words "fuck" and "shit", altered to fit the phonology of Filipino; the words pak and shet can also be used on their own to similar effect. While most commonly used as an interjection,[2][18] rather non-intuitively for English speakers, pakshet can also be used as an insult describing a person, as in Pakshet ka!,[27] which could be rendered as Fuck you! or [You] asshole! in English.

Summit Media's Spot.ph online magazine claims that the word pakshet was popularized by the 2002 film Jologs,[18] but given its etymology, it may date back to the first American contacts with the Philippines.

Buwisit (sometimes spelled bwisit), is a Tagalog expression used for unlucky events, or for something that is a nuisance. Mildly vulgar, it derives from the Hokkien Chinese expression 無衣食 (Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bō-uî-sít), literally meaning "without clothes or food".[28] An example of use would be "Buwisit naman 'yang ulan na 'yan", meaning, "Damn that rain!", literally, "It's so unlucky that it rained."[29]

Leche, alternatively "Letse", is used as an expression of annoyance or anger. It can be used as an interjection i.e. "leche!", or in a sentence. It is in the same context of "bwisit" i.e. "bwisit na mga tao 'to; leche na mga tao 'to (lit. these people are annoying) which can be contextually translated to "these fuckin' people." It became popular when Spanish was still the language used by a major demographic in the country. Leche or letse (Spanish for "milk") is derived from the Spanish profanity "Me cago en la leche," which literally translates to "I defecate in the milk" where leche is a euphemism for ley ("law"), referring to the Law of Moses.[30]

Hinayupak is another Tagalog vulgar word, referring to a person acting like an animal, which has as its root the word hayop, which means "animal".[2] Hayop can be used on its own as well, as in, mga hayop kayo!, meaning, "you animals!"

Lintik is a Tagalog word meaning "lightning", also a mildly profane word used to someone contemptible, being wished to be hit by lightning, such as in "Lintik ka!''.[2] The term is mildly vulgar and an insult, but may be very vulgar in some cases,[18] especially when mixed with other profanity. Sometimes, lintik is also used as a verb through adding verbalizing affixes, such as in "Malilintikan ka sa akin!", that may roughly translate to English "Get damned!" or "Goddamn you!".

Susmaryosep is a Roman Catholic-inspired profanity invoking the Holy Family i.e. Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

The word bibingka, a type of Filipino rice cake, is a common euphemism for the vagina.

Like most other languages, Tagalog has a wide variety of profane words for the action of intercourse and the names of genitalia or parts thereof.

• Filipino culture
• Filipino psychology
• Swardspeak
• Bakla