Bikol/Greetings
In this lesson you will learn to greet anyone with the appropriate level of formality.
The level of formality for many sentences, including greetings, is more complex than in English. But we will see here that it is quite easy to show respect or sound formal.
The first word to know is marhay, good. Then you need the word describing the time of day: aga morning, udto noon, hapon afternoon, banggi night,
If you want to be formal and respectful to elderly, you need the word tabi and the following construction then applies:
Marhay na hapon tabi Good afternoon, sir or Good afternoon, madam showing respect for an older person.
The na simply links good with afternoon and is a compulsory link word. You can also add the word Dios before the greetings.
Dios marhay na hapon tabi Good morning, sir or Good morning, madam showing respect for an older person.
Another frequently used phrase is Kumusta which means both Hello, and How are you?. It is borrowed from the Spanish Como esta? which means exactly How are you?. You can also say, tara instead of saying kumusta.
Examples
| Bikol | English |
|---|---|
| Marhay na aldaw | Good day |
| Marhay na aga | Good morning |
| Marhay na udto | Good midday |
| Marhay na hapon | Good afternoon |
| Marhay na banggi | Good evening |
| Maugma akong mamidbidan ka | I'm glad to know you |
| Paaram | Goodbye |
| Mahale na ako | I'm going now |
| Ingat | Take care |
| Bikol | English |
|---|---|
| Rukyaw | Congratulations |
| Maugmang Kaaldawan | Happy Birthday |
| Maugmang Pasko | Merry Christmas |
| Maugmang Bagong Taon | Happy New Year |