Magindanaw

Maguindanao

Austronesian (Greater Central Philippine)

FamilyAustronesian (Greater Central Philippine) Speakers~1.4M ScriptLatin / Jawi (historical) CountriesPhilippines (Maguindanao, Cotabato) Official inNo (regional) Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3mdh

Maguindanao is a Greater Central Philippine Austronesian language spoken by ~1.4M as the heritage language of the Maguindanao people of Mindanao, who established the Sultanate of Maguindanao (16th-19th c.) — one of the major precolonial Muslim polities of the Philippines. Closely related to Maranao. Now a co-official language of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (2019). Historically used the Arabic-derived Kirim script for religious texts; modern orthography uses Latin script. VSO word order with Austronesian focus-marking system.

Where it is spoken

20 core words in Maguindanao

Water

ig

/ʔiɡ/

Fire

apoy

/ʔaˈpoj/

Sun

senang

/seˈnaŋ/

Moon

bulan

/buˈlan/

Mother

ina

/ˈʔina/

Father

ama

/ˈʔama/

Eat

kakan

/kaˈkan/

Drink

inum

/ʔiˈnum/

Love

kalini

/kaˈlini/

Heart

pusong

/puˈsoŋ/

Tree

kayu

/kaˈju/

House

walay

/waˈlaj/

Dog

aso

/ˈʔaso/

Cat

kuting

/kuˈtiŋ/

Hand

lima

/liˈma/

Eye

mata

/maˈta/

Hello

assalamu alaikum

/assaˈlamu ʔaˈlajkum/

Thank you

sukran

/ˈsukɾan/

One

isa

/ˈʔisa/

Good

mapiya

/maˈpija/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Austronesian (Greater Central Philippine) languages

Meaning MaguindanaoPangasinanCentral Cagayan AgtaMaranaoTagalogKapampanganCoastal Kadazan
Water ig /ʔiɡ/ danum /daˈnum/ danum /danum/ ig /iɡ/ tubig /tubiɡ/ danum /daˈnum/ waig /waiɡ/
Fire apoy /ʔaˈpoj/ apoy /ˈʔapoj/ apuy /ʔaˈpuj/ apoy /apoj/ apoy /ʔaˈpoj/ api /ʔaˈpi/ tapui /taˈpui/
Sun senang /seˈnaŋ/ agew /ˈʔaɡəw/ agew /ˈʔaɡew/ alongan /aloŋan/ araw /ˈʔaɾaw/ aldo /ʔalˈdoʔ/ tadau /taˈdau/
Moon bulan /buˈlan/ bulan /buˈlan/ bulan /bulan/ bolan /bolan/ buwan /buwan/ bulan /buˈlan/ vuhan /ˈvuhan/
Mother ina /ˈʔina/ ina /ˈʔina/ ina /ʔiˈna/ ina /ina/ ina /ʔiˈna/ ima /ˈʔimaʔ/ tina /ˈtina/
Father ama /ˈʔama/ ama /ˈʔama/ ama /ʔaˈma/ ama /ama/ ama /ʔaˈma/ tata /ˈtataʔ/ tama /ˈtama/
Eat kakan /kaˈkan/ mangan /maˈŋan/ mangan /maŋan/ mangan /maŋan/ kumain /kumaˈʔin/ mangan /maˈŋan/ mangakan /maˈŋakan/
Drink inum /ʔiˈnum/ oninum /ʔoˈninum/ uminom /ʔumiˈnom/ minom /minom/ uminom /ʔumiˈnom/ minum /miˈnum/ monginum /moˈŋinum/
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