Wináray

Waray

Austronesian (Visayan)

FamilyAustronesian (Visayan) Speakers~2.5M ScriptLatin CountriesPhilippines (Eastern Visayas) Official inNo (regional) Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3war

Waray (Wináray, also Samar-Leyte) is the principal language of the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines, including the islands of Samar and northern Leyte, with ~2.5M speakers. Closely related to other Visayan languages (Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Surigaonon) but with notable phonological and lexical distinctions — Waray has a particle pattern and vocabulary distinct from Cebuano. Recognized as one of the major regional languages of the Philippines. Verb-initial Philippine-type morphosyntax with focus/voice system, substantial Spanish loanword stratum from 350 years of colonization. Latin orthography. Historically also written in Baybayin.

Where it is spoken

31 core words in Waray

Water

tubig

/tubiɡ/

Fire

kalayo

/kalajɔ/

Sun

adlaw

/ʔadlaw/

Moon

bulan

/bulan/

Star

bitoon

/bituʔon/

Mother

nanay

/nanaj/

Father

tatay

/tataj/

I

ako

/ʔako/

You

ikaw

/ʔikaw/

Name

ngaran

/ŋaran/

Eye

mata

/mata/

Hand

kamot

/kamɔt/

Heart

kasingkasing

/kasiŋkasiŋ/

Love

gugma

/ɡuɡma/

Tree

kahoy

/kahɔj/

House

balay

/balaj/

Dog

ayam

/ˈʔajam/

Cat

misay

/misaj/

Eat

kaon

/kaʔon/

Drink

inom

/ʔinɔm/

One

usa

/ʔusa/

Two

duha

/duha/

Hello

kumusta

/kumusta/

Thank you

salamat

/salamat/

Good

maupay

/maʔupaj/

Computer

kompyuter

/komˈpjutɛr/

Sushi

sushi

/ˈsuʃi/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Austronesian (Visayan) languages

Meaning WarayHiligaynonCebuanoBikol CentralIriga BicolanoTausugTagalog
Water tubig /tubiɡ/ tubig /tubiɡ/ tubig /tubiɡ/ tubig /tubiɡ/ tubig /tubiɡ/ tubig /tubiɡ/ tubig /tubiɡ/
Fire kalayo /kalajɔ/ kalayo /kalajɔ/ kalayo /kalajo/ kalayo /kalajo/ kalayo /kalajɔ/ kayu /kaju/ apoy /ʔaˈpoj/
Sun adlaw /ʔadlaw/ adlaw /ʔadlaw/ adlaw /adlaw/ saldang /salˈdaŋ/ aldəw /aldəw/ adlaw /adlaw/ araw /ˈʔaɾaw/
Moon bulan /bulan/ bulan /bulan/ bulan /bulan/ bulan /bulan/ bulən /bulən/ bulan /bulan/ buwan /buwan/
Star bitoon /bituʔon/ bituon /bituˈʔon/ bituon /bituˈʔon/ bitoon /bituʔon/ bitóon /bituʔon/ bituun /bituʔun/ bituin /bɪtuˈʔin/
Mother nanay /nanaj/ nanay /nanaj/ inahan /inahan/ nanay /nanaj/ ina /ina/ inaꞌ /inaʔ/ ina /ʔiˈna/
Father tatay /tataj/ tatay /tataj/ amahan /amahan/ tatay /tataj/ ama /ama/ amaꞌ /amaʔ/ ama /ʔaˈma/
I ako /ʔako/ ako /ʔaˈko/ ako /ʔaˈko/ ako /ʔako/ akó /ʔako/ aku /aku/ ako /ʔaˈko/
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