Filipino Food Alphabet ABC and Numbers 123!

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Filipino food ABC alphabet

Learn and teach the ABCs and numbers 1 to 10 in Filipino with this new pair of artwork highlighting Filipino food! The artworks feature various Filipino dishes and ingredients enjoyed from all over the country.

The first artwork of the pair highlights the alphabet and 26 different Filipino dishes:

  • A – Afritada
  • B – Bistek (Filipino beef steak)
  • C – Champorado (chocolate rice porridge)
  • D – Dinuguan (blood stew)
  • E – Escabeche (sweet & sour fish)
  • F – Fruit Salad
  • G – Ginataang Kalabasa (coconut squash)
  • H – Hopia
  • I – Itlog Maalat (salted egg)
  • J – Junay (Tausug rice)
  • K – Kalabasa (squash)
  • L – Leche Flan
  • M – Menudo
  • N – Ngohiong (Cebuano fried spring roll)
  • O – Opia (Ilocano wafer)
  • P – Pancit
  • Q – Banana “Q”
  • R – Rabong (labong or bamboo shoot)
  • S – Saba
  • T – Tiyula Itum (Tausug coconut soup)
  • U – Upo (bottle gourd)
  • V – Venes (gabi stalk dish from Batanes)
  • W – Wansoy (cilantro)
  • X – X-tra Rice
  • Y – Yangka (jackfruit)
  • Z – Zamboanga Roll (Mindanao fried rice roll)

The 2nd artwork shows numbers 1 to 10 in Filipino or Tagalog:

Filipino numbers 123, 1 to 10
  1. Isa ng Isaw (BBQ intestine)
  2. Dalawa ng Dalandan
  3. Tatlo ng Talong (eggplant)
  4. Apat na Alimango (mangrove crab)
  5. Lima ng Lumpia
  6. Anim na Arroz Caldo
  7. Pito ng Puto (rice cake)
  8. Walo ng Wansoy (cilantro)
  9. Siyam na Sili (chili pepper)
  10. Sampu ng Sampaloc (tamarind)

Filipino numbers in different Philippine languages

Below you’ll find more information behind some of the major or regional languages of the Philippines through numbers 1 to 10.

10 or sampu ng sampaloc

Sampung Sampaloc!

The number 10 in various Philippine languages is:

  • Sampu in Tagalog
  • Sampulo in Bicolano
  • Samplora in Pangasinanse
  • Sangapulo in Ilocano
  • Napo in Bisaya & Waray
  • Apulu in Kapampangan
  • Napulo in Hiligaynon

How do you say “ten” in your language?

How many sampaloc do you put in your sinigang?

9 or siyam ng sili

Siyam na Sili!

How many sili can you eat? The number 9 in various Philippine languages is:

  • Syam in Kapampangan
  • Siyam in Hiligaynon, Tagalog, Bisaya & Bicolano
  • Siamira in Pangasinanse

How do you say “nine” in your language?

8 or walo ng wansoy

Walong wansoy!

Wow, who wants walong wansoy? The number 8 in various Philippine languages is:

  • Walo/u in Cebuano, Waray, Tagalog, Hiligaynon, Ilocano, Kapampangan, and Bicolano
  • Walora in Pangasinanse (but Walo as well for short!)

The word wansoy (cilantro/coriander) is from the Hokkien term, 芫荽 or iân-sui!

How do you say “eight” in your language?

7 or pito ng puto

Pitong puto!

The number 7 in various Philippine languages is:

  • Pito/u in Cebuano, Waray, Tagalog, Hiligaynon, Ilocano, Kapampangan, Bicolano, and Pangasinanse
  • Also Pitora in Pangasinanse too.

How do you say “seven” in your language?

6 or anim ng arroz caldo

Anim ng Arroz Caldo!

The number 6 in various Philippine languages is:

  • Anim in Tagalog
  • Anem or Anemira in Pangasinanse
  • Anum in Hiligaynon
  • Anom in Bicolano
  • Anam in Kapampangan
  • Innem in Ilocano
  • Unom in Cebuano and Waray

How do you say “six” in your language?

5 or lima ng lumpia

Limang Lumpia!

The number 5 in various Philippine languages is:

  • Lima in Bicolano, Kapampangan, Ilocano, Hiligaynon, Tagalog, Cebuano, Waray, and Pangasinanse
  • Also Limara in Pangasinanse too

In fact, the number 5 as well as other numbers sound similar in countries surrounding the Philippines too. This is because we all speak languages under the Malayo-Polynesian language family.

The number 5 is also Lima in Malay, Indonesian, and even old Chamoro which is spoken in Guam. In New Zealand, Maori for the number 5 is Rima! In some Philippine languages, ka-lima means hand.

How do you say “five” in your language?

4 or apat ng alimango

Apat ng Alimango!

The number 4 in various Philippine languages is:

  • Apat in Tagalog, Hiligaynon, Kapampangan, and Bicolano
  • Apatira in Pangasinanse
  • Upat in Bisaya and Waray
  • Uppat in Ilocano.

Alimango typically refers to mangrove crabs or “mud crabs,” which are different from Alimasag (blue swimming crabs) and Talangka (river crabs)! Alimango are popularly used in dishes like Ginataang Alimango or coconut mangrove crab.

How do you say “four” in your language?

3 or tatlo ng talong

Tatlong Talong!

The number 3 in various Philippine languages is:

  • Tulo in Bisaya and Waray
  • Tallo in Ilocano
  • Tatlo/u in Tagalog and Hiligaynon
  • Talora in Pangasinanse
  • Atlu in Kapampangan

Eggplant is Tawong in Cebuano, Tarong in Ilokano, Talong in Tagalog, Talon in Pangasinanse, Terung, in Malay, and Terong in Indonesian. And Solanum melongena… to scientists!

How do you say “three” in your language?

2 or dalawa ng dalandan

Dalawang Dalandan!

The number 2 in various Philippine languages is:

  • Dua in Ilocano
  • Duha in Cebuano and Waray
  • Duwa in Bicolano
  • Duara in Pangasinanse
  • Dalawa in Tagalog

The number 2 in Malay and Indonesian is also Dua!

How do you say “two” in your language?

1 or isa ng isaw

Isang Isaw!

The number 1 in various Philippine languages is:

  • Isa in Tagalog and Hiligaynon
  • Usa in Cebuano and Waray
  • Sakey in Pangasinanse
  • Maysa in Ilocano
  • Saro in Bicolano

How do you say “one” in your language?

The word Isa is also considered the term for the number 1 in Proto-Austronesian, a reconstructed ancestral language that Philippine languages as well as languages from Madagascar to Hawaii have been influenced by starting 10,000 years ago.

It is difficult for linguists to piece together the words for Proto-Austronesian, especially when written sources back then were limited or lost. Instead, they piece the puzzle together using languages still used today. How many Austronesian languages do you speak?

How many languages are in the Philippines?

In total there are over 180 languages in the Philippines. See 180 listed here: iyil.ph/languages

Major languages of the Philippines

There are usually 8 languages in the country considered the most prominent in terms of number of speakers:

  1. Bikolano
  2. Ilokano
  3. Hiligaynon
  4. Kapampangan
  5. Pangasinan
  6. Sebwano or Cebuano
  7. Tagalog
  8. Waray

These are also often called regional languages. Maranao, Tausug, and Magindanaw are sometimes included in this group as well.

Languages vs dialects

Speakers of different languages cannot understand each other, but speakers of different dialects of a language, can!

Examples of dialects include Laguneño and Batangueño, which are dialects of the Tagalog language.

Philippine English and Singapore English are both dialects of the English language. Singaporeans and Filipinos using their specific English can, and do, communicate with each other. Cebuano dialects include Bolanon, spoken in Bohol.

Learn Filipino Food Alphabet and Numbers 1 to 10

Filipino food alphabet and numbers 123

A simple printable of both the Filipino food ABCs and Tagalog or Filipino numbers 1 to 10 are available on Etsy and Gumroad!

Get the digital files below, then print and frame them as a gift for your kids, nieces, nephews, or “pamang-kids”!

Filipino food alphabet of vegetable dishes and ingredients

Filipino Vegetable Alphabet ABCs - wood frame

What is Ilocano for bamboo shoot? What is a “rice flour roll” from Zamboanga?

Learn this and more from an alphabet of Filipino vegetables & vegetable-based Filipino food, from A to Z! Read more about this artwork here, or download the printable in our Etsy shop below!

References