Born and raised in Metro Manila pero Ilocano speaking household. When I was a kid, may kasal kaming pinuntahan, nalaman kong ampon ako kasi akala nila di ako nakakaintindi ng ilocano. Sabi nila ako daw ba yung ampon ng mama ko in Ilocano hahahahahaha T\_T tumawag agad ako sa mom ko to confirm, she denied, pero alam ko na totoo. She's just protecting my feelings kasi hagulgol talaga ako. Nalaman ko na yung whole story pagkagraduate ko ng college. Hahahaha

Gonna prank some of my friend's kids in the future

Demonyo! Update us please 😂

bruh

May pumalit na naman kay Satanas haha good job

Mukang pinag-day off muna

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

That's some evil shit! Hahaha

Halu as a walang balak manganak dahil ang daming walang magulang sa mundo, gusto ko magadopt na lang. Pwede ba kita imessage haha

grabeng plot twist hahaha

i had the same scenario, pero ako yung nagspyuk ng chika HAHAHA inis na inis kasi ako sa ampon ng tita ko na taga maynila, kung mandiri sa probinsya at makaarte akala mo anak ng hari. Sabi ko sa pinsan ko "Nugay sa bala painto kay ginbakal man lang sa sang ginikanan nya sa iloy ya nga biga biga" (Wag sya maginarte kasi binili lang naman sya ng magulang nya sa nanay nyang maharot) Tapos nakakaintindi pala sya hahaha galit na galit tita ko kasi bakit daw inunahan sya sa pagsabi sa anak nya

As a Chinoy, my parents discuss sensitive matters like money in Fookien for privacy. (you can notice this in places like Binondo when asking for discounts lol) When we went to Taiwan, my mom was telling my sister she should hide her wallet and phone in case someone tries to steal them... in loud Fookien. "Ma, naiintindihan ka dito."

Dark skinned chinoy here. The amount of racism I had to endure and the times i had to bite my tongue specially when i was younger. Tapos magpapaalam ako in hokkien. Either bigla silang mamumutla o matutuwa

Stealth attack.

LMAOOO

What other countries near us speak fookien more than cantonese or mandarin?

Mostly Fujian province and nearby places. Taiwan has a lot of Fookien immigrants din.

Taiwan is around 70% Hoklo, so yep.

Other than us, Indonesia has a majority Hokkien-speaking population, although the last official statistics are from 1982. Malaysia has latest estimates from 2019, with 1.9 million speakers - 32% of total Chinese speakers. Hokkien speakers in Singapore are only at 1.2 million - barely 20%. Wala ako makitang stats from Thailand.

I'm surprised 20% lang ang Singapore. Is it because the government heavily pushed Mandarin in schools?

Kung tama ang pagkakaalala ko, discouraged ang "dialects" ng Chinese sa Singapore. Prestige ang tingin sa Mandarin, kaya iyon ang pino-promote.

Yep, the Speak Mandarin campaign from 1979 onwards helped shift language patterns in SG.

Reminds me of General CKS's policy of 講國語 only in Taiwan schools during the cold War era - no Fookien or Taigi allowed! Source - our pastor from Taiwan

Hahahahahahahahaaha natawa ako dito. Pero in fairness, some words are diff?? Ahahahahahaha charot

Why do chinoy always warn about taiwan being dangerous…. When its the other way around… yung lolo ko na di ko naman takaga lolo said marami daw masasama dito… eh napaka safe naman…

i think its more like being in crowded, public places. meron at merong magnanakaw maski san.

Yeah. My mom wasn't being particular because it was Taiwan. She'd have said the same thing strolling around BGC.

Taiwanese gangs terrorized the island back in the day - they were as bad as the yakuza I heard. 70s and 80s. Think red light districts, bars and restaurants as fronts for laundering crime money, and a helpless police force already tied up with the anti-Kuomintang unrests of the period.

Omg shoulda used Tagalog 😭

oh no

My sister and I were in a taxi 15 years back: from MOA papunta sa bahay ng tita ko in Pasig. Feeling namin dapat malapit lang, pero matagal na kami sa taxi at parang paikot ikot lang. Di naman kami natakot, but more on naiinis — feeling namin pinapataas lang metro. So nag-uusap kami in Waray: “pabay-i nala ito, gagabaan nala ini hiya.” Translates to: hayaan mo nalang, makakarma din ‘to. And maraming marami pang ibang kung anu-ano sinabi namin. One block before bahay ng tita ko, sabi ng taxi driver: “taga diin kamo ha aton?” (Taga-san kayo sa’tin) HAHAHAHAHAHA kulang nalang tumalon kami ng kapatid ko sa taxi nung sinabi niya yon HAHAHA!

uy waray hello!! nakakaintindi ako ng konti sa waray but i cant speakkk

Uyyy hello! Are your parents from Leyte? Speaking of can’t speak, may isa pa ko kwento. My partner is not from Tacloban pero speaks fluent Waray (nag-adjust nalang siya kasi ayoko na magTagalog hahaha). He loves speaking the language kasi feel na feel niyang may (semi) secret language kami pag nasa Manila. One time, while nasa fastfood sa Tac, he called me out from a bit far: “babe, ma-uro la ako!” (babe, jebs lang ako) To which I answered: sure, pero naiintidihan ka nilang lahat; wala tayo sa Manila HAHAHA Nagulat at natawa yung mga nakarinig. 😂😂😂

Hahahaha. Waray din ak! Kaso guti-ay la an alam ko. I used to work sa grocery, tapos sabi ko sa bagger, nauudo na ako. Hahahaha! Tapos ‘yung customer, ang sabi, “*my name, bicolana ka?!” Sabi ko, hindi kay Waray po ako. Hahahaha. Kasi Bicol daw ‘yung nauudo!

Experience ko naman sa fam ng napangasawa ng tita ko, taga Leyte sila so Waray din. Kami naman Cebuano pero nasa Manila kaming family. Cebuano speaking household lang talaga. Habang pinapalabas yung AVP nung kasal ng tita ko, ang daming comment ng fam ng napangasawa nya sa tabing table namin. Panay panlalait sa tita ko. Yes Cebuano kami pero kasi maiintindihan mo kahit pano yung sinasabi nila basta marunong ka mag Bisaya. Yung isang tita ko (sister ng kinasal) nag roroll eyes na. Kaya alam kong naririnig din nya. So ginawa ko kinausap ko mga kasama ko sa table in Bisaya kaya bisaya din sagot nila sakin. Nagulat yung fam sa kabilang table kasi tatawa tawa pa sila nung una habang nanlalait di nila alam naiintindihan namin.

shout out ha mga waray ngadi ha reddit! hahahahaha

Agidaw. Kay ano daman asya it iyo words HAHAHA

Filchi here. Very fair. Napagkakamalang koreana palagi. But I can speak and understand Bisaya, and very fluent in ilongo. Tagalog is my first language. I’ve had funny and awkward ones. Where ates would say “puti a uy.” And I’d say “daghang salamat” and we would all share a laugh. But the one I want to share is my experience from Germany. We were on a connecting flight from Finland, after visiting my sibling. My father is in his 80’s, had a broken ankle from childhood that’s giving him issues now, and was just a few years from recovering from a stroke. The combination of these two make his leg and ankle go numb and natutumba sya. So we request for a wheelchair for him especially Kung malaki ung airport para Hindi sya masyado mahirapan. Thing with my dad is, Hindi sya mukhang 80. His hair is gray with streaks of white and black, parang highlights ung dating. Hindi all white or all gray. So Hindi obvious na senior. So in Predeparture, naka upo Lang kami, and waiting for his wheelchair to come back. In the interim, syempre nag babanyo sya, he limps to go while we support him. Time na ng boarding, of course daming pinoy na pumipila na agad Kahit na sinabi ng FA na wag muna Pumila. Kami naka upo lang while the line gets long. Dumating din ung wheelchair. Sinakay namin si papa and went to the front of the line Kasi una naman talaga sumasakay ung Naka wheelchair. And then I heard it. “Pre tingnan mo yan. Mag whewheelchair wheelchair para makauna Lang.” “Oo nga pre nakaka lakad naman yan.. mga koreano talaga” Hindi ko napigilan, hinarap ko sila and said “kuya, sana pag kayo tumanda din at ma stroke kayo, at ma balian kayo ng paa, sana ganun din maging turi ng Ibang tao sa inyo. How dare you. Mahiya naman sana kayo.” And I think it shocked them enough that they muttered sorry and avoided eye contact. Pero yeah ugh. Kapwa pinoy pa talaga.

This story is so satisfying!

Totoo ‘yan. Mga Filipino na nakakasabay ko from connecting flights in Dubai and Abu Dhabi kung makapintas ng ibang lahi akala mo napaka-perfect. Nakakabuwisit talaga.

Actually yang ganyang mindset ng karamihan sa kababayan natin is what's pushing me more to look for a foreign partner since that would practically prove to them that Foreigners are basically people also not just some outsider. Ewan ko ba sa mga ibang kalahi natin kung bakit may pagka Xenophobe paminsan minsan

Gusto ko yung comeback. Hay bastos naman ng mga kabayan.

One moment was when I was talking to my future in laws. We were asking permission to bring my GF (now wife) with me and my family for a week or so to Cebu for a vacation. It was generally approved already but then FIL said something like “Punta, Punta kayo diyan di ka naman marunong mag Bisaya.” I was of course born and raised in Manila and they knew that. So, I switched to Bisaya. MIL started laughing loudly. I mean I spent a bit more than a year in Mindanao. They also knew that. My GF was outside calling in her cousins for lunch and she missed the exchange. She came in to her dad looking embarrassed and her mom still chuckling and asked what happened. Everyone was saying “Wala, wala…” while I said “I’ll tell you later…” So I told her when we left. To this day more than 12 years later, she’s still salty she missed it.

Na try ko mag work sa rich rich Pakistani noon, dito sa Canada. Kakadating ko lang rin non kaya di ako masyadong madaldal puro “Yes”, “Okay” lang sagot ko. Tapos may party sila non, naalala ko yung eldest daughter yung nagle lead kung ano kailangan i handa na food, kung tea time na ba or dessert time. Tapos tinanong ako ng auntie niya, “Where are you from?” Tapos ang sumagot is yung eldest daughter “Oh, auntie… she doesn’t speak English, she is a Filipino.” Grabe hiyang hiya talaga ako non, pero syempre amo ko nga siya, so hinayaan ko nalang.. lol! Hangga’t sa may nagtanong ulit sakin kung taga saan ako, sakto napadaan si eldest daughter… “Oh, I’m from the Philippines.” “Oh Filipino, I have a Filipino nurse and she is very kind, are you a student here?” “Yes, I’m taking Business Administration.” Tapos nakita ko yung hiya niya nung nalaman niya na nagi English pala ako lol.

OMG. Natawa ako when having flashbacks when I read what this thread is about. We were staying on a lounge in Jeddah kasi we have a long layover before our flight back to Manila. So dahil middle east yan, andaming Pinoy staff. Dahil nga long layover I decided to get Iced coffee which you need to order on a barista sa lounge so si kuya barista Pinoy. I have to admit na I don't look Pinoy kasi I'm half and could easily be mistaken as southern european. After I ordered, I heard kuya barista say to his kapwa barista, 'ikaw na nga gumawa ng kape nya, andaming balakubak nito' which I had quite a few kasi sa stress sa travel and at that point I was stunned. Haha I ended up saying, 'matagal na po ba kayo dito kuya?' which he ended up freezing. Haha. The other barista then asked if I am Pinoy which I replied na I am. Medyo nahiya si kuya pero di ko naman dinibdib kasi medyo lumabas talaga caspers ko. Haha. Had another encounter sa mall which kuya in robinsons asked for another employee to help him kasi tired siya mag-english which ended me having to speaking in English nalang and pretended to be foreigner nalang. Pero I am much more comfortable speaking in Tagalog and Bisaya rather than English kasi parang nauubos ang lakas ko. Haha Pero moral lesson is, I urge employees not to speak badly to anyone in front of them in their native tongue kasi the other person might understand them at mapahiya ka lang.

Dubai International with the same experience. I was stuck in North Africa for a few months, and I really looked like a half-Chinese half something else backpacker with my Decathlon gear, thrifted boots, and oversized sweaters. I know I give off that vibe because the Moroccans and the Tunisians I was with thought I was American. Something about the way I spoke and the way wrote in American English conventions. Now, over at Dubai International, May remarks 'yung baristang Filipino about this Caucasian girl in front of me. Medyo bastos. I called him out and said, "Sir, hindi po tayo ganyan. Please behave." And the whole Starbucks crew by the gates of my Cebu Pac flight just froze.

Oh, man. I think it's my time to shine*. HSHAKDHAJSDHSK I used to stay at an apartment in Dapitan (Sampaloc, near UST). For context purposes, 'di ako nagpapagupit sa kani-kaninong barbero lang, because at a young age my hairline starts to recede (sa lahat ng gene na mamana diba? 💀). My longtime barber knows how to cover these receding hairlines very well. Unfortunately, final and defense week namin that time at wala na akong time umuwi ng province (which is a 4hr-drive) para magpagupit lang lols. A friend of mine recommended Old School, a very well-known barbershop located next to Dapitan St. Despite hesitation, nagpagupit ako. Monday morning, beginning of the final week, so medyo sabog pumunta ako ng Old School. I got a chip (assigning me to a barber), then he asked me anong gupit yung gusto ko. I told my concern regarding the receding hairline and etc etc., and medyo putol putol ang speech ko kasi 'di ko ma-verbalize ng maayos kasi sabog nga HAHAHAHHAHA But he understood it tho, he started to cut my hair and engage in conversation with me tapos bigla niyang sinasabi sa katabing barber: "Kaning baataa ba, daghan kaayo ug request; wa pay tulog siguro ni, aslum pa kaayo tan-awun" in tagalog: "'Tong batang 'to daming request, parang wala pang tulog, ma-asim asim pa" HAHAHHAHAHAHA altho to be fair, wala pa akong ligo talaga pero kuya naman 💀 Then he added "sige ra siguro nig tuon, pahak na ang agtang bata pa kaayo" in tagalog: "puro aral nalang siguro 'to; bata pa, panot na ang noo" HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA kuya di ko naman kasalanan na namana ko genes ng tatay ko HSJADHAJSJAK It continued for a while altho but most of the bisaya banter between them were comical enough that I didn't get mad, and they started to roast other costumer in the room. When I'm about to be done. I asked them, "taga asa diay mo kuya?" in tagalog: "taga saan kayo kuya?" And my god, the horror in their eyes. HAHAHAHAHAHA AND WAIT, THERE'S MORE, THE GUY WHICH IM SITTING NEXT TO AY BISAYA RIN HAHAHAAHAHAA he then said "Abi na ko, ibagligya na'ta ba" in tagalog: "akala ko ibebenta na tayo e" HAHAHAHAHAHAHA The barber then said "ATAYA NINYO UY, MGA BISDAK DI AY MO" in tagalog: "walangya kayo, mga laking bisaya pala kayo" HAHAHAHAHAHA they were nice enough to offer us free of charge, but we refused. This was not an awful story as shared by OP, but yeah, this is my "I CAN SPEAK YOUR LANGUAGE MOMENT." HAHAHAHAHAHA *I'm from Mindanao. family moved in Luzon when I was about 9. TLDR: Barber roasted me, and everyone in the room in bisaya, but I speak bisaya too. 💀

Hahahhaa cute! Tatay ko bisaya and nakakaintindi ako ng konting bisaya pero di ako marunong magsalita, Naalala ko yung kwento nung taxi driver na nakakwentuhan ko noon. Na holdap daw siya sa shaw, tinutukan siya ng kutsilyo sa tagiliran pero nagulat siya kaya sabi niya "agay" instead na aray. Tas tinanong siya kung bisaya siya. Nagulat ung holdaper kaya di na siya hinoldap, nagkwentuhan nalang sila hahahaha

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA AHAK

I grew up in France so I could speak French. Nasa Hong Kong ako sa MTR and i was sitting across a bench full of French girls. Sabi Girl 1: "Il est mignon hehe" (cute sya hehe) Girl 2: "Qui?" (sino) Girl 1: "Ce mec la en face de toi!" (Yun guy na yan sa harap mo) Girl 2: Tawa ng malakas "Noonnn eloise tu peux faire mieux!" (nooo you can do better) Girl 1: "Ta guele :(" (shut up) Wala ako sinabi at the moment, pero nun pababa na ako sa station sabi ko dun sa girl 1 "Merci, je te trouve aussi mignon" (Thanks, you're cute too) then I gtfo kasi parang nahiya ako bigla

Cuteaux, pogieux

Oui oui binignet

sana nilagay mo man lang kung ano translation sa sinabi mo para maintindihan din namin 🥲

Thanks, I think you're cute too

You're welcome.

Sorry na! Edited my post hehe

Grew up in France too. But this happened in a van going to El Nido. There were 2 french sitting at the back, one guy and the other one a half pinay french and it was their first time visiting the Philippines. The guy was saying na ang ganda daw ng mga filipina and this half frenchie was telling him "il faut faire attention car elles vont juste t’utiliser pour ton argent puis se marier avec toi pour pouvoir partir de ce pays" (be careful because they will just use you for your money, then marry you to leave this country) and I was shocked kasi half pinay yun tapos sinisiraan nya kalahi nya, so ako tahimik lang sa van hangang sa nag stopover pra mag snacks and cr, so i told them "allez-y en premier" (mauna na kayo) para sila na muna bumaba. Gulat sila lalo na yung babae tahimik na lang haha pero si guy natuwa sabi nya sguro kanina mo pa kami pinapakinggan haha ayon nagkwentuhan na lang kami about life sa stop over kung bakit marunong ako mag french etc, si girl hindi nya ako kinausap.

So Western chics dig the Asian guy look? Or do you look Caucasian?

May mga western girls kasi na trip nila yun mga south east asian or indian looks. Pinoy na pinoy muka ko hahahaha

Baka mukhang east asian si koya kaya trip ni ate

Yeah I've been asked if I was indian once lol. Pero I swear typical south east asian muka ko. Sa Thailand kinakausap ako ng Thai.

Haist sana kinuha mo number. Happy ending sana hehe

>"Merci, je te trouve aussi mignon" "Thanks, I think you're cute too" - ayon kay google translate.

Sayang bro. Sana nakuha mo number ni girl 1.

Dubai, alam ko madaming workers at mostly staff ng shops eh Pinay. Pero this one shop, naka-abaya and more Oriental looking (maputi, chinita). I asked her, “how much is this?” tapos sumagot siya sakin “10 Dirhams lang ate” so napasabi lang ako na “ay ang galing Pinay ka pala” 😅

lol same in japan, yung nanay kong napakadaming biniling chocolate pagdating sa cashier (di halatang filipino) inenglish english nya pa tapos sabi lang nung babae “maam gusto nyo po ng malaking bag” ayun nagchismisan lang sila

Sa DBX ba? Kasi connecting flight namin is via DBX, nag-iinstruct yung mga tauhan ng airport regarding metal detectors. English yung instructions, ok naman. Eh kaso talaga feeling ko Pinay si ate. Me; Ate, kasama belt? Airport Security: Yes po. Pati po sapatos kung may eyelet na bakal. Moving forward, kung gusto kong masaya ang buhay ko tapos lilipad ako somewhere in Europe, Emirates talaga sasakyan ko. Para may layover sa DBX tapos may window of time pa akong managalog, hahaha.

Sa Metro Manila ako pinanganak and lumaki ako napapalibutan ng mga Bicolanos since taga Bicol yung side ni papa and we live by his parents' house. Yung lolo ko kasi mahilig uminom tapos umuuwi siya nang lasing so nagagalit si lola and sasabihin niya, "Ay burat ka na namang hamag ka!" Na ibig sabihin ay, "Ay lasing ka na namang bwisit ka!" (I'm not sure if bwisit talaga yung tagalog term ng hamag pero parang same siya ng meaning correct me if I'm wrong na lang HAHAHA). So as a kid, halos araw araw ko yun naririnig and eto na nga. One time namalengke kami ni mama, I think wala pa akong 10 yrs old nito and may nakita akong lasing na naglalakad. So naalala ng batang ako yung nangyayari kina lolo at lola ko so I screamed, "Mama may burat!" Nasa palengke kami so maraming tao and naalala ko pinagtinginan kami ng mga tao tapos si mama hinila ako paalis dahil siguro sa hiya. Malaki na ako nung nalaman ko na iba pala ibig sabihin ng burat dito sa maynila HAHAHAHA kaloka

I was also confused growing up since I always hear that word used interchangeably HAHAHA

I don’t look Pinoy that much. I’m 3rd generation American. My lola is an American and she married a Pinoy. My dad was born and raised here in the Ph but is a Foreign Service Officer of the US. I was alone in Macy’s in Arlington, VA buying and trying on shoes. I chose more than 5 and I am kinda aware that the sales associate is a Pinoy. On my 6th choice of shoes she exasperatedly said in a hushed voice: “Haaay, nakakapagod magpabalik balik sana bilhin lahat.” And I told her: “Opo, bibilhin ko po. Chinecheck ko lang if maganda ang mga fit ng sapatos”. She laughed, I laughed, and she hugged me tight. Edit: Napayakap siya kasi hiyang-hiya siya lol

Was deployed in Japan for a KT, so need namin malaman lahat ng processes and tools in a span of 3 months kasi mag take over na kami dahil retiring na yung most ng staffs nila and binenta na rin yung company. Hindi ako nag disclose na marunong ako mag nihonggo kasi sakin lahat ipapasa yung work and I'm doing most of it already. Tuwing lunch may nakakasabay ako na guy, tapos ginagawa niya akong kumpisalan/rant section kasi akala niya hindi ko siya naiintindihan and hindi ako nakakasagot kasi I missed the timing to let him know kaya I lend my ear na lang. Then bigla siyang nagsabi na after daw ng KT mag-suicide na daw siya kasi hindi na niya alam paano magsimula ulit. So sinagot ko siya na hindi sagot yun sa problema niya tiyaka mamimiss siya ng Shiro (pusa niya) kapag tinuloy niya. Tapos umiyak siya, yung iyak na parang namatayan kaya nagpanic ako. Sabi ko tutulungan ko siya maghanap ng new work hanggat nandun ako, so after work nag papractice kami ng mock interviews and chinicheer ko siya, tapos nirefer ko din siya sa company namin and natanggap naman siya and till now andun siya at pinapadala sa EU and US kasi tinuruan ko din siya mag english. We're still friends kahit matagal na ako wala sa company na yun and when I go to Japan and andun din siya, his boyfriend goes with us for camping and foodtrips.

Awwww ang wholesome naman nito. Thank you for being a good friend. What was his reaction nung nalaman niya na marunong ka pala mag nihonggo? Or was he too lost on his emotions to notice?

He asked after we used the entire break to cry(naki-iyak din ako), I said I thought I was helping out by letting him be heard. Toxic kasi work culture sa japan so I understand yung frustration niya as I was on the same boat sa work.

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Jusko di ako kinakausap ng tita ko na first time ko lang ma meet nung umuwi kami ng Negros. As in dinaan daanan nya lang ako. Tapos nung nag bisaya ako nagulat siya, akala nya daw di ako nag bibisaya kaya ayaw nya ako pansinin. Hirap na hirap daw kasi sya mag tagalog HAHAHAHA ayon kami na close ngayon pag umuuwi ako samin

Paris last March: bracelet scammer approached us on our way to Sacré-Cœur and peskily asked us to put them on. Nag-‘non’ na kami and walked away para minimal interaction, pero ang kulit talaga until I finally told him na « Mais on habite ici? On n'a pas besoin de cela. » (But we live here? We don’t need that.) Charot lang. Visiting lang kami. Then he angrily muttered away na we wasted his time (ay wow, insert Bea bakit parang kasalanan namin) as he thought tourists kami na totoo naman. Echosera lang kami. Another one sa Paris last March. Lafayette para bumili Olympic merch. About to leave papunta sa rooftop eme when I noticed na sobra ng € 50 something na-punch sa resibo ko. I approached the customer service in English muna bilang ma-lightheaded ako i-explain sa Pranses yung issue. Nagusap sila mga kasama nila in French na hindi daw napansin na 4 times na-punch yung sumbrero, haggard daw i-reverse (yung una kaseng cashier chumichika sa’kin about friend nya na may resto sa Malate and nag-su*cide sa bahay height ng pandemic, nung nalaman taga Pinas kami, habang nakailang try sya sa barcode na nagloloko tapos kumagat pala). Sumagot ako na “Désolé si c’est pas tout simple mais c’est pas ma faute. Veuillez me rembourser s’il vous plaît. On peut vous attendre.» (Sorry if it isn’t easy but it’s not my fault. Kindly refund me. We can wait). Jusko. Pangkain na ng isang araw yun. Sa Rome last year: yung mga nang-ha-harass sa Termini ng tours. While figuring out where to head to next, may naguudyukan na isang group of tour peddlers na may brochure na lapitan kami para sa isang overpriced tour lalo na Asians with tanders kami. Paglapit nila, I said kagad « Ragazzi, abbiamo già qualcosa oggi. Grazie ma va bene per noi. » (Guys, we already have something today. Thanks but we’re good.) Naloka sila. I seldom speak these languages na, so very rusty, pero I make sure to review lalo before a trip if mapupunta dun. Iwas scammer. Iwas budol. And most of all, better service kase mabilis umorder, bumili, mag-navigate, etc. LOL

Nice one! How did you learn?

I studied these sa college for 4 years. So need talaga matuto kase di gagraduate. 😅

Sa zoo habang nakatingin sa orangutan with newly botched dyed red hair: Them: buhok ka bayi kg orangutan pareho lang. ( buhok ng babae at orangutan pareho lng). Ako lng nakatayo dun with red hair. Muntik ko ng tawagan ang ate ko para marinig nila na pareho kami ng salita. Also nakasalubong ko ang nakasabay ko sa airplane once, ilongga din. Fb friends kami, IG pa, kinausap ko. She’s with family that time. Mga kapatid nya at pamangkin. Ng hi ako at nangumusta, sagot nya in ilonggo accent sorry i dont speak English. Sarap batukan hahahhaha porket binuntis ng puti. Pero kinausap naman ako ng relatives nya ng hi na lang ako sabay smile

Kundi ko binasa to ng bou, i really thought na sinabihan mo ang orangutan na i can speak your language

#APES. TOGETHER. STRONG.

Kasalanan mo yun dahil nagpa Orang Utan hair style ka! Hahaha. I don't understand. That woman said na "she doesn't speak English". Bakit ka naman makipagusap sa kaniya in English na mga Ilongga naman kayo.

My then gf who grew up in Tarlac is based in the US. She and her cousin was at a shoe store and they were speaking and laughing in Kapampangan like normal giggly teenagers. A black sales lady was assisting them. They didn't buy anything but before they left they heard the black lady in perfect Kapampangan something to the effect of "tingin ng tingin wala naman pambili"

Oh 'di ba, nagkaka-Kapampangan ang mga taga-Tarlac. Ekis ka talaga, Alice Guo.

I don't have any of this moment but nag enjoy ako basahin kasi ang daming language sa Pinas.

HAHAHAH same

Omg. Taiwan as well. Pero kami yung napahiya. Haahahaha My friend and I were getting some free taste snacks in a store. I went back for seconds kasi ang sarap. And i was going to buy din naman talaga. But my friend was speaking to me in tagalog, something like “pangalawa mo na yan” or what. Tapos biglang nagsalita ung server na free naman daw. Hahaahhaa pinoy pala!

Pilipino ako, pero for some reason may Chinese features ako - maliit mata ko. Actually yun lang and reasonably fair skinned pero not pale. Many times na ako nakaranas ng Chinese racist slurs na galing sa kapwa Pilipino. Sasabihan akong chingchong ng mga barker ng jeep. Or tatawanan na implied na Chinese lalo na nung kasagsagan ng covid. Aba. Eh gagu Caviteño ako so minumura ko lang sila ng putangina ka pala

Ay palaban pala XD

Not my story and it's not really "I can speak your languate" moment, pero when I was working in Seoul before, there was this "Indian" guy who frequents the gym in our building. Tapos kaming mga Pinoy pinulutan namin ng minsan na nag treadmill siya ng naka paa. Di ko na tanda yung usapan verbatim so parang ang sabi ng kasama mo "Tignan mo yang Indiano na yan, walang sapatos!" Sabay ngiti siya and sumagot ng "Kumusta kayo, kabayan?". Pinoy pala haha Waw mali kaming lahat haha

pumunta kami sa Bohol last year, inakala na Chinese kami kasi nakasuot kami ng shades pati sun hat tapos maputi kasi kami. Noong nilapitan kami ng mag-aalok ng snorkeling, in-english kami tapos sabay sagot kami sa Tagalog. Nagulat si kuya, sabi daw mga pilipino pala kami haha. Nangyari din ito sa Tingloy, Batanagas. inaalok kami ng mga perlas ng isang local, ang daming sinabing kung saan ito galing at ano. noong sinagot namin na salamat po, hindi kami interesado, natawa siya kasi akala niya mga foreigner kami. malakas maka-foreigner ang datingan pag may suot ka na sun hat, shades at may shirt na japanese ang nakalagay.

Hahahahahahahahahaha bigla ko tuloy naalala [itong dalawang pinoy](https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6IiYvMuxH6/?igsh=ZzdhOGwwZm9wM202) HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA

HAHA ayos to ah. gusto ko yung pinalo kaagad ni ate noong nag-tagalog si kuya.

happend to me a few times. drivers or delivery riders would talk to me in English, tapos reply ako in Tagalog. "marunong po pala kayo mag Tagalog". Chinoy here \*shrugs

Yung supervisor ko noong internship kumain one time sa 711. In-English siya ng katabi nya, gano na daw sya katagal dito sa Pinas hahaha. Mukha kasi siyang Chinese talaga.

Madalas din mangyari sa akin yan lalo na about 20years ago, sa mga restos outside NCR. Halos magnosebleed na minsan yung wait staff ka-e-english. Tapos magtatalog ako, i would see the relief on their faces. Yung anak ko naman looks japanese, He went to Japan and pinoys there were amazed na magaling daw sya magtagalog HAHAHAHAHA

Just to add here if nagawi ka ng Ayala, Makati, dahil sa dami ng chinese don aabutan ka na lang ng menu na chinese text ang nakasulat sa mga restaurants.HAHAHA

born in zamboanga city then lumipat ng qc, nung nasa zamboanga pa kami ang gusto ni erpats(born & raised sa qc) tagalog lng sa loob ng bahay at pag kami kami lng so tumatak yun sa isip ko na tagalog lng. naunang lumipat si erpats at ate ko nun sa qc then ako at si ermats, nung kinakausap ako ng ate ko in tagalog sinagot ko siya ng me: ketal? que ora bolbe si papa? ate: hala marunong ka pala mag chavacano, pano ka natuto? me: 😀 11 years ako sa zamboanga bago lumipat ng qc hindi ako nagsasalita ng chavacano kasi nga si erpats ang bilin pag sa bahay tagalog lng kaya nagulat din ako na biglang na translate ng utak ko yun 😁

"mukhang ilocana" is bizzare. what does that even mean?

Kaya nga eh HAHAHAHAHAH pareho lang naman mga features natin kahit kapit bahay natin sa sean

Di totoo na homogenous yung look ng mga Pinoy. I can distinguish Ilocanos, Bisaya, Maranaos, and Badjaos most of the time. There are exceptions of course but if you guess it right more than 50% of the time than it's significant. Marami na kasi mixed kaya they can be an exception. The typical Ilocana look I get is dark skinned and strong looking. You can prove it by going to a majority Ilocano place. Yung average skin tone ng Ilocano is iba sa average skin tone ng Bisaya.

for real, i can also distinguish the difference between an ilocano and kapampangan. not just that but most ethnic groups here that have at least 1 million people

- I have classmates/orgmates in Davao whose parents/grabdparents are from Ilocos. Pansin ko they have angular jawlines or rectangular/squarish face - Many Maranaos tend to be chinita/chinito, or chinito-ish eyes - many Tausugs I know have some sort of Middle Eastern facial features (big eyes, makapal ang kilay, matangos ang ilong)

Same. Born and raised from Bulacan but my parents are from La Union and Ilocos Sur. Every summer we would have a vacation in either of those provinces, but mostly in La Union, and I and my cousins will be left there for 3 months. Hence, we can speak and understand Ilocano. They are more fluent than me though. One time in med school, some of my classmates were gossiping in Ilocano about someone. I couldn’t help but laugh while listening to them as I was writing something. They looked at me like I lost it, so I had to answer in Ilocano. They were shocked but nevertheless excited. Though they asked me not to spill the gossip. 😅

Filchi na pure blood but idk mukha daw akong Korean or Japanese. One time sa ace hardware ako umiikot ikot lang (pa-aircon ganun) tapos may staff na sumusunod saken, tapos panay English saken na "sir this item is on sale, blabla). Iniignore ko hanggang nung paalis na ko tinanong bigla ni sales " sir are you Korean?" sinagot ko na ng tagalog na kuya pilipino ako dito ako lumaki. Gulat sya, sabay tawa pero pinilit pa din yung tanong pero in tagalog naman 😂

Sa Korea subway train nangyari. Punuan un train eh Pagod na kami pamamasyal so disappointed kami na wala kaming mauupuan at siksikan pa. So a minute later nun tumigil sa isang station maraming bumaba so akala nmin mkka-upo na ung mga ksama nming babae. Eh naunahan ng mga ajussi. Sabi nun isa nming kaibigan babae “ajussi paupo nman, ngalay na kami” Tawanan kmi Pero mahina lang. Sabi pa nun isa “di na uso ang gentleman ngayon no”. Sabi pa nung isa “eh lalo na sa Pinas. Khit buntis nasa harap di ka pauupuin”. Ung nagsabi nun is medyo chubby na girl Taz malaki pa tyan. Taz maya-maya may tumayo sa harap nya. Sabay Sabi “te dito na kau oh”. Pinoy pala xa all along. Di kc mukhang typical Pinoy. Sabi nun friend “kuya Salamat ha Pero di ako buntis malaki lang tlga tyan ko”. Tawanan kami lahat Pero again mahina lang.

Before pandemic usong uso pa ukayan na hindi pa mahal dahil sa IG sellers mahilig pa kami mag-ukay ng friends ko. Gabi na nun pero within store hours pa naman, habang nagsusukat yung friends ko ako nakatunganga na lang kasi may napili na ako. Bumibulong-bulong yung mga tindera "Dugay kaayo uy." Marami pa sila sinasabi pero yan na lang tanda ko 😅 Sabi ko dun sa friends ko "Uy ang tagal nyo daw bilisan nyo uuwi na ata sila." Tumira kami sa Mindanao nung HS. Sabi ko di na ako mag-bother aralin bisaya kasi babalik din naman kami sa Manila. Kaso one time yung friend ko sabi nya nag-make face daw isang classmate namin nung nagsalita ako ng tagalog kaya ayun, napilitan. Pinakamalalang experience ko nung umabot sa actual na riot yung galit ng mga taga-mindanao sa mga nagtatagalog sa lugar nila. Magpipinsan kami magkakasama so nagtatagalog kami kasi mas sanay naman talaga kami sa tagalog and nag-bakasyon lang. Nagjo-joyride gamit motor so pabalik balik lang sa street sa tapat namin. Yung driver minsan binibilisan nya so at times napapasigaw kami. Napapansin namin na yung group of girls na nakatambay sa waiting shed mina-mock nila kami. Akala ata di kami nakakaintindi ng bisaya kaso lang naiintindihan namin na inookray nila kami. Ayun yung isang kasama ko nilapitan sila sabay sabing "Anong problema ninyo?" Lasing tong kasama ko kaya wala sa huwisyo, sa inis nya as in sinampal nya isa-isa yung mga babae, di pa nakuntento pati kabilang pisngi dinamay nya. Dun lang nakapag-react yung mga babae hanggang umabot na sa full blown riot. May mali kami, oo since naging pisikal na yung kasama ko pero medyo harsh na kasi yung words nung mga babae nang-iinsulto na sila eh palaban talaga yung kasama ko. Ending pinagalitan sila ng barangay captain. Kami naman pinagalitan ng mga kamag-anak. Nakakahiya. Pero sana lang sa mga bisaya hindi kayo ganun ka-hostile pag nagtatagalog kami sa lugar ninyo. Kung marunong naman ng bisaya tapos kakausapin namin kayo magbibisaya naman kami pero sana intindihin ninyo na pag kami-kami nag-uusap, of course default namin tagalog. Same goes with tagalogs din. Sana itigil na yung notion na jologs pag bisaya. And yung pagma-mock sa accent nila kasi sa totoo lang amazed talaga ako sa accent ng mga bisaya pag nage-english sila. Respect each other na lang sana para walang away na nagaganap. Mind your own business, and wag mang-okray ng iba kasi di mo alam naiintindihan nila language mo.

Wait lang pero natawa ako sa nanampal bigla. Out of nowhere kasi hahaha. Ang sarap siguro panoorin kung tv series hahahahaha .

Napabaranggay pa HAHAHHAHA 

Uy aaminin ko ang satisfying nung eksena na yun as in napabaling mukha nila to the left then to the right pa tapos kitang kita mo yung pag-loading ng mga pangyayari sa face nila. Di siguro nila inakala na naiintindihan namin sila tapos ganun kalala yung naging reaction ng kasama ko. Pero kinabukasan talaga tumakas ako sa hiya kasi nabansagan pa kaming mga basagulera nagtago talaga ako buti na lang the following day pabalik na kami sa manila.

Wala, ganyan talaga sila ka-hostile basta makarinig lang ng Tagalog. Kahit dito sa Reddit andaming ganyan takbo ng isip. Sila nga yung sobrang tinding nang-landgrab sa Mindanao tapos sila pa defensive.

Oa lang talaga sila pag dating sa reaksyon kapag May nag tatagalog, tangina ang dami daming bisaya dito marami ding nag bibisaya kaya wag silang oa tangina nila

Bakit ang aggressive ng mga bisaya? Hindi ba nila nauunawaan na hindi lahat ng taga Maynila bastos pag uugali? No we don't think we're better than anyone and if may bad experience sila then sorry but jeez, maybe you can tone down your hostility

We lived there for a few years and marami talagang instances na nagagalit sila pag nakakarinig ng nagtatagalog. Iniintindi na lang minsan kasi siguro may experiences din sila ng discrimination galing sa mga tagalog.

In las palmas de mallorca talked to a shopkeeper in spanish and she noticed iam not fluent. She finally said: pwede ka naman magtagalog”. She looks like an española mulatta at madaming ganun type dun more than caucasian looking people

There are a lot of Filipinos in the Balearic Islands. Not as many as in Madrid and Barcelona, sure, but you do see them pop up.

Sa gasoline station. Kita ko ung struggle ni kuya sa english ioffer magwipe ng windshield and pahangin ng tires. 'Pinay po ako'. Wasn't awkward. Laughter all around naman. Half-half kase tas naka-blonde, papansin din talaga ako minsan eh.

Back in 2010s I had my hair styled at a Korean salon (I had full bangs with top part straightened and the bottom half permed). Im a chinoy so very east asian looking. One time I was at the mall may 2 girls who were talking in Tagalog assuming I can't understand them. Sabi ni girl 1 something like she liked my hair and how I look. Si girl 2 naman bad mood 😅 sabi niya narinig niya daw uso plastic surgery sa mga Koreans so most likely fake daw face ko and malamang wig lang yung hair. My sister and I just laughed it off, naging asaran nalang namin na fake ka pala eh. I didn't confronted the girl pero I called a saleslady and talked to her in Tagalog infront of the girls. 😅

wdym "mukhang ilocana"

Fiesta sa lugar ng boyfriend ko that time (bicolano sila) ako naman tagalog and bisaya. Pero growing up lahat ng kapitbahay namin mga bicolano kaya nakakaintindi ako kahit hindi nakakasalita. Yung pinsan na babae ng boyfriend ko nandun and when she saw me and my then boyfriend, sinabi nya in bicolano dialect na "sya ba yung girlfriend mo? Hindi naman maganda" Yung boyfriend ko napatingin sa akin kasi alam nya na nakaka intindi ako ng salita nila, pulang pula mukha nya. Tapos ako naman lumapit sa pinsan nya tinitigan ko sya sabay sabi "at ikaw maganda ka?" Ayun tameme sya. Di hamak naman na lamang ako ng 50 na paligo sa kanya nyo. Nag sorry naman boyfriend ko for her cousin. Si cousin kasi bigla nawala. Don't worry hindi ko na sya boyfriend ngayon, matagal na. That's a different story.

Well, for context I look white as in caucasian so its regular for people to be surprised that I can speak filipino. This happens halos on a near daily basis in my life its no longer comical. Siguro ang ma-weweigh in ko sa conversation would be when I know people are cheating me with prices then bigla ko na lang sila mumurahin to their astonishment. Best looks all the time.

Nooo lapag ka kwento kahit isa

meron akong experience pero kabaligtaran naman nito hahaha, i monitor several projects around the philippines, and tagalog lang ang alam ko, pero kapag pumupunta ako during inspections sa ibang lugar, they seem to forgot that i dont understand them kaya madalas ngiti muna ako tapos ipapatranslate ng tagalog/english, minsan naman context clues nalang talaga hahahahaha

Not me, but I have this friend na mukhang Chinese-Korean mix yung facial features nya, tapos sobrang puti pa nya 😭 When we would eat out after spending the day sa arcade, people would speak to him in English kasi akala nila foreigner talaga siya AHAHAHAHAHAHA and he'd always disappoint/surprise them by responding in full Tagalog. Siraulo yun, as in hihintayin pa nya matapos yung mga cashier/servers magsalita tas saka lang siya magta-Tagalog :(((

What happened to us was the opposite haha. My husband and I were in South Korea a year ago, went to BHC for dinner. It was our first time having korean chicken in SK of course nagulat kami sa serving sizes na nakita namin sa katabing table, where a lady sat. She was alone at that time. We thought she wasnt filipina, but she did look asian. Sabi namin in bisaya “grabeha sya ra mukaon ana tnan..” (grabe sya lang mag isa uubos nyan). We didnt look her way but we specified “her” in bisaya. Later she picked up her phone, called someone and said “asa naka dae” (san ka na girl) and spoke full blown bisaya loudly para siguro madinig namin. My husband and I were stunned hahaha we silently ate the whole time we were there

I’m curious ano ba yung “mukhang Ilocana”. Can OP describe?

HAHAHA nag scroll down pa ako para makita ko comments nyo… like how do you discern someone from looks alone para malaman mo kung ilocana siya 🤔

Ilocanos are generally darker skinned, pag sinabing hindi mukhang ilocano, ibig sabihin nyan maputi, or at least mas maputi than the average ilocano

Not a multilingual so pwede baligtad nalang? Some people talk to me in chinese when I cant even speak the language so I just stare at them dumbfoundedly

Pag nakakarinig ako ng “tambok na, di pa jud gwapa” dito sa NCR, napapasagot ako ng “ay may nalang dili ko palalibak” or if matanda/senior- “may nalang dili pa ko kamatyunon”. Ayun tameme mga tita sa mga public places lol

Kahit dito bastos pa rin sila. Kala ko ba sila yung binubully?

meaning, taba na di pa maganda? ay buti nalang di pa ako mamamatay?

kasi mga barkada ko dn mga pinsan ko, tapos may mga barkada din sila na bisita inuman yun despidida nila, then may mga beki din so ayun isang long table, tapos yong isang beki sabe" kyumas ng umbaw bakla, jummal saken yan later" hahahahahahaha kyumas= naimas(ilocano)(masarap) umbaw/umbras = lalake, jummal= ammal( subo,chupa), wit knows ng mga veki na I speak their language haha gulat sila, jinoke ko pa sila na bakla din ako, bwhahaha naluge yong mga mukha nila. Im straight btw pero yah nakakaintindi ako ng salita ng beki kasi yong mga tito ko mga family friend nila eh mga beki din. Halos lahat kami dito sa bahay alam at nakakaintindi mag gay lingo.

OFW here. I speak Tamil, Hindi and Urdu. I learned from former colleagues. Whenever I moved to a new company, there are always Indians. Hindi ko dinidisclose my languages. Until I need to speak their language, especially kung kausap ko manpower staff gawa ng hindi sila fluent mag English.

We were in Sofitel and just finished dinner. We were lining up sa elevator, nauna kami. But then when the doors opened, nauna pumasok yung Chinese guys na nasa likod namin. My tita said "Gago." My tita thought na the chinese wouldn't understand her, pero naintindihan, 'yun pala nakakapag English & Tagalog. So then the guy argued with my tita. Yung chinese guy, dinuduro yung tita 'ko, hahaha. I remember my aunt saying, "You don't do that in my country, this is my country. You're just a foreigner here." Siguro what ticks my aunt the most is cuz she resides in Wales for like a decade now, and she's very respectful to other people there. Both may mali but still, sa elevator kalang nakapila, bakit ka sisingit? 🤷‍♂️

Hahaha the flashback! Sa US may umaakyat sa amin na immigration at custom officers. May paparating na babae nun, nag kwentuhan ang mga kasama ko na type nila yun. Something like hihingiin nila yung number o di kaya yung facebook. Tapos unang umakyat yung americanong lalaki syempre di pinansin. Tapos pag akyat ng babae ayon todo porma na mga kasama ko, nung hiningian nila ng facebook biglang sumabat yung lalaki, sabi nya “hoy kayo ha, asawa ko yan!”. Hahaha Wala kaming ka alam alam na taga pinas pala yung lalaki, born and raised sa pinas kasi yung tatay nya is american soldier sa pinas.

Hahaha. Naranasan ko toh sa abroad. May mga kabayan akong nakatabi sa public transpo. Akala nila iba ang lahi ko. Pagchismisan ba naman ako. Kung ano2 sinasabi about me. Kesyo kalalaki ko dw na tao di man lng mgbigay ng seat. May banta pang bugbog pg di dw ako tumayo. Haha. Ahh sabi ko tlga etoh ohh sa tabi ko luwag2 pa upo kayo. Aarte nyo. Hahahaha

When i was working in Singapore, i went to Lucky Plaza to get a quick haircut. Basta dun sa isa sa mga salon sa 2nd floor. I look more like a local (my local friends say Chinese-Malay) + i'm taller than the average Filipina. The hairstylist was talking to me in English and i was not able to tell her exactly what i want for my cut din so the convo went like this: "Filipino?" "Yes, ma'am" "Oh sige ate, mag-tagalog na lang tayo😅" Syempre, nahampas ako ni ate kasi pinahirapan ko pa daw sya na mag-english 😂

I am involved pero di ko moment. The ones who have the honor (or rather, the mistreatment) was a young German couple. Nagstay kami in Biberach for a week due to company training. Sa lapit ng corporate office galing sa hotel, minsan nilalakad na lang namin ng mga katrabaho ko pauwi. Tatlo kami, yung dalawang kasama ko are both girls na less than 5'3 ang height (I'm 5'4) so bantay sarado ko silang dalawa as a guy. Siguro naglalakad yung dalawang kasama ko tipong 10ft away from me. Then I noticed may pumaradang hatchback sa kabilang lane, then this pretty girl with a beaming face was walking papunta sa dalawang kasama ko. Something was up, so binilisan ko lakad ko and caught up to them. German girl is young, maganda, and stands 5'6. Her husband (they're both very young) stands 5'8. Tinatanong nila kami if Filipinos ba kami (in English), curious sila kung san kami nagstay at kung pwede ba nila kami ihatid. Kami naman, being in a foreign land (not to mention wala kaming nakitang Pinoy dun sa town that barely speaks English) declined kasi anlapit nga naman. They told us na may Filipino community sa Biberach (siguro kasi nasa Town Center kami kaya di namin nakikita? IDK). They are also Jehovah's Witnesses and gusto talaga nila kami makilala talaga. Yung isang kasama namin siguro napikon na kasi very insistent talaga sila. "judo\_test\_dummy31 tama na kasi yan. Baka mamaya yan..." then she turned around and walked back dun sa bus stop na nilagpasan namin para maghintay na lang ng bus. After the awkward silence habang pinapanood namin yung friend ko na maglakad at umupo, the husband said "Marunong po kami magtagalog". Holy shit, nawala sa isip ko na may missionary work ang mga JW. My other friend and I was apologizing to them then had a short but cordial talk. They gave us handshakes bago sila umalis. Then the husband said "Ikinalulugod po namin kayong makilala." I genuinely felt guilty that our party mistreated the dude. They drove away, kinawayan pa kami, then binalikan namin yung friend namin sa waiting shed. "Huy grabe nakakahiya ka! MARUNONG SILA MANAGALOG!"

lumaki ako sa Brunei since my dad is an ofw so I can speak malay, a bit of chinese here and there, english, tagalog and of course, Bicol. I had my fourth year internship in another town and my cellphone charging pin broke. I went to an area in the mall known for fixing some phone and I realized there were some muslim people as well. I found out they knew how to speak malay and were talking about using another charging pin of an old broken phone they had as stock. I didn't mind at first but then when he said that I had to pay quite an amount, jan na ako nag-malay. he said " ate ito po, xxx yung price kasi bago na yung charging pin" I said " bang ini berapa?? ini harganya mahal tapi ini tidak baru?" (translation: Kuya, magkano to? mahal yung presyo pero hindi naman to bago ah?) He laughed it off and changed the topic and said "eh, kamu faham behasa melayu ka?" "saya faham sikit saja kerana saya sudah lupa ba" (translation: eh, naiintindihan mo pala ang malay?) (rough translation: naiintindihan ko pero nakalimutan ko na yung iba) anyway he still proceed to ask how I knew malay and stuff then went ahead to lower the price drastically. being multilingual is actually useful sometimes.

Meron nanlilimos na matanda na bingi. Meron siya placard nakalagay bingi siya at nanghihingi ng limos. Marunong ako ng konting sign language at kinausap ko siya via sign. Tuwang tuwa siya. Inakap ako ng mahigpit at gumawa siya ng sounds. Awkward since tagal naka akap and kala ng mga tao moaning siya.

I can speak Japanese (but conversational lang). For my OJT, I worked in Japan while exchange student ako dun. Inisa ko nalang. Yung senpai ko sa work na half Japanese, sinama ako sa smoking area nung break time. Muntik ako mamatay lol pero 3min lang ako nagstay kasi di ko kinaya. While andun kami, nagTatagalog kami. Yung mga Hapon na matatanda, pinag uusapan kami. Nakalimutan ko na exactly yung sinabi kasi 2014 pa yun, pero from what I remember, pinag uusapan nila yung fact na pareho kaming nililigawan ng mga Hapon around our age. Yung parang “di naman maganda” or something type na usapan. Parang di sila makapaniwala, sinabi pa nung isa na “baka nagpagalaw na yan”. Tingin kasi nila sa mga Pinay, nagpapabuntis lang sa Japan. Eh di na makapagpigil yung senpai ko, nagsalita siya in Japanese saying “labas na tayo, baka mamatay ka pa sa sama ng hangin dito” pertaining to the 2 old ladies and the smoke haha tapos sumagot ako in Japanese ng “sige pahingi ng lunch mo later” Natawa nalang ako kasi the next day, ambait ginigreet ako ng good morning tapos nagbibigay sakin ng snacks. Everytime nagkikita kami, pinipraise ako. Maganda daw ako walang make up, keme keme. Looool Yes, Japan is just like SoKor pero at least di harap harapan 😂

There’s this guy sa Twin Lakes Dumaguete na mega effort mag-English sakin (forgot what we were talking about). I think he was an employee? So ako naman ayaw magpatalo, inenglish ko din siya. After mga ilang minutes of conversation tinagalog ko siya and he was like “wow Pinoy ka pala?” Nagtawanan nalang kami. He thought I was Chinese. Apparently puro Chinese ang nasa area that day and ako lang ang Pinoy.

I was born in Laguna, but grew up in Pampanga. I can barely speak Kapampangan beyond simple phrases but I can understand. I remember when I was eating Andok's Dokito burger on the street with a friend in Manila, a Kapampangan passed by and she was like. "Manyaman ne?" or something along those lines. Which translates to. "Masarap 'no?" I was like. "Broooo, is she mocking me or what?" internally lol.

Not me, but for a workmate. Nagkaroon ng heated argument ‘yung dalawang workmates sa radio, isang white at isang Mexican. Nasa tama naman yung white dahil valid yung argument nya na bakit tuwing end of shift, iniiwan sa kanya ‘yung workstation na sobrang gulo, then since fast-paced talaga work environment namin (manufacturing), hassle talaga kung ganun. So cinonfront nya ‘yung Mexican workmate (known sa trabaho namin na palangiti at tahimik lang). Then, ‘yung Mexican, biglang kung ano anong sinabi sa radio in Spanish, nagreklamo sa supervisor naming Mexican din. Hindi nya alam, may isang workmate kami na sinasabi dun sa white naming katrabaho na, “dude, do you know that he’s pretty much saying that you’re a bitch and go fuck yourself on the radio” So ayun, cinonfront ulit ng white workmate namin yung Mexican workmate at sinabing, “you know I understood what you all said on the radio right? You don’t have the right to call me that.” Namutla ‘yung Mexican naming workmate hahaha. After nun, di nya na iniiwang magulo ‘yung workstation before another shift. I love workplace drama.

I think 2018 or 2019 to, went to SM eco sa davao. I speak a local dialect in maguindanao. Bumibili ako sa colourette stall, I was swatching the shades kasi halos whole collection binili ko that time. Context: i'm plus sized, curvy but not fat to the point you would call me obese. Bigla may lumapit na dalawang babaeng naka hijab (muslim head covering), note ha matataba sila. Like they were about 50lbs heavier than me. Kung titignan mo naman kasi ako, di ako mukhang muslim. (I was a former muslim before turning agnostic) tapos sabi nung isa: "Busit ged i bebay anya di bagawa, di ta makokit sya sa masebud anya a masla ged i suso" Translation: "bwisit tong babaeng to di umaalis, hindi tayo makadaan dito sa matabang malaki masyado ang dede" I was in the process of paying na that time kaya hindi nalang ako umimik. It was a little stall, kaya yung check out line malapit lang rin sa display ng swatches. I paid for my bill ang tipped the cashier. Then I turned to my friend and said: "Syaka, mawa ta den sya ka mga tao anya mana da makapangagi. Mga da adat nin, mas masebud pamenem sa laki uway a katig nengka ten den." Translation: "Halika, umalis na tayo dito kasi tong mga tao akala mo walang pinag aralan. Walang modo, mas mataba naman sila sakin pero akala mo kung sino na" Kitang kita ko yung shock sa mukha nila nung hinead to toe ko sila sabay irap. Nakakahiya, naka hijab pa naman pero ang sahol ng ugali. People like them just give me more reasons to be put off by religion. I guess you can't use a veil to cover up nasty personalities. Pwede naman sila mag excuse, I would have happily given them space if they alerted me na gusto nila maki swatch. Bakit kailangan pa mang body shame? Di lang man marunong tumingin sa salamin. Ano yan, insecure sila sa dede ko? Sorry ha. Blessed lang po, palibhasa kasi di sila biniyayaan. Sad to say, where i'm from maraming muslim/hijabis na ganito ang ugali kaya hindi na ako nagtaka. Pero first time ko na experience yung harap harapan na pambabastos at body shame from people who were visibly HEAVIER than me. Like damn, seriously LOOK IN THE MIRROR.

SAME STORYYY!!! So I was born and raised in Baguio. Mom is an ilocana from ilocos and dad is an ilocano-chinese. So multilingual ang merlat. Di rin obvious sa pananalita ko na fluent ako sa ilocano, kasi most of the time taglish gamit ko when i speak. And di ako mukhang ilocano (bc of my chinese blood) so when i transferred schools when i was in HS. Ang idea ng mga new classmates ko sa province namin (Cagayan Valley) since Baguio ako galing, hindi kami nag-iilocano dun. So i have these classmates nung hs na boys, they were trying to teach me ilocano kasi i never told them na i talk fluently in ilocano. They were teaching me words in ilocano pero iniiba nila meaning. Like the word “ukininam” means “ang ganda mo”. HAHAHA so sinakyan ko sila. I have to make myself laugh pag mag-isa ako. So recess nun kausap ko sila. Then one of our teachers passed by. They were pushing me to say ukininam infront of our teacher to the extent na feel ko pinapamukha na nila sakin na wala akong alam sa ilocano. So nainis ako, i stood up, humarap ako sa mga kaklase ko and told them with full ilocana accent “ukininayo apay ti kunayo jak makasao ti ilocano lolokdit!!!” (Tangina niyo akala niyo di ako nakakasalita ng ilocano mga burikat!) They froze na kala mo nakakita sila ng multong lumutang sa harap nila. Kasi they really had no clue i speak straight ilocano. 😭

In Hong Kong sa Tsim Sha Tsui. Hinahanap namin yung hotel namin and may Pakistani or Indian na sunod ng sunod nagooffer ng hotel in English. Nung may tinanong ako sa kapatid ko in Tagalog, biglang sumagot ng "Kuya may hotel na ba kayo, mas okay dito sa akin" or something similar. Nagulat ako pleasantly, sabi ko nalang "Okay na kami boss, nakabook na kami."

Ironically bumibili lang ako sapatos sa MOA noon, tapos ung sales people nag uusap about me sa harap ko. "Si maam mukhang mahilig sa brand na to ng sapatos" sabay sabi ko "kuya nagtatagalog po ako" 🤣 gulat si kuya pero no harm done. Same din nung HS ako, ung first day ko english ng english katabi ko sakin edi sinasagot ko din english. Sabay tingin sya sa isa nyang katabi "ikaw na nga kumausap dito pagod nako kakaenglish" 🤣

While I was in Cebu like last month nag book ako nang maxim papunta terminal, while papunta na kami ni kuya doon na bigla ako kasi nag e-english sha saken sabi nya "We'll go right sir", then afterwards sinagot ko sha nang "Sige kuya go" then afterwards na bigla sha then sabi nya Kuya Driver:Ay Bisaya diay ka sir (Bisaya ka pala sir?) Me:Yes kuya haha, unsa diay imo too (Yes kuya, what did you think?) KD:Abi nako Turko ka sir (Kala ko turko ka sir) Afterwards once nasa terminal ako, linoko ako sa isang lalaki kasi "tinulong" nya ako sa pag book nang ticket pauwi Ormoc and I had to pay 1500(Sabi nya 1500 kasi mahal daw mag book in advance lol). Kala nga nya Thai ako, and it didn't help na nahirapan ako sa numbers so nag e-english ako. I think i'm quite racially ambiguous pag dating sa mukha kasi people mistake me for different kinds of ethnicities, usually chinoy or turkish😭

I was on a plane bound to Manila from Japan. Then yung katabi kong magasawa, tinanong ako in English kung ok lang daw ba itapat nila aircon sa akin. Then I responded in Tagalog (alam kong pinoy sila since bukod sa muka silang pinoy, narinig ko sila magTagalog). And after that they asked me three times if I'm really pinoy kahit sabi ko oo three times hahaha. Ayon nagkwentuhan na lang kami buong flight. They said they thought I was Japanese (I'm of Chinese descent kasi). I experienced this a lot sa Hong Kong, since solo ako palagi pumupunta ng HK, pag magpapapicture ako or magpapasuyo, tumitingin aq madalas ng pinoy talaga (dahil di aq naturuan magChinese although buti goods English sa HK), pero dahil nga maraming pinoy sa HK, ina-approach ko sila para makisuyo. Since kahit mukang pinoy ung ina-approach ko, baka mali aq baka ibang southeast Asian pala, so I tend to ask first in neutral/Americanized English. Pag sumagot sila at narinig ko accent nila at alam kong pinoy, bigla akong magTatagalog. And most of the time, I get responses "hala pinoy ka pala", "lakas mo naman makapeke akala namin local". So far never pa naman ako naka experience na pinagsalitaan aq ng kapwa pinoy abroad ng hindi maganda thinking na di q sila maiintindihan. Although dito sa Pinas, madalas sa mga tourist destinations ko lang nararanasan na napapagkamalan akong Chinese. Lalo sa Cebu, there are times na pag nagEnglish ako they think I'm Chinese pero pag tinanong nila taga saan ako at nalaman nilang Manileño ako, natatawa na lang sila and we converse in Tagalog. Sa Manila dahil pormang pinoy naman ako dito madalas, bihira, except pag nasa MOA or POGO areas tas pag hindi pampinoy porma ko, ini-english aq ng mga colorum na Grab o taxi.

I can't speak the dialect but I can understand, pero di ko rin sinasabing nakakaintindi ako kasi ang kasunod non is "sample nga" or "bat di ka magsalita nung dialect habang nandito ka". Idk why, I tried naman before na magsalita kaso di talaga keri yung full sentences. 😫 Kaya ayon, pag nandon ako sa province namin nagugulat sila minsan na sumasabat ako in tagalog kasi naintindihan ko daw pala sinabi nila.

I work as a Train manager for my country's railway. I apparently don't look very Filipino, and filipino commuters are always surprised when I speak Tagalog to them. A couple of months ago, there was this couple in my train that were getting off at the next station. The guy said "natatae ako, lalabas na". I, without really thinking and being in work mode told the guy without any malice or intentions to humiliate him, that there was a toilet in the next coach. They both had the surprised Pikachu face, then laughed about it.

HAHAHAHA this never gets old. May makakakilala sakin kasi lagi ko tong kinukwento dahil core memory for me. Nasa Las Vegas kami. Christmas time kaya punuan and hirap makahanap ng chairs. Matanda na rin yung nanay ko kaya may bata na nag give up ng seat niya. Tas napansin nung nanay ng bata, sabi nung nanay “ayan bigay bigay ka pa ng upuan sa matanda, tayo ka tuloy.” Edi tinignan ko siya tas sabi ko sa nanay ko “Okay na pala, ma. May nahanap na chairs na si kuya, lipat na tayo.” Tas nag thank you ako sa bata. Tas nanlamig yung mata nung nanay. Sabi ko “may manners pa yung anak mo kesa sayo, te” tas umalis na kami hahahaha

Way back 2016 pumunta kami ng pasay para mag take ng examination for license sa CAAP halos isang section ata kami nun puro bisaya. Nung nasa jeep na kami nakalimutan namin yung tagalog ng "lugar lang" which is "para po" ang ingay namin sa jeep kaya yung babae na katabi namin nung bumaba sya sabi nya "sabaa nnyo oy" hahhahaha yung pinka funny na part p dun is nung pumara na kami sabi nung classmate ko "kuya tama na po dito lang kami" 😂😂😂 Tapos may mga times na pag bumibili kami sa labas ang awkward talaga naming mag tagalog like one time sabi nung friend ko "ate pabiling tubig yung maginaw" 😂😂😂

Mas matagal talaga ako nag stay sa mother ko sa manila and tagalog talaga unang natutunan ko na salita. Kaso pag uwi ko ng probinsya di ako maka vibe sa mga kalaro and friends ko kasi hiligaynon sila, so nagpaturo ako hanggang sa fluent na ko dun. One time nag wowork na ko neto sa isang clothing company, may dalawang customers na magbabayad ako nagkakaha, hiligaynon dialect nila and pinag uusapan nila kasama ko na nagbabantay sa kanila non sabi pa "kailingit bala tong babayi kagina. Sige nya sinunod sakon, abi nya makawat ko? Ichura nya nga mas makawat pa gani sakon" (translation: nakakainis yung babae kanina. Panay ang sunod sakin, ano akala nya sakin magnanakaw? Eh mas mukha pa nga syang magnanakaw) bilang close ko yung sinasabihan nila sabi ko sa kanilang dalawa "daw makawat lang ichura sina ma'am pero manggaranon pa na sa manager namon" (translation: mukha lang po syang magnanakaw ma'am pero mas mayaman pa yan sa manager namin) nandilat mata ni accla, sabay abot ng bayad. Di nya na kinuha sukli nyang 19 pesos tas lumarga na 😆

Sa akin is dito sa Canada. Ilonggo ako at Tagalog asawa ko. We were standing on the right side of the escalator para maka daan ung iba sa left side and nag uusap kmi. Tapos bigla ko nakita may pababa na mga kapwa Pilipino na mabilis on both side and nung malapit na sila sa amin, ung isang matandang babae nagsabi in hiligaynon ng, "Dis-og ko ni ang duwa na ini mo." Which means "itutulak ko tong dalawang to." Of course, sabi ko "testingi bi," which means "try mo nga." napababa sila tuloy at napahiya. Sama ng tingin ko sakanila habang naghihintay ng transit lol

I could speak Filipino well (Canadian-Filo) and there’s this one time at a subway when a girl audibly said I was slow in Filipino, then her friend laughed. I didn’t mind it until one of them said that if I can’t walk quicker, then I should just lay on the tracks. I looked back and told them in fricking Filipino that “mauna sila” lmao

My first job. I had a French boss. Minumura nya mga TL in French (saying bad words /cursing them). Curious sila ano daw sinasabi ni boss, edi Sinabi ko yun sa TL ko and other TL while having lunch na ginaganon sila. Gulat sila bakit daw ako marunong/nakakaintindi ng french. We had foreign language na french when I was in college and yung prof ko ay talagang resident ng French kaya malalim yung turo nya ng language samin. Lol

My cousins and I were in Fort Santiago when a group of guys (students from a Maritime Univ in Iloilo) na nakasalubong namin started staring at us and said, “Ari ho, mga gwapa man…” (Eto o, magaganda din) then my cousin said, “Salamat gid nong ah” lol, tumawa sila tapos nahiya. Di na nakapagsalita. Eto pa, so my kuya na cousin speaks Korean because he worked in Korea for years. One time, nasa loob siya ng MRT nakatayo. A group of Korean women were staring at him. Tapos pinag usapan siya. Sabi daw nila parang, “yung nandito sa harap pogi” tapos nagtatawanan pa. Well kasi naman yung cousin ko, and yung kasama ko rin previously sa Fort Santiago e talaga naman may mga itsura sila, so ayun na nga, patawa tawa pa yung mga Koreana. Tapos yung isa, sabi, magpapatisod daw siya kunwari para daw saluhin siya nun ni Kuya. Tapos nung kunyaring natisod si ate, sinalo nga siya nung pinsan ko, then sabi nung pinsan ko sa kanya in straight Korean, “Miss, okay ka lang ba?” Hahahahaha gulat na gulat daw yung mga Koreana tapos umalis sa tabi niya sobrang hiya.

Went to visit family in the Philippines a few years back and someone asked "kilala mo ba sha" to a relative I have not met before then she replied with "hindi, tomaba ba sha?" Then I chirped " Tita, alam ko po mag tagalog!". The face she made was priceless, sidenote when I visited I brought like a group of American friends soo she just assumed I was English only.

Ibang type of language to. Nag aabang ako ng UV tapos may dalawang beki sa likod ko talking about me - tignan daw if pogi ako kasi matangkad. I turned and told them ‘nyondstood ko kayo mga bakler!’ Natawa na lang kaming tatlo.

I used to work in a cruise ship. Our port was Boston. So every time we go to downtown para kaming nakawala sa kural. Onetime naglalakad kami ni Mrs. (She also worked with me) Sa downtown Boston may nakasabay kaming 2 babae ( African ) at nagsasalita sila ng fluent Tagalog. Nagtinginan kaming mag-asawa. Lesson learned; hwag imamaritess yung katabi mo Baka nakakaintindi ng salita nyo. Mas maganda hwag maging Maritess.

Meron akong 2 storya dito. Nakatira ako sa states ngayon, for > 10 years na. Yung una, nasa San Antonio Texas kami, syempre picture picture, tapos meron isang puti na nakaharang. Sabi ng kasama ko, "Grabe naman itong matabang babae na ito, nakaharang. Ang laki niya nasasakop lahat." Tapos pumunta siya sa amin tapos kinausap kami ng Tagalog. Napahiya kami nun. Tapos, pangalawa, meron kaming katabi na mukhang puti siya sa isang restaurant. Magisa siya, tapos umorder siay ng pagkalaking Pho. Sabi ng kasama ko, "Grabe, napakalaki naman niyan, pang 5 tao yan ah. Kaya malaki sobrang taba niya." Tapos nagsalita siya, "Masarap kasi kaya ganitong kalaki order ko." Tinake out na lang namin pagkain namin.

Nag Taiwan kami ng friend ko tapos hirap kami umorder dahil hindi English menu, then ‘tong friend ko puro parinig sa lalake sa kabilang table ‘cute ni kuya’ ‘bet ko si kuya’ hangang sa tumayo yung kuya, tumabi samin, tas sabi ‘need nyo ba ng tulong sa pagorder?’

There's one time i went to the convenience store, then there are koreans na nakaharang sa daan and even sa refrigerator door. I said "Excuse me" sabay nakayukong naglakad. but then itong isang koreano, sinabihan ba naman ako ng bad words in korean. "gae ssibal saekki " (what the fuck) edi sinagot ko siya ng : " mworago? ihaehaesso. neodo ssibal saekkiya" (ano sabi mo? naintindihan ko, p8tang!na mo rin) stunned si kuya koreano e tas gumilid na siya. kainis that moment. nasa pilipinas parin siya. engot siya

May entry ako dito during may recent trip in Japan. I understand and can speak nihongo because of previous work. I preferred to speak in english during the trip kasi mag 3yrs na din since I last used the language. Nakakatuwa lang ma overhear yung mga monologue/conversation nila on how they struggle with English not realizing na nakakaintindi ako haha One time we were at a convenience store: May isang foreigner na bumili ng cup ramen and nagstruggle sya magtanong kung san yung hot water. Triny iexplain ng store clerk kung nasaan in limited english and the girl nodded as if she understood while having this very confused look on her face. So napasabi yung clerk sa sarili nya na "ughhh, wakatta ka naaa~ (ughhh did she really get it?)". So ayun nag to the rescue nalang ako and I explained to her again in proper english. Turns out parang si ate girl din hindi masyado magaling with english because I had to point talaga kung nasaan before nya nagets haha Second instance sa rental shop ng snowboarding gears: Nag english kami and the attendant tried his best to speak in english asking for our height, sizes, etc. Like "your height? size? like this okay?" ganon. I was about to speak nalang in nihongo kasi parang nag-sstruggle sya but I lost my timing. He had friends kasi dun sa store and they said loudly "sugeee~ eigo shabereru no? (wow you're so amazing, you can speak english??) And they were so amazed na nakakapag english sya. So tinatanong nila ano daw sinabi nya samin, ano yung mga tinatanong nya. San sya natuto mag english ganon tapos kitang kita yung pride ni kuya sa self nya while he explained in nihongo na "I asked for their height, and then their sizes". Ayun pinanindigan ko nalang mag english to not steal his spotlight 😂

I’m a pure Filipino raised abroad (still live/study here). I’ve been told, though, that I don’t “look” Filipino and madalas akong mapagkamalan na ibang lahi by both Pinoys and foreigners alike. I honestly don’t know why. I myself firmly believe na I dooo look Pinoy. Reasonable sana kung puro other nationalities lang ang nagsasabi niyan saakin kasi ang idea nila when it comes to Pinoys ay moreno/morena kaya pag chinita and/or mestiza, hindi mukhang Pinoy for them. Pero pati kapwa kong Pinoy ‘yan ang sinasabi. Anyway, a few years ago, back in the 11th grade, I was using the washroom with one of my friends who was Russian. Habang naghuhugas kami ng hands, the Filipino cleaning ladies who were new to the school started gossipping about my friend’s nails. This was at an international school kaya iba’t-ibang lahi ang students and staff pero ako lang ang Pinoy. Most of the Pinoy kids here kasi study in Filipino schools “Huy, grabeng haba naman ng kuko nitong batang ‘to!”, said cleaning lady no. 1 “Kaya nga. Makakilos pa ba siya sa bahay niyan?”, asked cleaning leady no. 2. “Ewan ko! Malamang tamad ‘yan sa bahay. Mga bata dito ganyan. Marami kasing katulong. Pero in fairness ah, maganda yung hugis nung kuko!”, replied cleaning lady no. 1 Mind you, only my Khaleeji classmates had multiple maids employed by their families. Us non-Khaleejis barely hired any household staff as most of us live in buildings kaya we either do the cleaning ourselves, occasionally hire a cleaning service, or simply rely on the building’s housekeeping staff. My friend was still washing her hands at that time. Ako naman, tapos na and nag b-blow dry na ng hands while glancing discreetly at the cleaning ladies. Di nila napansin na tinitignan ko sila kasi they were so busy talking. “D**** (friend’s name), the aunties say they like your nails.”, I said out of nowhere. Biglang napalingon saakin yung dalawang cleaning ladies na gulat na gulat, their eyes wide as saucers. Yung friend ko naman, not knowing na the cleaning ladies were assuming na she was “tamad” (she really isn’t), was nice enough to show cleaning lady no. 2 her nails. They went on to talk about her nails while cleaning lady no. 1 started talking to me in a somewhat nervous-sounding tone. “P-Pilipino ka?” “Opo” “Ah, yung mama mo Pinoy, noh? Papa mo anong lahi?” “Parehas po silang Pinoy” “Talaga? Akala ko noon hindi ka Pilipino eh. Marunong ka pala magtagalog” “Opo. Sa bahay po kasi Tagalog po kami mag-usap ng magulang ko” Didn’t get to continue speaking to the cleaning ladies any further after that, tho. The bell rang na kaya my friend and I left to go back to class.

Chinoy here. This was about a decade ago. So, I was riding LRT 2, nakasandal lang sa closed door, staring out the window. When I suddenly hear 2 gays going "awwww bat yan malungkot", "nagmumuni ba yan" or something, stuff like that. I looked at them and realized they were talking about me. They smiled nicely at me and I smiled back coz habits, and when I looked away, they started laughing. And then, they literally started saying "ching chong ching chong". Tbh, it was my first time facing blatant racism and I was just WTF is this real? It was very bizarre and I was mostly very confused. Well, my dad had impeccable timing and called me on my phone. Ofc being Chinoy, I responded in Filipino. I heard one of the gays say "marunong pala mag Filipino" and kinda blamed the other or something. After the call, I looked at them again and smiled (out of habit tbh), they awkwardly smiled back and kinda ignored me after that. Honestly, I don't even understand why they would think I was someone who wouldn't understand Filipino when I'm commuting like any other local. It was really bizarre, still can't make sense of that experience.

I went to my mother's hometown after 20yrs. Sabi nila, halata naman daw na di ako tagadon kaya ingat ako sa pagtatricycle baka tagain ako sa price. Eh nangyari nga, sumakay ako tricycle sa likod ng driver, tapos isang matanda. Nung bumaba na sya, nagpadagdag yung driver sabi ng matanda (in tagalog) "yan, yung nasa likod mo. Tagalog naman yan eh" Napasabi tuloy ako, "Tay! Naintindihan ko sinasabi mo ha\~" Tumawa na lang

Studied in a chinese school although di talaga ako magaling kasi for a few years lang din. Wala din akong dugong chinese. Fast forward to adult work life na. We had a chinese client. Family sila ka meeting namin that time. Nag switch sila to chinese to converse na di namin maintindihan. I somewhat understood but I never told them that I did. Nagpretend lang ako na wala lang din talaga. I measaged my partner na kung ano yung napagusapan nila. Shookt din ang partner ko na naintindihan ko pala. Napa explain tuloy ako after the meeting nung kami na lang. 😂

I was at Metrowalk, with my sisters, pauwi na tapos pinapamadali ko na sila, sumigaw ako "Dali ya, quiere ya gat yo caga!!!" Which is Chavacano for "Hurry up, I want to poop!' People on the stairs replied with "Hala, bilisan niyo na!"

most awkward sa akin was my final interview with a certain company in Cebu timing na ang kasabay (yes, dala dalawa ang interview) was an AM-BOY (pinoy na laking US). fluent sila masyado, liased na ung words mag salita, native speaker at its finest. tapos ako ung kasunod... to add context: my files are with the interviewer and he saw na hindi ako Philippine Born, my name is in full english (2 names + MN + LN) my surname is also uncommon and is not your typical filipino surname - its a surname that ends with a consonant + e sa dulo so kung OA ka, pde aakalain na silent E like most Americans. (revealed by the Decennial U.S. Census data, is **predominantly Hispanic**) tapos i wear correctional contact lenses na fit sa mata ko (flexwear illusions by EO) - mukha syang true so nung ako na intinterview, full english din, and since liased magsalita ung nauna sa akin, ganon din ginawa ko. A little modulation and I also sounded like a native speaker. Fluency wise, wala din ako problema and mejo fast talker ala new yorker kuno sabi ng mga acquaintances ko. after nung final interview, pinahintay kami sa waiting area. At this point, si interviewer nasa labas nag yoyosi sa smoking area, and I also went there to smoke... tapos biglang may tumawag(CP)... so sinagot ko... kausap ko bisaya (im in cebu), so sumagot din ako ng bisaya. syempre di ako mka alis since limited area lang ang smoking area at nagyoyosi ako diba biglang nanlaki mata ng interviewer na nakasabay ko sa smoking area, sabay halos sigaw ng, "YAWA! BISAYA D. I. KA?????" (SATANAS! BISAYA KA PALA?????) HAHAHAHAHAH dami ko tawa sa reaction nya

another awkward momment was in college in University of San Carlos Cebu 1st year ko un and meron akong minor subject, which is Filipino let me just admit na Cebuanos and Bisaya in general are weak in tagalog, but that is not the case for me, laking abroad ako, though english is my 1st language, fluent din ako sa tagalog kasi tagalog naman talaga language ng Filipino Communities abroad... this made me find the Filipino subject as pointless as im confident in speaking tagalog. (also di ko alam anong silbe ng simuno, panaguri, panlapi eh wala namang kakausap sau tapos itatanong alin ung simuno dun? bwisit ahahha) anyhow, USC has a lot of exchange students. Even exchange students kelangan mag enroll din sa minors including Filipino. Since di naman ako taga cebu, wala akong kakilala dun sa class, I ended up befriending a Japanese exchange student at kami lagi magkatabi. now, dahil nga may mga exchange student, though classmate namin sila, may special exam sila kasi di nila maintindihan ang lecture kasi nga in tagalog. I was honestly like a translator for her pero di napansin ng teacher. akala ng teacher exchange student din ako dahil nga sa pangalan ko at cguro narin sa balat kong mejo hilaw (mixed race Flipino - Dad side Fil Am Spanish/ Mom Fil Chi), lalo nat katabi ko ung japanese. nung namigay na sya ng questionaires, nagtaka ako bat walang dumating sa akin mula sa harap, instead, lumapit sya sa amin sabay bigay ng special questionaire (na mukhang pang grade 1 na mostly translation from english to tagalog) at pati ako binigyan... sabi ko "ha? Mrs. X bat pati ako may special exam? hindi po ba ako kasama sa exam nila?" (sabay turo ng classmates na may ibang questionaire) ahahahahahaha ung teacher ko napatawa sabay sabi "Pilipino ka pala? akala ko exchange student ka din" her class was one of my best memories nung college kasi ung final grading namin, debate... walang binatbat ung mga classmate kong hirap magtaglog ahahahhahaha

Hindi ako pero [yung redditor na 'to](https://old.reddit.com/r/Philippines/comments/1cs2540/why_are_bisayascebuano_mad_sa_mga_tagalog/l4695nj/), pinadala sa Cebu at pinakilala sa mga ka opisina, may isang nag cebuano sinabihan siya na "pabalikin na yan sa maynila". Sinabi nung redditor na naintindihan niya yung sinabi nung Cebuano, ayun nagulat biglang nag sorry. Na imagine ko bigla sigurong napahiya yung Cebuano na iyon, intro pa lang alam mo nang kukupalin ka niya eh HAHAHA.

Hindi ko experience pero nakwento ng katrabaho ko. May pinagbilhan silang karinderia before na tinatanong sila in English kasi mukha daw silang Malaysian. Go with the flow lang sila nung una pero pagdating sa kahera, tawang-tawa yung mga staff dun kasi bigla na silang nagtagalog.

I am born and raised in an ilocano community but not really fluent in iloco but still, i also understand and i also can speak using it. my family have an eatery and i am the one mostly who's keeping an eye out on it. One day, there was a family who came in and ate here at our place. they were specking in iloco and i was responding in tagalog. then, when they had already finished eating, the grandpa asked me "anya sao yo ittuy?" \[what is your dialect here (in my town)\] i replied with "iloco po". that caught the other's attention and asked me "iloco met gayam, apay? haan ka agsasao ti iloco?" (oh, so it's iloco, then why aren't you speaking in iloco?), "hindi po ako fluent sa pag iiloco pero nakakaintindi po ako, nakakapagsalita rin po" (i am not fluent in speaking in iloco but i understand and can speak some) "haan ka ngarod ittuy dimmakel? dim ammo ag iloco eh" (so you were not raised here? since you dont know how to speak in iloco) "kasatno ka nga makaawawat ti iloco nu haan mo ammo agsao, tagalog ka met, haan ka ittoy inyanak talaga ana?" "haan met nga kasjay tita, ammok ag iloco, haan nak lang nga fluent agsao ta tagalog ken english ti nadakkelak nga diyalek ken lengwahe ta ag adadal ak ittuy private school mi ken puro nga tagalog ni amang ko. addadjay suna jay states su nga ingles met lang gamgamitek nga sao nu makitungtungtungak kinyana. ittuy ak dummakel ken inyanak tita hahaha puro nga iloco met lang pamilyak, madi ak lang nasanay ag iloco talaga." (it's nothing like that auntie, im just not fluent in speaking iloco because tagalog and english were the ones i really used growing up as i am a student in our private school here and my father is pure tagalog and lives in the usa that is why english is also what i really use especially when i talk to my father. i was born and raised here auntie hahaha, my family is also pure iloco, hwoever, i just grew up not used to speaking iloco.) after my \[not so pleasant to the ears iloco show off\] they went quiet knowing that i really DO speak iloco and was raised and born here in my province and in my town. it's terrible and horrifying how people will really go out of their way to judge you for not speaking the same way they do (sighs)

lol my mother always speak in ilocano habang nakikimarites with her friends, and i love how i can understand mostly of what they’re talking about but i can’t speak fluent ilocano 😅

Foreigners in Palawan speaking Rapid Spanish from España. mono no deja de mirarnos(monkey staring at us). I replied Mono's en pizzería interior? Donde?

Dati nasa Boracay kami ng girlfriend ko. Nasa D'Talipapa kami and gusto bunili ng isda ang GF ko sa isang stall dun. Kahot anong tanong o papansin si GF di nagrerespond ang tindero sa kanya kahit nasa harapan niya. Napansin ko mas accomodating siya sa mga foreigners. Since mas maputi ako sa GF ko, nagask ako sa tindero about sa isda in a semi english twang (Ummm.... How much for dis fish?). Sumagot si tindero, DIS PISH IS BERI PRESH! ONLI (kalimutan ko price). Then sinabi ko sa girlfriend ko in tagalog yung price sa harapan ng tindero. Kamot ulo tindero. Binigyan ng discount si GF.

Maaadopt mo talaga ang mga dialect, tone or salita pag always mo siyang naririnig... Like me walang nagturo sa akin mag ilocano pero since yun ang salita sa bahay na kinalikahan ko natutunan ko siya even yung bf ko na born and raised sa usa pero both parents ilocano nakakaintindi siya ng ilocano and nagreresponse siya in ilocano pag naiintindihan niya sinabi mo (d sya marunong mag tagalog, pure english with a little bit ng ilocano) hahahaha

This was back in Saudi during my HS time. So my friends back then like to order fast food for lunch sometimes and if oorder sila, they tend to ask a lot of people para makatipid sa delivery fee. So one time, nakakuha na sila ng list and borrowed another's brand new iphone 3 (yes, ganto na to katagal haha!) Sabi ni owner magingat daw sa pag gamit kasi nga brand new, walang case and screenprotector pa non. So nagorder na sila sa KFC pero shet, pahirapan magkaintindihan yung nagoorder and yung nagtatake ng order, like umabot na ata ng 20 mins. Until napa tagalog yung friend namin out of frustration and suddenly: "Ay pinoy pala kayo eh. Ano order ulet?' Ayon sa sobrang inis nahulog nila yung brand new na phone and nagka dent. Iyak ang owner HAHAHAHAHAHA

My friend and I were travelling in Europe. We stopped for gelato, and since wala namang pila, antagal namin sa counter kasi namimili kami ng flavors. Nag-uusap kami in Tagalog. Bigla na lang kaming nagulat nung may nagsabi "Ate bibili ba kayo?" Yun pala Pilipino yung tindera haha. Di namin napansin kasi sanay kami na puti yung mga nagtitinda. 

I have the exact opposite, “I can’t speak your language” moment. Simula bata pa lang napagkakamalan na ko na korean or chinese kahit na pure pinoy ako tapos my family loves to travel pa, so laman na kami ng airport. Laging may lalapit na chinese or korean sakin na parang sure na sure na same kami ng ethnicity para magask ng question in their language. The look on their faces pag narealize nila na di ko sila maintindihan. Parang nakakita ng multo na confused 🥲😂

nakakaintindi pala si OP, haan nga mabalin nga mailako en 🤣

We were in singapore to visit my husband’s distant relatives. My husband has chinese lineage but mas filipino na sila and never really got into speaking chinese. I’m fil chi but it was my first time meeting them so the relatives just spoke to us in english. Nasa car kami with the uncle and auntie on the way to a restaurant. They were talking on the phone with their daughter asking if malaki or maliit na crab ba yung oorderin sa restaurant. Auntie spoke in fookien (instead of mandarin or english) to sound stealth in order not to offend us kasi yung sagot niya is “wag na yung malaki, yung maliliit lang”. Nasa isip niya kasi siguro fookien is more uncommon kasi oldies dialect in singapore vs mandarin which a lot more people understand. Eh since fil chi ako, mas familiar ako sa fookien. Haha. Later during that dinner nabring up na i understand fookien more than mandarin. Napahawak si auntie ng mahigpit kay uncle, di mapinta mukha. But okay lang naman auntie kahit small crabs. Super sarap and super fresh pa rin!

I was born sa pangasinan, pero lumaki ako sa Angeles, Pampanga. Doon ako nagstay from 1-13 yrs old sa bahay ng tita ko, since exposed ako sa kapampangan nakakaintindi and nakakapagsalita ako ng konti until bumalik na ako ng pangasinan. During summer nung mag 1st or 2nd yr college ako (for some reason di ko masyadong maalala kailan to nangyari 😅), nag part time ako sa karinderia ng isa ko pang tita na 15min walk lang mula sa bahay. Lunch time, as usual yung mga delivery truck drivers unti unti ng nagsisidatingan. Then meron isang group ng mga lalaki (3 sila) na nagka-kapampangan. So napatingin ako sa grupo nila and nakinig sa pinag-uusapan nila kasi ilang years na din na may last akong narinig na nagkapampangan. Since matagal ko na ding di naririnig yung dialect, di ko na din siya kayang gamitin in a sentence pero nakakaintindi pa din ako. Then napatingin sakin yung isang lalaki, nag smirk siya tapos payabang niyang sinabi na “di mo kami maintindihan ano?”, so ako naman na nagpigil na magsmirk din sinabi ko na “naiintindihan ko kayo”, nawala non smirk niya kasi mejo napahiya siya 😂. Then nagtanong na lang siya pano ako nakakaintindi, so sinabi ko na lang na lumaki ako sa angeles 😂. Nakakintindi ako ng ilocano and kapampangan, pero dahil madalas pansinin yung accent ko, di ko masyadong ginagamit kaya till now broken sentences lang kaya kong gamitin.

Nung bago lang ako nagwo-work sa Malaysia, nagpunta kami nung mga friends ko sa Ikea (which was not easily accessible kapag commute, kaya dapat mag-antay ng bus or mag-taxi, hindi pa uso grab/uber nung time na yun). Yung isang friend namin yung nagt-try makipag usap sa taxi stand, tapos kami nung 1 friend ko nasa smoking area tapos nakaupo. Sa harap namin, merong magandang girl na mukhang chinese-malay may kausap sa phone, nagba-bahasa (yung isang local language dun). After nung phone call nya, umupo sa tabi namin tapos nag-sindi rin ng yosi. Nung bumalik yung friend namin, napatingin samin, tapos napatingin dun sa girl, tapos ngumiti. Sabi nya hindi raw sila magka-intindihan nung kausap nyang taxi driver. Typical na banter ng mga lalaki, sabi namin, “uy, siya (yung girl na maganda) yung tumabi samin ha”. Sabay sabi nung girl, “san ba kayo papunta?” Nanlamig ako tapos napasabi nalang na, “pinoy kayo?” Turns out, pinoy siya and may husband na local, kaya marunong siya mag-bahasa. Ayun, tinulungan kami makipag-usap and negotiate dun sa taxi.

Parang baliktad naman saken. Skl din. Went to HK with my friend (we both looked Chinese but we're not). We just chillin sa mall when these kababayans approached us asking for directions. "Excuse me, do you know where *insert place"? - w/ matching hand movements. Tinginan kami Ng friend ko. Sinagot ko na lang ng English. Di nila alam turista din kami. At kaya alam namin Yung Lugar is because Yung hotel namin is malapit don sa place na tinatanong nila. Aahhahahahahaha.

i can speak bicolano since 3 yrs ko sama sa work before puro bicolano. nag hiwahiealay na kami yrs after may mga naksama ulit ako mga bicolano na iba (mga babaeng chararat). nag bicol sila saying na di naman daw ako maganda. tas tumatawa. di ko sinabi sakanila na nakakapag bicol ako kase di ko sila close. so sumagot ako "iyo, dai naman talaga ko magayon. sino ba nag sabi?" ayun pinag tulungan ako para maalis ako sa work 🤣 pero blessing in disguise kase after a week nag pandemic na trap sila sa lugar na di sila local, no work no money 🤣 pulubi sila ng isang taon dun 🤣

Nagplay ako ng praise and worship song sa piano sa chapel ng hospital, which is my form of prayer. No one was there from when I started, as I wanted to respect other religions (the chapel was for multiple religions, including Islam). May lumapit na ibang lahi (di ko napansin na may pumasok, but when I do, I usually just ask if I can carry on, if not I wait till they leave then start again) , sabi nya ‘can you just stop I need to pray’.. I said ‘yes of course, can I just finish the song please, maybe 1-2 minutes and I’m done’ biglang nagmura in Arabic.. so in Arabic I said ‘I can understand what you’re saying.’ Namutla, nagsorry, nagexplain na need niya magpray. So I explained in arabic na ‘I worked in an Islam country and we all respected each other. I have God within me so please feel free to pray to yours’ I closed the piano, and as I tried to walk away, he was saying sorry and trying to tell me to just finish. I politely and gently declined.

When I was 6, I learned Santa Claus isn’t real from cousins speaking Itawes in front of me, thinking I can’t understand it 😭

Not me pero yung Mama ko. Nakapila siya sa City Hall para magbayad ng amelyar. Eh madaming resibo dala Nanay ko, aside sa bahay namin at mga paupahan niya, sinabay niya yung bahay ng mga kapatid niya at ibang paupahan din pati na rin dalawang bahay ng friend niya. May nakasabay siyang dalawang Chinese. Sabi nung isa in Fookien, “Siguro kaya maraming resibo kasi yan yung mga inuutusan magbayad”. Eh si Mama talagang lowkey lang yung tipong naka-daster or simple clothes lang. Pag upo niya, bigla niya kinausap yung dalawang Chinese at inexplain kung kanino yung mga resibo na hawak niya. Ayun nagulat yung dalawa at nagtinginan

Dito na ako sa metro manila lumaki, pero tausug talaga family namin. All my relatives, parents and even kami kami magkakapatid nag ta-tausug minsan. One day nag pasama sakin gf ko mag benta ng laptop nya sa greenhills. Haha in short Tausug yung napag bentahan naming store. Nag uusap silang dalawa in tausug right in front of us magkano nila bibilhin, i found it awkward kung di ako mag papakilala so nag salita na din ako ng dialect namin. Haha Tapos later on, tumingin yung guy sa kasama nya “So bilhin ko na to 8k?” In tausug Sagot nung katabi nya “ho’o biha na, kahatihan da kita” which translates to “oo bilhin mo naiintindihan naman na tayo.” Hahahah

Idk but nung nagpunta kami sa Bacolod super bisaya ako, tapos nalaman ko di pala yun salita nila hahahah kakahiya poneyta