MABARA-BARA -- Another Way of Describing Objects or Conditions in Waray

Common examples of Waray adjectives are mahusay (beautiful), mabara (ugly), mataba (plump), mahugos (thin/skinny), maduas (pale), mabusag (having the quality of being white), mabaga (having the condition of being red), mapili (having the condition of being black), bulaw (brown), maupay (good), marasa (delicious), mabaho (stinky/smelly), and mahumot (fragrant).

By repeating the root word, a new meaning is created:

mahusay-husay	almost beautiful
mabara-bara	slightly ugly
mataba-taba	chubby
mahugos-hugos	slightly thin/ slightly skinny
maduas-duas	slightly pale
mabusag-busag	slightly white/ whitish
mabaga-baga	slightly red/ reddish
mapili-pili	slightly black/ blackish
bulaw-bulaw	slightly brown/ brownish
maupay-upay	slightly good
marasa-rasa	slightly delicious
mabaho-baho	a bit stinky/smelly
mahumot-humot	slightly fragrant