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

No comments:

Post a Comment