How the Warays Greet Each Other on New Year's Day

The truth is, it is very rare to hear a Waray speaker greet his/her fellow Waray on New Year's Day using the local language. We just say "Happy New Year" to each other. The usual answer is "Happy New Year gihap" or "Happy New Year liwat." Both responses mean "Happy New Year, too." (The second version is how we say it in Northern Samar.)

For us, "Malipayon nga Bag-o nga Tuig" sounds formal and is only appropriate when greeting a large crowd or audience, e.g., during a speech or homily. When greeting friends, we use its English equivalent in order to sound casual.

Despite the reasons mentioned above, I still recorded a voice clip with the following phrases:

Malipayon nga Bag-o nga Tuig - Happy New Year

Malipayon nga Bag-o nga Tuig ha iyo nga tanan - Happy New Year to everyone

Malipayon nga Bag-o nga Tuig sa iyo nga tanan (N. Samar)- Happy New Year to everyone

Your Waray relatives will surely be thrilled upon hearing you saying "Happy New Year"  in their own language. But before that, you should first try pronouncing the following words: nga, nganga, nga tanan.

Now, you're ready.