Every August, the Philippines celebrates Buwan ng Wika, and this year I wanted to do something a little different on hayopetc.com.
Instead of just writing about animals, I wanted to write about what we call them in Filipino
Some of them are Spanish words we borrowed.
Some are older than written records.
Some are shared with our neighbors across the sea, reminders of ancient trade routes and migrations that connected this archipelago to the rest of Asia long before anyone drew borders on a map.
And some of them, honestly… are just funny.
Here are 30 Filipino animal names, where they came from, and what they reveal about who we are as a people.
This is not a complete list.
It couldn’t be.
The Philippines has 175 living languages, and almost every one of them has its own names for the creatures that share these islands with us.
Think of this as a starting point.
(A quick note: the names here are primarily Tagalog-based Filipino, which is the national language. Regional names in Cebuano, Ilocano, Waray, Maranao, Tausug, and dozens of other Philippine languages often differ significantly. Maybe that’s a future article.)
30 Animal Names in Filipino
| English | Filipino | Origin | Story Behind the Name |
| Dog | Aso | Pre-colonial Filipino | One of the oldest words in the language — found in nearly every Philippine dialect in some form |
| Cat | Pusa | Pre-colonial Filipino | Pusa appears across many Visayan languages too, though some regions say ‘kuting’ or ‘miming’ |
| Pig | Baboy | Pre-colonial Filipino | Baboy ihalas (wild pig) and baboy ramo are common terms for wild pigs in Mindanao and the Visayas |
| Carabao / Water Buffalo | Kalabaw | Pre-colonial Filipino | The national animal of the Philippines — the word kalabaw is believed to come from the word ‘kerbau’ |
| Horse | Kabayo | Spanish: caballo | One of many animal names borrowed from Spanish colonizers — the pre-colonial word was rarely preserved |
| Cow / Cattle | Baka | Pre-colonial Filipino | Baka is also the Tagalog word for ‘maybe’ — context is everything |
| Chicken | Manok | Pre-colonial Filipino | Manok appears in ancient Philippine epics and is deeply embedded in folklore and traditional ritual |
| Duck | Pato | Spanish: pato | Another Spanish borrowing — though ‘itik’ is the more common term for native Philippine ducks |
| Goat | Kambing | Malay: kambing | Shared with Malay and Indonesian, reflecting ancient trade connections across the archipelago |
| Monkey | Unggoy | Pre-colonial Filipino | The Philippine Macaque (Macaca fascicularis) is called matsing in older Tagalog literature |
| Eagle | Agila | Spanish: aguila | The Philippine Eagle is called Agila ng Pilipinas |
| Crocodile | Buwaya | Pre-colonial Filipino | Buwaya is also slang for a corrupt person — arguably unfair to actual crocodiles, who at least are honest about what they are |
| Snake | Ahas | Pre-colonial Filipino | The giant reticulated python is called sawa in Filipino — a completely different word, reflecting how significant a distinction it was |
| Python | Sawa | Pre-colonial Filipino | Sawa also means ‘fed up’ or ‘satiated’ in Filipino — which feels appropriate for a snake that eats whole pigs |
| Lizard / Monitor Lizard | Bayawak | Pre-colonial Filipino | Bayawak is also used in some areas to describe someone who is sneaky or opportunistic |
| Frog | Palaka | Pre-colonial Filipino | Palaka is also slang for someone who talks too much — the comparison to a frog’s constant croaking is fairly obvious |
| Fish | Isda | Pre-colonial Filipino | A catch-all term — there are hundreds of specific Filipino names for individual fish species that most young Filipinos have never heard |
| Shrimp / Prawn | Hipon | Pre-colonial Filipino | Hipon is internet slang for someone who is attractive from behind but not from the front — named after the shrimp’s headless appeal when served |
| Crab | Alimango / Alimasag | Pre-colonial Filipino | Alimango is the mud crab; alimasag is the blue swimmer crab — Filipinos have always made the distinction that English speakers collapse into one word |
| Dolphin | Dolphin / Lumba-lumba | Pre-colonial Filipino | Lumba-lumba is the poetic pre-colonial term, still used in literature and wildlife conservation contexts |
| Whale | Balyena | Spanish: ballena | The pre-colonial term ‘dambuhalang isda’ (giant fish) was used but balyena from Spanish has largely replaced it |
| Sea Turtle | Pawikan | Pre-colonial Filipino | Pawikan is a deeply respected word in coastal communities — in many areas harming a pawikan is still considered bad luck… not to mention illegal… so yeah… bad luck… |
| Butterfly | Mariposa / Paro-paro | Spanish / Pre-colonial | Mariposa came with the Spanish; paro-paro is the older native word and still widely used, especially in poetry |
| Bird | Ibon | Pre-colonial Filipino | Ibon is a catch all term for birds |
| Bat | Paniki | Pre-colonial Filipino | In many provinces the large fruit bat (kabog) is considered a delicacy — Pampanga has famous dishes made from it |
| Ant | Langgam | Pre-colonial Filipino | Hantik or red weaver ants are eaten in some parts of the Philippines — their sour taste comes from formic acid |
| Bee | Bubuyog | Pre-colonial Filipino | Pukyutan is another term for bee or wasp — both words appear in traditional folk songs |
| Tokay Gecko | Tuko | Pre-colonial Filipino | Common in most households. Leave them alone for a pest-free home. |
| Firefly | Alitaptap | Pre-colonial Filipino | One of the most poetic animal names in Filipino — the word itself sounds like what it describes |
| Dragonfly | Tutubi | Pre-colonial Filipino | Tutubi appears in Filipino children’s songs and folk games — one of the first animal words many Filipino kids learn |
What the Names Tell Us
If you look at the list carefully, a pattern emerges. Animals that Filipinos have lived alongside since before recorded history (dogs, cats, pigs, carabaos, chickens, crocodiles, sea turtles) have pre-colonial names. These words survived centuries of colonization, religious conversion, and the systematic suppression of indigenous culture because they were too embedded in daily life to erase.
Animals that arrived with the Spanish (horses, cows as large livestock, domesticated ducks in some regions) often carry Spanish names, because they were new to the archipelago and came with their foreign words attached.
Animals shared with our Malay and Indonesian neighbors (goats, some fish species) carry Austronesian roots, evidence of a connected maritime world that existed long before the Philippines was called the Philippines.
And then there are the words that evolved into something uniquely Filipino… buwaya meaning both crocodile and corrupt politician, sawa meaning both python and satiated, hipon becoming internet slang for a specific kind of er… attractiveness.
Language is alive.
It moves and adapts and surprises you.
Maligayang Buwan ng Wika.
Ang wika natin ay salamin ng ating kalikasan at kasaysayan.
Our language is a mirror of our nature and our history.
Take care of both.
Here I am a year ago struggling with the Filipino language
