Tagalog profanity

File:Short clip of Philippine president Rodrigo Roa Duterte saying, among other things, "Putang ina mo".webm.]]

Owing partly to its use in speeches by 16th Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, the phrase putang ina mo (sometimes shortened to tang ina or minced as PI){{Cite web|last=Sayuno|first=Cheeno Marlo M.|year=2012|title=Discouragement, distraction, and defeat: a variation analysis on trash talk by child online gamers|url=https://www.academia.edu/3184405|publisher=University of the Philippines–Los Baños|via=Academia.edu}}{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} has received considerable international attention and controversy as to its meaning. Puta is a borrowed word from Spanish, in which language it means "whore". Ina is Tagalog for mother, while mo is the indirect second person singular pronoun. Therefore, if translated word-for-word, the phrase means "your whore mother".{{Cite news|url=http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=27961|title=What did Duterte call Obama?|last=Zimmer|first=Ben|date=2016-09-06|newspaper=Language Log|language=en-US|access-date=2017-01-17}}

However, most Tagalog speakers dispute this simplistic translation, instead alternately rendering the phrase as "son of a bitch"{{Cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/erinhale/2016/11/24/video-of-philippine-president-rodrigo-duterte-cursing-out-british-journalist-goes-viral/#7a832bde782a|title=Video Of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Cursing Out British Journalist Goes Viral|last=Hale|first=Erin|date=24 November 2016|newspaper=Forbes|access-date=2017-01-17}} or as a variation of the word "fuck".{{Cite news|url=http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20160906/world/obama-cancels-meeting-with-philippines-president-after-son-of-a-bitch.624234|title=Obama cancels meeting with Philippines' president after "son of a bitch" insult|date=6 September 2016|newspaper=Times of Malta|access-date=2017-01-17}}

According to linguist Ben Zimmer, given the context and how the meaning of puta has shifted in Tagalog, the best translation of Duterte's original expletive directed to US President Barack Obama "Putang-ina, mumurahin kita diyan sa forum na iyan. Huwag mo akong ganunin." would be "Fuck, I will cuss you out at that forum. Don't do that to me."

Besides being directed at people, putang ina can be just as well directed at inanimate objects: University of the Philippines Los Baños Associate Professor of Communication, Research, and Children's Literature Cheeno Marlo M. Sayuno has documented the use of "tang ina error!" as an expression of exasperation due to PC errors, and "Uy net! Putang ina mo!" as something akin to "Hey, [slow] internet [connection], fuck you!" As in the English fucking, the phrase can also be used as an adjective, as in the case of "putanginang aso" ("fucking dog") or "Diyos ko, putanginang buhay ko!" ("God, fuck my shitty life!"){{Cite web|url=http://tagaloglang.com/bad-words-in-tagalog/|title=Bad words in Tagalog|website=Tagalog Lang|year=2002|access-date=2017-01-17}}

This non-literal meaning of the phrase putang ina mo has twice been affirmed by the Supreme Court of the Philippines: first in 1969 in its decision to Rosauro Reyes v. The People of the Philippines (G.R. No. L-21528 and No. L-21529),{{Cite court|litigants=Rosauro Reyes v. People of the Philippines|court=Supreme Court of the Philippines|opinion=G.R. Nos. L-21528 and L-21529|url=http://www.lawphil.net/judjuris/juri1969/mar1969/gr_l-21528-29_1969.html}} and then in 2006 in its decision to Noel Villanueva v. People of the Philippines and Yolanda Castro (G.R. No. 160351).{{Cite court|litigants=Noel Villanueva v. People of the Philippines and Yolanda Castro|court=Supreme Court of the Philippines|opinion=G.R. No. 160351|url=https://lawphil.net/judjuris/juri2006/apr2006/gr_160351_2006.html}} In Reyes, a certiorari appeal to a criminal defamation and grave threats case, the court acquitted the defendant, ruling that his use of a protest sign reading "Agustin, putang ina mo" did not constitute defamation as

{{Blockquote|text=[Putang ina mo] is a common enough expression in the dialect that is often employed, not really to slander but rather to express anger or displeasure. It is seldom, if ever, taken in its literal sense by the hearer, that is, as a reflection on the virtues of a mother.|sign=|source=}}

In the 1991 biopic action film Boyong Mañalac: Hoodlum Terminator, the main character (portrayed by Eddie Garcia) and most of the ensemble cast frequently used "{{Lang|tl|Putang ina mo}}" in most scenes.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4E15IfGDvM |title=BOYONG MAÑALAC |date=2009-09-06 |last=marioneil09 |access-date=2024-12-15 |via=YouTube}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDxmUtYhXdU |title=Boyong Mañalac Puro Mura Scene |date=2018-05-09 |last=Mahiru Shiina |access-date=2024-12-15 |via=YouTube}}

In Juan Karlos' song "Ere" in the chorus "{{Lang|tl|Hmm, 'di ba? Nakakaputang ina}}" ("Hmm, alright, isn't it fucked up?"), Lorin Bektas reads on word until her mother Ruffa Gutierrez asked, "What? Did you say a bad word?" Lorin jokingly said, "It's in Filipino, it doesn't count." Gutierrez posted the video recording their conversation on her TikTok account.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gmanetwork.com/entertainment/celebritylife/family/18862/ruffa-gutierrez-reacts-to-lorin-bektas-singing-jk-labajos-ere/photo/|title=Ruffa Gutierrez reacts to Lorin Bektas singing JK Labajo's 'Ere'|website=GMA Entertainment|year=2023|access-date=2023-10-19}}

In Tililing, Yumi Lacsamana, Donnalyn Bartolome and Candy Pangilinan use the phrase while fighting over a panty: "{{Lang|tl|Putang Ina mo! Panty ko yan Magnanakaw ka! Panty ko yan!}}" ("Fuck you! That's my panty you thief! That's my panty"), "{{Lang|tl|Tang ina mo ka! Ayan Isaksak mo! Isaksak mo sa Baga mo!}}" ("You fucking bitch! Shove it! Shove it into your lungs!") and "{{Lang|tl|Tumahimik Kayo! Putang Ina niyo!}}" ("Shut up! Fuck you!").

In Revirginized, Sharon Cuneta uses her word while on the beach, "{{Lang|tl|I am sorry, sorry talaga at pakialamera ako, sorry iniintindi ko kayo, Lahat putang ina! iniintindi ko!}}" ("I am sorry, I'm really sorry and I care, I'm sorry I understand you, All mother whores! I understand!").

In Villanueva, another slander case involving two local politicians of Concepcion, Tarlac, the court reiterated its interpretation of the phrase, but the other facts of the case precluded acquittal.

Hiya is a Filipino psychological concept similar to face and modesty in other cultures. Author Mary Isabelle Bresnahan has described it thus: "just as the sensitive makahiya plant protects its inside from direct touch, so too do people hold back in defense of loob [their inner selves]."{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l1XxCbYcVpsC&q=%22walang+hiya+ka%22&pg=PA45|title=Finding Our Feet: Understanding Crosscultural Discourse|last=Bresnahan|first=Mary Isabelle|date=1991-01-01|publisher=University Press of America|isbn=9780819182081|pages=44|language=en}} When translated to English, the words "shame", "embarrassment" and "dishonor" can be employed as a substitute for hiya depending on context.

Like much Tagalog profanity, the phrase "Walang hiya ka!" (You have no shame!) can vary in offense taken from very little to "the ultimate loob-wounding comment" depending on context and the relationship between the speaker and the receiver. According to Gerhard van den Top, allegations of shamelessness are most damaging when the social class of people differ, and the poor may consciously avoid interaction with the rich to prevent even unspoken damage to hiya.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KBAyvht2J_AC&q=bulatao+%22shyness%2C+timidity%22&pg=PA333|title=The Social Dynamics of Deforestation in the Philippines: Actions, Options and Motivations|last=Top|first=Gerhard van den|date=2017-01-17|publisher=NIAS Press|isbn=9788791114144|pages=333|language=en}}

In his oft-cited 1964 article "Hiya", psychologist Jaime C. Bulatao defines Walang hiya as "recklessness regarding the social expectations of society, an inconsideration for the feelings of others, and an absence of sensitivity to the censures of authority or society."{{Cite journal|last=Bulatao|first=Jaime C.|date=1964-09-30|title=Hiya|url=http://www.philippinestudies.net/ojs/index.php/ps/article/view/2603|journal=Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints|volume=12|issue=3|page=430|doi=10.13185/2244-1638.2659 |issn=2244-1638}}

Unlike in many other languages, Tagalog has no word for excrement that would be considered considerably vulgar, such as English shit or Spanish mierda. The two Tagalog words for feces, tae and dumi, are closer to the sense of the English poop. In fact, these words are often used even in medical contexts: a pagtae is a bowel movement, while pagtatae references diarrhea.{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/tagalogdictionar0000ramo|url-access=registration|quote=magtae.|title=Tagalog Dictionary|last=Ramos|first=Teresita V.|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|year=1971|isbn=9780870226762|pages=[https://archive.org/details/tagalogdictionar0000ramo/page/279 279]|language=en}} Tae, is, however, considered by some to be slightly more crass than the more euphemistic dumi.{{Cite news|url=http://www.spot.ph/this-is-a-crazy-planets/28919/meditations-on-a-sign|title=Meditations on a Sign|last=De Veyra|first=Lourd Ernest|date=2009-08-12|newspaper=Spot.ph|access-date=2017-01-17}} In medical contexts, the words derived from the more euphemistic dumi is used to sound more pleasant, like pagdumi for bowel movement instead of pagtae & pagdudumi/pagdurumi for diarrhea instead of pagtatae. Nevertheless, these words can still be used to cause offence if the speaker adds to them, of course, as in the expression Kumain tae (eat shit). Sometimes, tae can also be used as a variation of tangina mo, replacing it with taena which is used as a milder version of tangina.

Descended from the Spanish puñeta, the Tagalog version of this word is seldom used in the Spanish sense of "wanker", but rather as an interjection expressing frustration, disappointment,{{Cite news|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/isabellelaureta/anak-bad-yan|title=16 Totally Useful Filipino Swear Words And How To Use Them|last=Laureta|first=Isabel|date=2015-08-18|newspaper=BuzzFeed|access-date=2017-01-17}} or misery.{{Cite news|url=http://www.spot.ph/newsfeatures/54133/10-popular-pinoy-insults|title=10 Popular Pinoy Profanities|date=2013-08-16|publisher=Summit Media|newspaper=Spot.ph|language=en|access-date=2017-01-18}} When punyeta is used as an insult directed at a person as in "Mga punyeta kayo!" (You are all punyeta(s)!),{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y4ZkAAAAMAAJ&q=punyeta|title=Rite of Passage: And, Her Father's House : Plays|last=Mas|first=Glenn Sevilla|date=2005-01-01|publisher=UST Publishing House|isbn=9789715063135|pages=18|language=en}} it has a sense similar to the English word asshole.

This word was used heavily by John Arcilla, who portrayed General Antonio Luna in the 2015 Philippine epic film Heneral Luna, in lines such as "{{Lang|tl|Ingles-inglesin mo ko sa bayan ko?! Punyeta!}}" (Speaking English to me in my own country? What an asshole!).{{Cite news|url=http://www.manilatoday.net/si-heneral-luna-si-tay-emok-at-ang-opisyal-na-pahayag/|title=Si Heneral Luna, Si Tay Emok at ang Opisyal na Pahayag|last=Villabroza|first=Francis|date=2015-09-27|newspaper=Manila Today|language=tl|trans-title=General Luna, Tay Emok and Official Declaration|access-date=2017-01-17}} Ambeth R. Ocampo, writing in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, criticized the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) for giving the film a R-18 rating despite the use of this word and others just because the swear words were Spanish-derived. Cristine Reyes was swearing in the catfight scene with Isabelle Daza in ABS-CBN's afternoon Drama Tubig at Langis where shot in Bolinao, Pangasinan, "{{Lang|tl|Halika rito, Punyeta ka! Makati Ka! Makakati Ka!}}" (Come here, You asshole! You Itch! You Very Itch!), Sharon Cuneta used her word in 2021 Vivamax film Revirginized, in lines such as "{{Lang|tl|sa punyetang ano bang... itong impyernong 'to?!}}" (in asshole what the hell... is this?!), John Lapus used his word in 2012 film Moron 5 and the Crying Lady, in lines such as "{{Lang|tl|Punyeta Panis!}}" (That's spoiled asshole!).{{Cite web|url=http://opinion.inquirer.net/88985/what-mascardo-said-that-got-lunas-goat|title=What Mascardo said that got Luna's goat|last=Ocampo|first=Ambeth R.|date=2015-09-30|website=opinion.inquirer.net|access-date=2017-01-17}} Other observers have described punyeta as being as obscene as putang ina mo.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51539Z10E4w&pp=ygUbdHViaWcgYXQgbGFuZ2lzIGJpZyB0cm91Ymxl|title=Big Trouble {{!}} Tubig at Langis|date=2016-05-19|website=YouTube}}

Gago is a descendant of the Spanish word gago, which means "stutterer", but means "stupid", "foolish" or "ignorant" in Tagalog. It is interchangeable with the related terms of native etymology: tanga, (b)ugok, botlog, (b)ulol and bobo.

Slang terms derived from gago are kagaguhan ("a foolish action" [noun form]), ogag (same meaning as gago),{{Cite news|url=http://www.newsgra.ph/2247/putragis-atbp-origin-meaning-10-filipino-curse-words/|title=Putragis! atbp: Origin and meaning of 10 Filipino curse words|last=Anorico|first=Philip|date=2013-12-22|newspaper=NewsGraph Philippines|language=en-us|access-date=2017-01-18}} and nakakagago ("to be made to feel stupid").

Ulol, loko, and sira ulo can be used similarly, but they are not interchangeable; they also imply madness or mental retardation on top of stupidity.

According to Article 27 ("On-Air Language") of the Association of Broadcasters of the Philippines's 2007 Broadcast Code of the Philippines, "Name-calling and personal insults are prohibited."{{Cite web|url=http://www.kbp.org.ph/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/Broadcast-Code-of-2007.pdf|title=2007 Broadcast Code of the Philippines|last1=Gozum|first1=Diana C.|last2=Aguirre|first2=Axel B.|year=2007|publisher=Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (Association of Broadcasters of the Philippines)|access-date=2017-01-19|display-authors=1}} While this code is strictly voluntary and only affects members of the organization, as the organization counts among its members widely syndicated channels such as ABS-CBN and TV5, penalties for breaking this rule affect a large number of broadcasters and media personalities: fines start at {{₱|link=yes}}15,000, and quickly escalate to {{₱|link=}}25,000 and a 90-day suspension.

Like many Spanish words borrowed into Tagalog, gago is gendered: the female form for a single woman or group of women is gaga, while gago is used for a single man, a group of men, or a group of men and women.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E8tApLUNy94C&pg=PA97|title=Tagalog Reference Grammar|last1=Schachter|first1=Paul|last2=Otanes|first2=Fe T.|date=1982-12-27|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520049437|location=University of California, Berkeley|page=96|language=en, tl|via=Google Books}}

According to the UP Diksiyonaryong Filipino, gago is also used in the sense of mahina ang ulo (a slow learner).{{Cite book|title=UP Diksiyonaryong Filipino: Binagong Edition|publisher=Anvil Publishing, Sentro ng Wikang Filipino, University of the Philippines|year=2010|isbn=9789716350340|editor-last=Almario|editor-first=Virgilio S.|edition=2}}

Pakshet is a portmanteau of the English words "fuck" and "shit", altered to fit the phonology of Filipino; the words pak and shet can also be used on their own to similar effect. While most commonly used as an interjection, rather non-intuitively for English speakers, pakshet can also be used as an insult describing a person, as in Pakshet ka!,{{Cite news|url=http://astig.ph/cathy-garcia-molina-accused-cursing-humiliating-talents-forevermore/|title=Cathy Garcia-Molina accused of 'cursing', 'humiliating' talents in Forevermore|last=Bernales|first=French|date=2016-01-01|newspaper=Astig Philippines|language=en-US|access-date=2017-01-25}} which could be rendered as Fuck you! or [You] asshole! in English.

Summit Media's Spot.ph online magazine claims that the word pakshet was popularized by the 2002 film Jologs, but given its etymology, it may date back to the first American contacts with the Philippines.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

Bwisit (sometimes spelled buwisit), is a Tagalog expression used for unlucky events, or for something that is a nuisance. Mildly vulgar, it derives from the Philippine Hokkien expression {{Lang|zh|無衣食}} ({{Lang|min-Latn|Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bō-uî-sít|italic=no}}), literally meaning "without clothes or food".{{cite book|last1=Chan-Yap|first1=Gloria|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lU4HAQAAIAAJ|title=Hokkien Chinese borrowings in Tagalog|date=1980|publisher=Dept. of Linguistics, School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University|isbn=9780858832251|page=133|language=en}} An example of use would be "{{Lang|tl|Buwisit naman 'yang ulan na 'yan}}", meaning, "Damn that rain!", literally, "That rain is so annoying!"{{Cite web|last=Muntinlupa|first=Jake|date=2019-10-22|title=10 Filipino curse words you hear all the time|url=https://kami.com.ph/42950-ay-p-10-filipino-curse-words-hear-time.html|access-date=2020-06-28|website=Kami|language=en}} In Tagalog dub of 2gether: The Series, Thai actor Win Metawin on his dub on trailer said "{{Lang|tl|Bwisit Ka!}}", "Damn you!" or "you're annoying".{{cite web |title=2GETHER The Series Full Trailer {{!}} Coming Soon on Kapamilya Channel! {{!}} Dubbed in Filipino |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhptvRB2P3Q&pp=ygUSMmdldGhlciB0aGUgc2VyaWVz |website=YouTube |accessdate=Jun 13, 2020|date=2020-06-13 }}

Leche, alternatively "Letse", is used as an expression of annoyance or anger. It can be used as an interjection i.e. "leche!", or in a sentence. It is in the same context of "bwisit" i.e. "bwisit na mga tao 'to; leche na mga tao 'to (lit. these people are annoying) which can be contextually translated to "these fuckin' people." It became popular when Spanish was still the language used by a major demographic in the country. Leche or letse (Spanish for "milk") is derived from the Spanish profanity "Me cago en la leche," which literally translates to "I defecate in the milk" where leche is a euphemism for ley ("law"), referring to the Law of Moses.{{cite web |title=Why is "Milk!" a Filipino expletive? |url=http://askthepinoy.blogspot.com/2010/12/why-is-milk-filipino-expletive.html |website=Ask A Filipino! |accessdate=Dec 27, 2010|date=2010-12-27 }}

Hinayupak is another Tagalog vulgar word, referring to a person acting like an animal, which has as its root the word hayop, which means "animal". Hayop can be used on its own as well, as in, mga hayop kayo!, meaning, "you animals!".

Lintik is a Tagalog word meaning "lightning", also a mildly profane word used to someone contemptible, being wished to be hit by lightning, such as in "Lintik ka!. The term is mildly vulgar and an insult, but may be very vulgar in some cases, especially when mixed with other profanity. Sometimes, lintik is also used as a verb through adding verbalizing affixes, such as in "Malilintikan ka sa akin!", that may roughly translate to English "Get damned!" or "Goddamn you!''".{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

Tarantado may refer to someone who is foolish or stupid. "Taranta" also means being irritated or panicked in Tagalog.

{{Expand section|date=June 2020}}

Susmaryosep is a Roman Catholic–inspired profanity invoking the Holy Family, i.e. Jesus, Mary and Joseph.{{cn|date=April 2022}} Sus itself can be used as an interjection before a sentence invoking a surprising or annoying thing, such as in, Sus! Ano bang problema mo?, which translates in English meaning "Jesus! What's your problem?".{{cite web | url=https://www.tagaloglang.com/sus/ | title=SUS... What does the Tagalog word "sus" mean? | date=8 January 2022 }} However, the American English sense of suspiciousness became more spread out in the sense of this slang term.

File:Bibingkajf.JPG, a type of Filipino rice cake, is a common euphemism for the vagina.]]

Like most other languages, Tagalog has a wide variety of profane words for the action of intercourse and the names of genitalia or parts thereof.

In Tagalog, the vagina is most often referred to with the words puki, kiki, pipi, kikay, kiffy, or pekpek; tinggil is used for the clitoris, titi, otin and burat are used for the penis and bayag for the scrotum. All of these words are considered considerably rude in general conversation, and Tan notes that latinate English words for genitalia, such as "penis" and "vagina", are almost always considered more polite.

As in other languages, euphemisms for genitalia abound: the male genitalia may be alternately referred to as a saging (banana), an ahas (snake), or a talong (eggplant), among other names. Researcher Michael Tan notes that the euphemisms for the vagina are considered more vulgar than those for the penis, and as such are fewer; but noted among them are mani (peanut), bibingka and bulaklak (flower). He posits patriarchal norms as the reason for this discrepancy.

Suso is the term most often applied to the breasts, but it is not considered profane and has connotations of breastfeeding; boob, imported from English slang, is the most widely used term for breasts that might be considered impolite. Tagalog has no analog of the vulgar English word ass: the word puwit, meaning buttocks, carries no particular sexual meaning on its own.

Tuli is a male circumcision rite of passage in the Philippines, and being uncircumcised is considered in many parts of the country to be taboo;{{Cite news|url=http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/219779/news/nation/tuli-a-rite-of-passage-for-filipino-boys|title=Tuli a rite of passage for Filipino boys|last=Cupin|first=Bea|date=2011-05-06|newspaper=GMA News Online|language=en-US|access-date=2017-01-25}} the vulgar word supot (literally, plastic or paper bag) refers to an uncircumcised male and denotes immaturity,{{Cite book|last=Rafael|first=Vicente L.|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5PZXhmERFYMC&pg=PA253|title=White Love and Other Events in Filipino History|date=2000-08-07|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=9780822325420|pages=252|chapter=Notes to Chapter Five|postscript=. Note 56.}} and even poor hygiene. This is not unique to the Philippines; being uncircumcised was once highly taboo in Korea,{{Cite journal|last=Sea-ling|first=Cheng|date=2000-12-01|title=Assuming manhood: Prostitution and patriotic passions in Korea|url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12140-000-0019-0|journal=East Asia|language=en|volume=18|issue=4|pages=40–78|doi=10.1007/s12140-000-0019-0|s2cid=151100287|issn=1096-6838|url-access=subscription}} and remains so among Muslims.{{Cite journal|last=Abu-Sahlieh|first=Sami A. Aldeeb|date=1994|title=To Mutilate in the Name of Jehovah or Allah: Legitimization of Male and Female Circumcision|url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/mlv13&id=579&div=&collection=|journal=Medicine and Law|volume=13|issue=7–8|pages=575–622|pmid=7731348}}

According to a study involving the use of "sexual keywords" among twenty female participants by researcher Michael L. Tan, sexual terms in Tagalog have widely different connotations: some words, such as kantot or hindut, are undeniably profane in all contexts, while others, such as euphemistic use of the verbs gamit (to use), mag-ano (to do "you know what") or mangyari (to happen), "ginalaw" (to move) are more socially acceptable. Some words for intercourse are English derived: mag-do (to "do it"), mag-sex (to have sex) and the plain verb fuck are reportedly common among upper class Filipinos. "Isinuko ang Bataan" (coined after the "Fall of Bataan" during World War II) is a connotation for a woman to give her virginity to a man by letting him penetrate her.{{Cite web|url=https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/04/03/opinion/columnists/500-years-of-valor-and-victory/859006/|title=500 years of valor and victory|website=The Manila Times |date=3 April 2021}}

Tan posits that most sexual language in the Philippines is patriarchal: it focuses on the actions and expectations of the male, rather than female, participants. As an example, gamit tends to be used as Ginamit ako ng mister ko ("My husband 'used' me"), but such turn of phrase would never be used by a straight man. Tan uses other metaphors, such as the relationship between the euphemisms pagdidilig ("to water plants") and magpadilig ("to be watered"), and a woman waiting patiently for sex is described as uhaw (thirsty), to forward this theory: in his view, the Tagalog language subconsciously puts the woman in the passive role.

Anal intercourse, even when between a man and a woman, has its origins in homosexual slang: terms such as an-an and uring are used to describe it. Other names for sexual acts and positions have their histories rooted in Spanish: cunnilingus is referred to as brotsa (from brocha), while fellatio is tsupa (from chupar). Male masturbation can be referred to as jakol, lulu, salsal, bato or bati; descriptions of female masturbation typically employ the verb mag-finger ("to finger oneself").

To avoid breaching broadcast rules, some stations have trialed neural networks which listen to the speech of actors and guests/contestants real time during live performances, and automatically censor certain words.{{Cite book |doi = 10.1109/HNICEM.2014.7016183|chapter = A small vocabulary automatic filipino speech profanity suppression system using hybrid Hidden Markov Model/Artificial Neural Network (HMM/ANN) keyword spotting framework|title = 2014 International Conference on Humanoid, Nanotechnology, Information Technology, Communication and Control, Environment and Management (HNICEM)|pages = 1–5|year = 2014|last1 = Ablaza|first1 = Fernando I.|last2 = Danganan|first2 = Timothy Oliver D.|last3 = Javier|first3 = Bryan Paul L.|last4 = Manalang|first4 = Kevin S.|last5 = Montalvo|first5 = Denise Erica V.|last6 = Ambata|first6 = Leonard U.|isbn = 978-1-4799-4020-2|s2cid = 16272833}} In a paper explaining the system, particular attention was paid by the De La Salle University researchers to censoring potentially insulting words such as gago and ulol.

• Filipino culture
• Filipino psychology
• Swardspeak
• Bakla

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Category:Profanity by language

Category:Tagalog words and phrases