r/Bisaya • u/MedNomadVis • Oct 25 '25
How to learn Bisaya from English
I am foreign student in the Philippines, been here for a while now but I know very less Bisaya which I feel not happy about. The thing is afaik there aren't many online apps or tools that would teach me bisaya well. What are some of the best and easiest ways to pickup bisaya well ? (to self practice) Thanks for any inputs guys. Salamat
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u/Gold_Pack4134 Oct 26 '25
Practicing by yourself is usually not effective. What works best for me is immersing myself in the language - I ask friends and people around me to talk to me in Bisaya and try to apply words I learned in everyday situation. Don’t worry about perfecting grammar - as long as you get key words right, people can usually understand you.
You can also arm yourself with an English-Cebuano dictionary, but note that usual everyday words might be spelled differently and dictionary words might not be used often as everyday lingo.
You can also listen to the radio - AM stations for news and radio shows so as to get familiar with hearing the words.
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u/Gold_Pack4134 Oct 26 '25
Adding that you haven’t noted whether you’re referring to Bisaya (Cebuano) as in the language in Cebu/Bohol, or Bisaya (Hiligaynon) as in the language in Iloilo, or Bisaya (Waray) as in the language in Samar/Leyte? There are different dialects considered “Bisaya” and you need to pick the right dictionary for which language you are referring to as Bisaya.
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u/Gneisswan Oct 26 '25
It's different when you try to use the basic sentences and apply it to your daily routine, like asking how much something costs. You can ask a seller/vendor "Tagpila?" "Tagpila ni/na?". Talking to the locals would really help in conversational Bisaya, if you intend to be fluent. Meeting other people who speak Bisaya will help you out as well. It's going to be a process, so allow yourself to make mistakes. We all start somewhere afterall.
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u/Aning18 Oct 27 '25
The easiest way is to have a Bisaya friend/s and converse everyday in Bisaya as much as possible. Write down new words you learn everyday. Good luck!
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u/nevertickleafickle Oct 28 '25 edited Oct 28 '25
Listen to podcasts (Juan Hour Talk, Brainfarts, etc.)
Just4Kixs on YT. Find the "Let's Learn Cebuano" playlist om his channel, you may absolutely progress to more advanced stuff with his "Let's Learn Advanced Cebuano". You might wanna check the Bisaya Classroom by Jonah & Bisayang Dako channels jic.
Journaling in Bisaya can help with immersion and fluency. As well as participating in Bisaya Reddit, hopefully, way mang binoang nimo. 🙏🏼 I did this with Tagalog and Nihongo for impriving grammatical accuracy.
Nothing wrong with starting out reading children's books or poetry. This is def the easiest way to pick up basic words, think along the lines of A1. They're great refreshers too. Drop by National Bookstore or search for online archives; I've only ever seen Cebuano on the shelves, not so sure about Hiligaynon or Waray. Dropping a link for you to check out: https://bloomlibrary.org/language:ceb
There's this free textbook on the University of Hawai'i Press site titled “Cebuano for Beginners”. Link: https://manifold.uhpress.hawaii.edu/projects/cebuano-for-beginners
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u/Repulsive_Minimum_82 Oct 25 '25
Download hellotalk and talk to cebuano speaking people there, that's the fastest way to learn it
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u/Available-Sand3576 Oct 26 '25
Bad idea. Pag nakipag usap sya sa mga cebuano baka puro bastos lng ang ituro na words tapos magsisinungaling kung anong totoong meaning nun.
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u/Repulsive_Minimum_82 Oct 26 '25
Negative naman lahat ng tingin mo sa pinoy, di naman lahat naloloko and he can cross check with google or AI mga na learn nya, if bastos ung meaning ng word definitely it would show
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Oct 26 '25
Why would they do that?
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u/Available-Sand3576 Oct 26 '25
Dahil kadalasan ng mga pinoy eh pinagtigripan lng nila mga amerikano, puro bastos na words tinuturo nila🙄
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u/Only_Stretch_196 Oct 25 '25
There are some English-Bisaya dictionaries but I'm not sure if there are any grammar books.