kuya

See also: kũya

English

Etymology

From Tagalog kuya, from Hokkien 哥仔 (*ko-iá).

Noun

kuya (plural kuyas)

1. (Philippines) An elder brother.^[1]
2. (Philippines) A respectful title or form of address for an older man.^[1]

References

1. “kuya, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, June 2015.

Anagrams

• Yuka, yuka

Cebuano

Etymology 1

From Hokkien 哥仔 (*ko-iá) as per Chan-Yap (1980)^[1] and Manuel (1948)^[2] with an older obsolete form of the diminutive suffix^[3][4] as a weak form of 囝 (kiáⁿ, káⁿ). Cognate with Tagalog kuya and Kapampangan koya.

Noun

kuya

1. an elder brother
2. a respectful title or form of address for an older man

Etymology 2

Unknown

Noun

kuya

1. an oyster; any member of the family Ostreidae

References

1. Chan-Yap, Gloria (1980) “Hokkien Chinese borrowings in Tagalog”, in Pacific Linguistics, volume B, number 71 (PDF), Canberra, A.C.T. 2600.: The Australian National University, page 141
2. Manuel, E. Arsenio (1948) Chinese elements in the Tagalog language: with some indication of Chinese influence on other Philippine languages and cultures and an excursion into Austronesian linguistics, Manila: Filipiniana Publications, page 33
3. Dictionario Hispánico-Sinicum‎ (overall work in Early Modern Spanish, Hokkien, and Classical Mandarin), kept as Vocabulario Español-Chino con caracteres chinos (TOMO 215) in the University of Santo Tomás Archives, Manila: Dominican Order of Preachers, 1626-1642, page 344/366; republished as Lee, Fabio Yuchung (李毓中), Chen, Tsung-jen (陳宗仁), José, Regalado Trota, Caño, José Luis Ortigosa, editors, Hokkien Spanish Historical Document Series I: Dictionario Hispanico Sinicum‎, Hsinchu: National Tsing Hua University Press, 2018, →ISBN
4. Medhurst, Walter Henry (1832) “Yëá 仔”, in A Dictionary of the Hok-këèn Dialect of the Chinese Language, According to the Reading and Colloquial Idioms: Containing About 12,000 Characters, (overall work in Hokkien and English), Macao: The Honorable East India Company's Press by G. J. Steyn and Brother, page 736

Mato

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈku.jɑ]

Noun

kuya

1. rain

References

• Phonological Descriptions of Papua New Guinea Languages (2005, SIL, edited by Steve Parker), section Mato (Nenaya, Nengaya, Nineia) Language, page 28: kuya [ˈku.jɑ] 'rain'

Ngiyambaa

Noun

kuya

1. fish

Tagalog

Alternative forms

• coya, cuya — obsolete, Spanish-based orthography
• koya — now colloquial

Etymology

Borrowed from Hokkien 哥仔 (*ko-iá) as per Chan-Yap (1980)^[1] and Manuel (1948)^[2] with an older obsolete form of the diminutive suffix^[3][4] as a weak form of 囝 (kiáⁿ, káⁿ). Cognate with Cebuano kuya and Kapampangan koya. Compare guya and piaya.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈkuja/ [ˈkuː.jɐ]
• Rhymes: -uja
• Syllabification: ku‧ya

Noun

kuya (Baybayin spelling ᜃᜓᜌ)

1. elder brother; big brother

   Synonym: (Nueva Ecija) kuyang

   Tumutulong si kuya sa aming mga magulang sa mga gawaing bahay.

   Our big brother helps our parents do housework.

2. (informal) term of address for a male senior (in school, work, etc.)

   Synonym: (Nueva Ecija) kuyang

   Tinanong ko ang kuya sa hayskul, "Kuya, ano po ang mga gawain niyo sa hayskul".

   I asked my senior from high school, "Bro, What activities do you do in high school?"

3. (informal) term of address for any young male: mister; bro

   Synonyms: (Nueva Ecija) kuyang, (slang) kuys

   Bumili ako ng sorbetes kay kuya.

   I bought ice cream from the mister.

4. (Bulacan, informal) eldest male cousin
5. (Laguna, Quezon, informal) uncle

Coordinate terms

• ate

Derived terms

• kuyang
• kuys
• magkuya

 

Related terms

• ahiya
• diko
• sangko
• siko

 

See also

• kaka
• mama
• manong

 

References

1. Chan-Yap, Gloria (1980) “Hokkien Chinese borrowings in Tagalog”, in Pacific Linguistics, volume B, number 71 (PDF), Canberra, A.C.T. 2600.: The Australian National University, page 141
2. Manuel, E. Arsenio (1948) Chinese elements in the Tagalog language: with some indication of Chinese influence on other Philippine languages and cultures and an excursion into Austronesian linguistics, Manila: Filipiniana Publications, page 33
3. Dictionario Hispánico-Sinicum‎ (overall work in Early Modern Spanish, Hokkien, and Classical Mandarin), kept as Vocabulario Español-Chino con caracteres chinos (TOMO 215) in the University of Santo Tomás Archives, Manila: Dominican Order of Preachers, 1626-1642, page 344/366; republished as Lee, Fabio Yuchung (李毓中), Chen, Tsung-jen (陳宗仁), José, Regalado Trota, Caño, José Luis Ortigosa, editors, Hokkien Spanish Historical Document Series I: Dictionario Hispanico Sinicum‎, Hsinchu: National Tsing Hua University Press, 2018, →ISBN
4. Medhurst, Walter Henry (1832) “Yëá 仔”, in A Dictionary of the Hok-këèn Dialect of the Chinese Language, According to the Reading and Colloquial Idioms: Containing About 12,000 Characters, (overall work in Hokkien and English), Macao: The Honorable East India Company's Press by G. J. Steyn and Brother, page 736

Further reading

• “kuya”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018

Anagrams

• ukay