The Philippines has a rich vocabulary, with modified words from languages such as English and Spanish. The fun parts are the slang words, which are invented by locals and continue to evolve through time. To better understand the Filipino language and culture, explore the awesome local slang words listed here. Slang words • Kilig (ki-lig) (In short A feeling of excitement or butterflies in your stomach) When you watch romantic films or catch your crush staring at you, what exactly do you feel? In most cases, people will describe the feeling as a kind of loved-up giddiness. But in the Philippines, people refer to this feeling as kilig. Having no direct translation in English, the word describes that butterfly-in-your-stomach kind of excitement during a romantic encounter. •Jowa Direct translation: boyfriend / girlfriend You can use this when referring to your special someone in Tagalog. Additionally, if you want to say that someone is a girlfriend/boyfriend material, you can say “jowable.” •Charot (cha-rot) / Just kidding This is another popular slang word that Filipinos love to inject into their everyday conversations. When you accidentally say something that you don’t really mean and others think you’re being serious, add this word at the end of the sentence. They’ll instantly believe you are indeed joking. In some cases, Filipinos add the word charot to their jokes. That’s because in Filipino culture you can’t be too direct or blunt. •Chika (chee-kah) / Gossip The slang word chika can mean two things — either something that’s not entirely true (e.g., gossip, rumors, etc) or some new information that your friends are expecting to hear from you. For example, “Have you heard about the latest chika (gossip)?” or “Ano’ng chika mo?” (What’s new with you?). ©