Learn Cebuano for your trip
Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor and Dumaguete: the phrases locals love to hear.
- 10 modules
- 4 missions
- 227 phrases to search, hear and save
- 2 games
Try it free for 14 days.
Photo credit
Photo by Jarno Colijn (opens in a new tab) on Unsplash, used under the Unsplash License (opens in a new tab).
A travel guide with First Steps and an Island travel track, and four missions: eating at a carinderia, riding a jeepney or tricycle, shopping at a market, and booking an island-hopping boat.
Real situations, one at a time.
4 missions, each a situation you will meet on a trip. You practise the key language, then the conversation.
Missions
Eat at a carinderia
Order a full lunch at a local carinderia, without knowing the dishes' names, and leave the cook smiling.
Ride a jeepney or tricycle
Get from A to B by jeepney or tricycle, right route, right fare, right stop.
Shop at a market
Buy pasalubong or fruit at a market stall at a fair price, and leave on friendly terms.
Book an island-hopping boat
Book a boat trip with no surprises: agreed price, clear inclusions, confirmed times and a bad-weather plan.
The Cebuano you learn, in order.
It starts with First Steps, the survival language for your first hour, then a travel track for the places you will go.
- 1First StepsMaayong buntag, salamat, palihug, and how to get what you need.
- 2Island travelLugar lang! jeepneys, markets, boats and friendly strangers.
- 10
- modules, each in short lessons
- 118
- words and expressions
- 16
- sentence patterns
- 227
- phrases in the phrasebook
Cebuano you can use on day one.
These are from the first lessons. In the app each has audio, a note on when to use it, and a way to save it.
Maayong buntag, Ma'am!
Good morning, madam!
Salamat kaayo!
Thank you very much!
Pila ni?
How much is this?
Palihug, balika.
Please say that again.
Ang bill, palihug.
The bill, please.
Gusto ko og kape.
I'd like a coffee.
Wala ko kasabot.
I don't understand.
Three things about Cebuano for a traveller.
Where Cebuano is spoken
Cebuano is the everyday language in Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor and Dumaguete. In Davao it is mixed with plenty of Tagalog. The notes say which is which.
Rides and boats
Two missions cover the transport visitors use: jeepneys and tricycles on land, and boats between islands.
A short guide
Ten modules and a small phrasebook are enough for a first trip. If a phrase is not how you say it, any lesson has a Report a mistake link.
Places the course has notes on.
Each note is a habit of that place, so you know what to expect where you are going.
Cebu
Cebu City, Mactan, Moalboal, Oslob, Malapascua
Bohol
Panglao, Tagbilaran, Chocolate Hills. Boholano accent
Siquijor
San Juan, Larena, Lazi
Dumaguete & Negros Oriental
Dumaguete, Dauin, Apo Island, Valencia
Siargao & Surigao
Surigaonon locally; Cebuano widely understood
Davao
Davao City: Cebuano with plenty of Tagalog mixed in
The same app plans the trip you are learning Cebuano for.
Takes your phrases offline
Download the travel guide on Wi-Fi. The phrasebook, survival and travel packs, local notes and audio then work with no signal.
Plans the trip too
Put places on days, save the TikToks and reels that gave you ideas, see the stops on a map and share the plan.
Keeps your travel map
Colour in the countries you have been to and the ones you want to go to.
About learning Cebuano.
Is Cebuano different from Tagalog?
Yes. They are separate languages. English works in many places in the Philippines, and a few phrases in the local language are welcome. If you are going to Manila, see the Tagalog guide.
Which islands does it cover?
Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor and Dumaguete in detail, with notes for the places around them.
Is the audio from native speakers?
No. The audio is generated. It is a guide to the sounds, and the more you hear Cebuano spoken locally the closer you will get. Any lesson has a Report a mistake link if a phrase is not how you would say it.
Going somewhere else?
Say your first Cebuano phrase in a few minutes.
Create a free account, pick Cebuano, and start with the phrases for your first hour.
Try it free for 14 days.