The Cebuano/Bisaya word ampo means “to pray / a prayer”. Pronounced AM-po, it is used as a verb across Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, and much of Mindanao. This guide covers what ampo means in Bisaya, how to pronounce it, when to use it, common example sentences, and how it compares to similar Cebuano words.
In Bisaya (Cebuano), ampo translates to “to pray / a prayer”. The word has multiple closely related meanings: to pray, a prayer, all used depending on context.
Bisaya word
ampo
English meaning
to pray
Part of speech
Verb
Capital letters mark the stressed syllable — say it louder and slightly longer.
Bisaya stress is phonemic, meaning the wrong stress can change a word's meaning or make it unrecognisable to native speakers. For ampo, put the main stress on the uppercase syllable in AM-po. Practice by saying it slowly first, then gradually speed up to natural conversational pace.
Mag-ampo kita sa wala pa mokaon.
Let's pray before we eat.
Praying before meals is standard in most Cebuano Catholic households.
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