The Cebuano/Bisaya word hatay means “having a long, lean body”. It is used as an adjective by native Cebuano speakers across Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, and much of Mindanao. This page covers what hatay means in Bisaya, how to pronounce it correctly, how to use it in a sentence, and related words in the same category.
Bisaya word
hatay
English meaning
having a long, lean body
Part of speech
Adjective
In Bisaya (Cebuano), hatay translates to “having a long, lean body”.
As an adjective in the Adjectives category, “hatay” is part of the core Bisaya vocabulary that learners encounter early on. Native speakers use it across all registers — casual home conversations in Cebu, busy marketplaces in Bohol, and everyday interactions throughout the Visayas and Mindanao.
Bisaya adjectives like "hatay" (having a long, lean body) typically come before the noun they describe, similar to English. You can intensify them using "kaayo" — for example, "hatay kaayo" means "very having a long, lean body". Negation is done with "dili" (not) or "wala" depending on context. Mastering descriptive adjectives like "hatay" is one of the quickest ways to make your Bisaya sentences richer and more expressive.
Hátay ang láwas sa datsun.
The dachshund has a long body.
Expand your vocabulary by learning other Bisaya adjectives in the same category as “hatay”.
Meaning shortened and example sentence adapted from Wiktionary, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
If our free Bisaya resources helped you today, consider buying the team a coffee ☕ — it keeps the site alive and growing.