The Cebuano/Bisaya word hugaw means “dirty / unclean”. Pronounced HU-gaw, it is used as an adjective across Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, and much of Mindanao. This guide covers what hugaw 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), hugaw translates to “dirty / unclean”. The word covers closely related meanings — dirty, unclean — the right one depends on context.
Bisaya word
hugaw
English meaning
dirty
Part of speech
Adjective
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 hugaw, put the main stress on the uppercase syllable in HU-gaw. Practice by saying it slowly first, then gradually speed up to natural conversational pace.
Hugaw na ang imong sinina, palita na.
Your shirt is already dirty, change it.
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