The Cebuano/Bisaya word kugos means “to hug / to embrace”. Pronounced KU-gos, it is used as a verb across Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, and much of Mindanao. This guide covers what kugos 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), kugos translates to “to hug / to embrace”. The word has multiple closely related meanings: to hug, to embrace, all used depending on context.
Usage note: A warm, affectionate word used freely with family and close friends.
Bisaya word
kugos
English meaning
to hug
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 kugos, put the main stress on the uppercase syllable in KU-gos. Practice by saying it slowly first, then gradually speed up to natural conversational pace.
Gikugos niya ang iyang inahan.
She hugged her mother.
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