The Cebuano/Bisaya word suway means “to try / to attempt”. Pronounced SU-way, it is used as a verb across Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, and much of Mindanao. This guide covers what suway 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), suway translates to “to try / to attempt”. The word has multiple closely related meanings: to try, to attempt, all used depending on context.
Bisaya word
suway
English meaning
to try
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 suway, put the main stress on the uppercase syllable in SU-way. Practice by saying it slowly first, then gradually speed up to natural conversational pace.
Suwayon ko ang bag-ong resipe.
I'll try the new recipe.
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