The Cebuano/Bisaya word utan means “vegetable dish / vegetable stew”. Pronounced U-tan, it is used as a noun across Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, and much of Mindanao. This guide covers what utan 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), utan translates to “vegetable dish / vegetable stew”. The word has multiple closely related meanings: vegetable dish, vegetable stew, all used depending on context.
Usage note: Utan specifically refers to a cooked vegetable dish or stew, not raw vegetables.
Bisaya word
utan
English meaning
vegetable dish
Part of speech
Noun
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 utan, put the main stress on the uppercase syllable in U-tan. Practice by saying it slowly first, then gradually speed up to natural conversational pace.
Mokaon ta ug utan nga may kalabasa.
Let's eat vegetable stew with squash.
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