Mabuhay! I hope this post finds you well. My name is Leanne, and I'm a Filipino. In this special angel-town blog segment, I will be telling you about my favorite words, phrases, and quirks in the Filipino language.
Ever since I've moved to the Philippines, my favorite Filipino slang word/verb has always been "hataw" which the means something like "doing something extremely hard".
For example, if I say that "humahataw talaga si ate girl sa dance floor", I meant that "sis is really dancing her ass off as if the rent is due."
Unfortunately, Google Translate doesn't really understand the slang context of "hataw" and instead shows its denotative meaning, which is either "hitting" or "beating". Yikes.
Before you use this word to a Filipino, you have to make sure that they are kind enough and knowledgeable about the fact that you will be using this word in a slang context. Most likely, we are okay with that. Please do not beat anyone in real life.
That is all for Leanne's Filipino Trivia of the Week! Next week, we will be discussing about the many different Philippine words that mean "beautiful". Paalam!