Usage Note
Bikás is a native Philippine plant (Abroma augusta), a fibrous shrub whose bark has traditionally been used to make rope and coarse cloth. Its medicinal root has been used in folk remedies. This is a specialized botanical term rarely encountered outside of agricultural or ethnobotanical discussions.
Examples
" Matibay ang hibla ng bikás. "
Natural Translation
The fiber of the hemp vine is strong.
Literal Translation
Strong the fiber of hemp-vine.
" Ginagamit ang balat ng bikás para gumawa ng lubid. "
Natural Translation
The bark of the heartleaf hemp vine is used to make rope.
Literal Translation
Used the bark of-the hemp-vine to make rope.
" Mula sa balat ng bikás, gumagawa ang mga magsasaka ng lubid na matibay at hindi agad nabubulok. "
Natural Translation
From the bark of the hemp vine, farmers make rope that is strong and does not rot quickly.
Literal Translation
From the bark of hemp-vine, make the farmers of rope that strong and not immediately rots.
Take Tagalog with you
The full course, a 12,500-word dictionary, and flashcards that make every word stick — free to start on iOS and Android.
Tagalog builds thousands of words from a few hundred roots.
How Tagalog words workRelated Words
Explore Tagalog by topic
Free guides on grammar, vocabulary, and culture to take you past single-word lookups.
Filipino Family Words and Honorifics: Ate, Kuya & Tita
Filipino family words like ate, kuya, tita, tito, lolo, and lola go far beyond family — learn how Filipinos use them with strangers, plus mano po etiquette.
Tagalog Word Order: Sentence Structure Made Simple
Why Tagalog puts the verb first, and how ang, ng, and sa markers work. A clear guide to VSO word order, forming questions, and negation.
How Long Does It Take to Learn Tagalog?
Survival Tagalog takes ~3-4 weeks and comfortable conversation 6-12 months. FSI's 1,100 hours is the professional bar, not the talking-to-family bar.
Seasons in the Philippines: A Tagalog Guide
The Philippines has two seasons, not four. Learn tag-araw, tag-ulan, and taglamig, the generative tag- prefix, and the weather vocabulary to match.