Skip to content

busabos

busabós with stress marks

slave, destitute

noun bu-sa-BOS Native origin Rare

Usage Note

Busabos historically referred to a person in bondage or servitude in pre-colonial Philippine society. In modern usage it carries a strong negative connotation of extreme poverty or subjugation. It can be used figuratively to describe someone treated as less than human.

Examples

Beginner

" Parang busabos ang trato sa kanya. "

Natural Translation

He/She is treated like a slave.

Literal Translation

Like slave the treatment to him/her.

Intermediate

" Ayaw ko ng pagtrato na busabos. "

Natural Translation

I dislike being treated like a slave.

Literal Translation

Dislike I of treatment that slave.

Advanced

" Hindi dapat tratuhing busabos ang sinuman, sapagkat may dignidad na taglay ang bawat tao anuman ang kanyang katayuan. "

Natural Translation

No one should be treated like a slave, because every person carries an inherent dignity regardless of their status.

Literal Translation

Not should treated-as slave the anyone, because has dignity that carried the every person whatever the his status.

Free · iOS & Android

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 work

Explore Tagalog by topic

Free guides on grammar, vocabulary, and culture to take you past single-word lookups.