maghimay
maghimáy with stress marks
to separate by hand
From root: himay
Conjugations
Past (Completed)
naghimay
nag-hi-MAY
hand-separated
Present (Incomplete)
naghihimay
nag-hi-hi-MAY
is hand-separating
Future (Contemplated)
maghihimay
mag-hi-hi-MAY
will hand-separate
Usage Note
Maghimay is the actor-focus form of himay, used for separating flesh from bone, seeds from fruit, or fibers from plant material by hand — a deliberate, detailed task common in food preparation. The root also extends to careful analytical study, so the verb appears in both culinary and figurative contexts.
Examples
" Maghimay ka ng manok. "
Natural Translation
Shred some chicken by hand.
Literal Translation
Separate-by-hand you of chicken.
" Trabaho ng kusinero na maghimay ng manok para sa sopas. "
Natural Translation
It is the cook's job to shred the chicken by hand for the soup.
Literal Translation
Job of cook to separate by hand of chicken for the soup.
" Bago ihanda ang ginataang isda, kailangan munang maghimay ng laman upang matanggal ang lahat ng maliliit na tinik. "
Natural Translation
Before preparing the fish in coconut milk, one must first pick apart the flesh by hand to remove all the tiny bones.
Literal Translation
Before to-prepare the in-coconut-milk fish, need first to-separate-by-hand of flesh so-that to-remove the all of small bones.
Tagalog builds thousands of words from a few hundred roots.
How Tagalog words workWord family
himay has 1 related form built from the same root.
Related Words
Explore Tagalog by topic
Free guides on grammar, vocabulary, and culture to take you past single-word lookups.

Languages of the Philippines: Tagalog, Cebuano, and More
Languages of the Philippines: one national language (Filipino) plus 180+ regional languages. Here's who speaks what, where, and why it matters to you.

Tagalog vs Filipino: What's the Difference & Which to Learn
Tagalog and Filipino aren't the same language — but they overlap almost completely. Here's the real difference and which one you should actually learn.

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.

How to Say Sorry in Tagalog: Patawad vs Pasensya
How to say sorry in Tagalog: patawad, pasensya na, and paumanhin compared on a simple severity-and-formality ladder so you pick the right word every time.