lugi
lugî with stress marks
financial loss; at a loss
Usage Note
Lugi comes from Hokkien Chinese and refers to incurring a loss in business or a transaction. It is extremely common in everyday speech beyond commerce — Filipinos use it whenever they feel they got the short end of any deal, whether financial or social ('lugi ako dito' — I'm getting a raw deal here).
Examples
" Lugi ako sa bilihan. "
Natural Translation
I lost money on the purchase.
Literal Translation
At-a-loss I in the buying.
" Lugi ang tindahan. "
Natural Translation
The store is at a loss.
Literal Translation
At a loss the store.
" Kahit mababa ang presyo, lugi pa rin ang tindahan dahil mas mataas ang gastos kaysa sa kita. "
Natural Translation
Even though the price is low, the store is still at a loss because the expenses are higher than the income.
Literal Translation
Even-if low the price, at-a-loss still the store because more high the expense than the income.
Tagalog builds thousands of words from a few hundred roots.
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