ngalukabkab
ngalukábkab with stress marks
chipping away of paint from a wall
Usage Note
Ngalukabkab describes the specific phenomenon of paint or plaster peeling and flaking off a wall or surface — the kind seen on old buildings or neglected walls during the rainy season. It is evocative and precise, more common in descriptive or literary Tagalog than in everyday speech.
Examples
" May ngalukabkab ang lumang pader. "
Natural Translation
The old wall has chipped paint.
Literal Translation
Have chipped-paint the old wall.
" Kailangan nating pinturahan muli ang pader dahil may mga ngalukabkab na ito. "
Natural Translation
We need to repaint the wall because it already has chipped paint.
Literal Translation
Need we to-paint again the wall because have plural chipped-paint already this.
" Tuwing tag-ulan ay lumalala ang ngalukabkab ng pintura sa aming bahay kaya napilitan kaming ipaayos ito bago pa lumala. "
Natural Translation
During the rainy season the peeling of the paint on our house worsens, so we were forced to have it fixed before it got worse.
Literal Translation
Every rainy-season worsens the peeling-paint of paint on our house so forced we to-have-fixed it before still worsen.
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