mabaho
/maˈbahoʔ/
The Tagalog word for smelly is mabaho.
Mabaho is used to describe a wide range of unpleasant odors, from body odor to rotting food or sewage. To describe specific smells, you can use phrases like amoy pawis for a sweaty smell or body odor, baho ng hininga for foul breath and mabahong paa for stinky feet. If a smell is particularly offensive, you might use the phrase nakakasukaang amoy to express that something has an unpleasant smell.
Meaning: having a bad smell (adj)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is composed of the prefix ma- (indicating an abundance or presence of a quality) and the root baho (smell/odor, specifically a bad one).
How does it change in a sentence?
As an adjective, mabaho can be used with the linker -ng to modify a noun, such as mabahong basura (smelly trash).
How do you pronounce it?
/maˈbahoʔ/
Did you know?
- The word baho is also used in the phrase baho ng loob, which literally translates to 'smell of the inside' but actually refers to a person's bad character or hidden malice.
- In the Philippines, the word baho is used exclusively for unpleasant smells, whereas amoy is a neutral term for any scent.
- Despite the negative meaning of mabaho, certain traditional Filipino foods like bagoong (fermented shrimp paste) are described as having a 'strong' smell that some consider mabaho but delicious.
Examples in context
- Ang bulok na isda ay mabahoThe rotten fish is smelly.
- Ang amoy pawis niya ay nakakadiriHis body odor is disgusting.
- Ang nabubulok na prutas ay may nakakasukaang amoyThe rotting fruit has an unpleasant smell.
- Mabaho ang basura sa labas.The trash outside is smelly.
- Bakit mabaho ang medyas mo?Why are your socks smelly?
- Mabaho ang paligid dahil sa baha.The surroundings are smelly because of the flood.
Example conversation
Jasmine and Juan are standing near a kitchen trash can.
- JasmineJuan, mabaho ang basurahan.Juan, the trash bin is smelly.
- JuanPasensya na, Jasmine, kukunin ko na.I'm sorry, Jasmine, I will take it out now.
- JasmineSige, pakidala na agad.Okay, please take it out immediately.
- JuanO sige, gagawin ko na.Alright, I will do it now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “smelly” translations and entries mabaho, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
