damo
/daˈmo/
The Filipino word for "weed" is damo.
damo is used to refer to an unwanted plant. In Filipino, this same word is also used to mean "grass". The specific meaning depends entirely on the context of your sentence.
Meaning: unwanted plant (noun)
Which one should you use?
While damo can mean "weed," it is also the standard word for "grass." Additionally, by adding the suffix -han to the end, you form the word damuhan, which refers to a grassy area or a field of weeds.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
/daˈmo/
Did you know?
- In some slang, the word damo is used to refer to 'drugs' or 'marijuana', playing on the literal meaning of the plant.
- While damo is used for 'weed' and 'grass', the word damong-ligaw literally translates to 'stray grass' to specify a wild weed.
- The word damo might actually be a semantic loan from the English word 'weed' via a complex linguistic path involving the Malay word 'damoh', which means 'filthy'.
Examples in context
- Maraming damo sa hardin.There are many weeds in the garden.
- Bunutin mo ang mga damo.Pull out the weeds.
- Mabilis tumubo ang mga damo.The weeds grow quickly.
Example conversation
Antonio is working in the backyard garden.
- PatriciaAntonio, marami nang damo sa paligid.Antonio, there are many weeds around now.
- AntonioOpo, lilinisin ko ito mamaya.Yes, I will clean this up later.
- PatriciaSige, baka maubos ang oras natin.Alright, we might run out of time.
- AntonioGagawin ko na agad ang pagbunot.I will start pulling them out immediately.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry damo, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries damo, CC BY-SA 4.0.
