'Iniibig kita': UP Department of Linguistics shares ways to say 'I love you' in over 200 Philippine languages

The most promiment entry in the list is Tagalog's "Iniibig kita."

But what about the more common "Mahal kita" as used especially in Filipino movies and songs?

In a lecture titled "Lexicon Unpacked: Pag-ibig," linguist Jesus Hernandez cited the 1860 Vocabulario de la Lengua Tagala by Juan de Noceda and Fr. Pedro de Sanlucar. There, "mahal" originally pertained to something that's expensive (caro, de mucho valor, precioso, noble).

National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario, together with Elvin Ebreo and Anna Maria Yglopaz, in their 2016 translation defines "mahal" as "mataas ang halaga, mahalaga, marangal."

The 1972 English-Tagalog dictionary of Jose Villa Panganiban also defines "mahal" as being "expensive" and "high-priced," Hernandez noted. Other definitions include "beloved," "held in great esteem," "noble," and "highly born."

"Does this mean na through time naging love ang kahulugan?" he said, noting of estimation of worth. "And you thought it's all romantic. It's all about the moolah."

Hernandez, then, said it's "ibig" that has more passion, basing from its etymology referring to desire and cravings. Kapampangan's "ibug" means having a taste for something, while Tiruray's "ibeg" pertains to appetite or saliva. The word also has something to do with a snake's venom, hinting at intensity—even risk—as seen in the expression "Makamandag ang pag-ibig."

Here's how you can say Those Three Words in other Philippine languages and dialects.