# Vegetarian (makagulay, maka-)



## tagalogstudent

Out of sheer curiosity, I translated the word "vegetarian" into Tagalog, to see what would come out.

I got the phrase "taong makagulay at hindi kumakain ng karne."

I know that this is not a simple translation; it HAS to be a translation for a phrase.

So, I broke up each individual word in order to get a literal translation.  I got "people makagulay and not eating meat."

Well, I've got MOST of it down.  But, what does "makagulay" translate into in English?


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## DotterKat

You are referring to the use of the affix "_*maka*_" in the formation of an adjective.  Used this way, _maka _can only be followed by a noun (as in your example, maka-gulay). What it means is a *predilection, fondness, liking, tendency, propensity *or *love *_*for*_ the noun that follows the _maka _affix. Therefore, your word maka-gulay means a predilection, fondness or liking for vegetables (gulay).

The same rule would follow for other _maka_ affix + _noun _pairings like maka-Diyos, maka-Pilipino, maka-Amerika, maka-tao, etc.  All of those adjectives mean a predilection for the noun that follows the _maka _affix.

Just to be clear, I explained the use of the _maka _affix in the formation of an adjective (it can only be followed by a noun for this purpose), which is what you asked about.  The same affix can be followed by a verb (makakuha, makapunta, etc.) but that is for a totally different use altogether.

Finally, though the grammatical construction is correct,  it is uncommon to hear _maka-gulay_. It is far more common to hear _mahilig sa gulay_, variations thereof or forms of negations as in:

Mahilig siyang kumain ng gulay.
Gulay lang ang kinakain niya.
Hindi siya kumakain ng karne.


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## niernier

I found this previous discussion concerning -phile Vs -phobe and thought it will be a point of interest. To my ears, there's no such thing as makagulay in Tagalog. Although in other Filipino languages(Bicol, Cebuano, etc), we say "makigulay"(one who loves to eat vegetables) wherein the maki prefix is equivalent to maka in Tagalog. I think that makagulay is yet to be heard from a native speaker. It sounds odd by the way, so I don't say makagulay. Variations given by DotterKat are perfect.

You can say:

*Taong mahilig kumain ng gulay at hindi kumakain ng karne.* -> This is more of a definition of the word 'vegetarian' than a translation.


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## tagalogstudent

DotterKat said:


> You are referring to the use of the affix "_*maka*_" in the formation of an adjective.  Used this way, _maka _can only be followed by a noun (as in your example, maka-gulay). What it means is a *predilection, fondness, liking, tendency, propensity *or *love *_*for*_ the noun that follows the _maka _affix. Therefore, your word maka-gulay means a predilection, fondness or liking for vegetables (gulay).
> 
> The same rule would follow for other _maka_ affix + _noun _pairings like maka-Diyos, maka-Pilipino, maka-Amerika, maka-tao, etc.  All of those adjectives mean a predilection for the noun that follows the _maka _affix.
> 
> Just to be clear, I explained the use of the _maka _affix in the formation of an adjective (it can only be followed by a noun for this purpose), which is what you asked about.  The same affix can be followed by a verb (makakuha, makapunta, etc.) but that is for a totally different use altogether.
> 
> Finally, though the grammatical construction is correct,  it is uncommon to hear _maka-gulay_. It is far more common to hear _mahilig sa gulay_, variations thereof or forms of negations as in:
> 
> Mahilig siyang kumain ng gulay.
> Gulay lang ang kinakain niya.
> Hindi siya kumakain ng karne.


Ah, so, "vegetarian" means "people who like not eating meat."

Is that it?


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## mataripis

If do not agree with "Maka Gulay" or "Maki Gulay",  I am sure " Lamang ang Gulay" is more clear.


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## latchiloya

tagalogstudent said:


> Ah, so, "vegetarian" means "people who like not eating meat."
> 
> Is that it?


wit regard to your first question its is a yes.


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