barangay

English

Alternative forms

• balangay
• Brgy. (abbreviation)

Etymology

Borrowed from Philippine Spanish barangay, from Tagalog balangay.

Pronunciation

• (Philippines) IPA^(key): /bɐ.ɾɐŋˈɡaɪ̯/

Noun

barangay (plural barangays) (Philippines)

1. The smallest local government unit in the Philippines, a subdivision of a city or municipality.

   Synonym: barrio

   Near-synonyms: (rural) village, (urban) neighborhood, quarter, (urban) city block

   • 1987, Marcelo M. Orense, Nelia R. Marquez, Philippine Yearbook, page 77:

     Because of this active involvement of the civilian and other auxiliary units (e.g. barangay tanod), the police are able to devote their time and resources to the control and prevention of serious crimes.

   • 1991 October 28, “Miscellaneous and Final Provisions”, in Official Gazette: Republic of the Philippines, volume 87, number 43, page 263:

     The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) shall establish and administer an appropriate system under which the punong barangay, the members of the sangguniang barangay, the barangay secretary, the barangay treasurer, and the members of the brangay tanod shall enjoy insurance coverage as provided in this Code and other pertinent laws .

   • 2021, Deogenes Nambayan Agellon, Criminal Law Case Digests:

     The victim is always addressed as the "datu" or rich man of their Barangay and enjoyed an economic ascendancy over Marcelino, a mere barangay tanod.

2. (rare) Alternative form of balangay (“type of boat”).

Usage notes

• Sometimes, especially for non-Philippine English speakers, "barangay" often gets translated to "village", even though "village" has a different meaning in Philippine English.

Meronyms

• purok
• sitio
• subdivision (when it is located in a barangay)

Derived terms

• barangay captain
• barangay chairman
• barangay councilor
• barangay hall

Related terms

• balanghai

Bikol Central

Alternative forms

• baranggay

Etymology

From older balangay; a type of wooden watercraft used by a group of Austronesian people when they migrated to the Philippines.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: ba‧ran‧gay
• IPA^(key): /baɾaŋˈɡaj/ [ba.ɾaŋˈɡaɪ̯]

Noun

barangáy (Basahan spelling ᜊᜍᜅᜌ᜔)

1. The smallest local government unit in the Philippines, a subdivision of a city or municipality.

   Synonyms: balangay, baryo

Cebuano

Etymology

From older balangay, from balangay; a type of wooden watercraft used by a group of Austronesian people when they migrated to the Philippines.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /baɾaŋˈɡaj/ [bɐ.ɾ̪ɐŋˈɡaɪ̯]
• IPA^(key): /baˈɾaŋɡaj/ [bɐˈɾ̪aŋ.ɡɐɪ̯]
• Hyphenation: ba‧ran‧gay

Noun

barangay

1. the smallest local government unit in the Philippines, a subdivision of a city or municipality

   Synonyms: balangay, baryo

Hiligaynon

Etymology

From older balangay; a type of wooden watercraft used by a group of Austronesian people when they migrated to the Philippines.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /baɾaŋˈɡaj/ [ba.ɾaŋˈɡaɪ̯]
• IPA^(key): /baˈɾaŋɡaj/ [baˈɾaŋ.ɡaɪ̯]
• Hyphenation: ba‧ran‧gay

Noun

barangay

1. the smallest local government unit in the Philippines, a subdivision of a city or municipality

Maranao

Noun

barangay

1. boat

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Tagalog balangay.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /baɾanˈɡai/ [ba.ɾãŋˈɡai̯]
• Rhymes: -ai
• Syllabification: ba‧ran‧gay

Noun

barangay m (plural barangayes)

1. (Philippines) barangay

Descendants

• → Bikol Central: barangay
• → Cebuano: barangay
• → English: barangay
• → Hiligaynon: barangay
• → Tagalog: barangay

Further reading

• “barangay”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Tagalog

Alternative forms

• baranggay
• Brgy. — abbreviation

Etymology

Borrowed from Philippine Spanish barangay, from Tagalog balangay (“a type of wooden watercraft Austronesian people used when they migrated to the Philippines”) where the ⟨ng⟩ was read as /ŋɡ/. Doublet of balangay.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /baɾaŋˈɡaj/ [bɐ.ɾɐŋˈɡaɪ̯]
• Rhymes: -aj
• Syllabification: ba‧ran‧gay

Noun

barangáy (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜇᜅ᜔ᜄᜌ᜔)

1. barangay (the smallest administrative division in the Philippines, a subdivision of cities and municipalities)
2. (historical) local polity or settlement during the Philippine precolonial period

Derived terms

• Barangay ng mga Mangingisda
• punong barangay

See also

• baryo
• tanod

Further reading

• “barangay”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018