Lodi, Werpa, and Petmalu: What Does It All Mean?

ILLUSTRATOR Warren Espejo

If you've been seeing the words lodi, werpa, and petmalu on your News Feed lately, don't be too confused. You might actually be familiar with these terms already. There seems to be a resurgence of the use of colloquial terms in the country, especially online, where people are always creating new modes of communication. This time around, there are newly coined words that millennials are using to express themselves. The style in which these words are fashioned, however, is an old school trick, where the syllables of a particular word are switched around to form a new one.

For example: If the '70s had amats, astig, epats, and olats, and the '80s had jeproks, bagets, and senglot, what kind of words are the kids of today using? Here are some the most popular slang terms you should know right now, orb. Er, we meant, bro.

Lodi

Meaning: Someone you look up to

Origin: Lodi is the reversed form of the word "idol"

In a sentence: Iba ka talaga, lodi! Galing!

Petmalu

Meaning: Something that is super amazing

Origin: Petmalu is the reversed order of syllables of the word "malupet"

In a sentence: Petmalu ang ulam ko kanina! Sarap!

Orb/Orbski

Meaning: A guy friend

Origin: Orb/Orbski is the reversed form of the word "bro/broskie"

In a sentence: Lika na mga orb/orbski! Alis na tayo!

Enka

Meaning: To eat

Origin: Enka is the reversed order of syllables of the word "kain"

In a sentence: Lunch break na mga orb, enka na tayo!

Erp

Meaning: A guy friend

Origin: Erp is the reversed form of the word "pare"

In a sentence: Tara na mga erp! Inuman na!

Rema

Meaning: A girl friend

Origin: Rema is the reversed order of syllables of the word "mare"

In a sentence: Erp! Musta na si rema?

Rapsa

Meaning: Something that is delicious

Origin: Rapsa is the reversed order of syllables of the word "sarap"

In a sentence: Rapsa naman ang ulam natin ngayon!

Werpa

Meaning: To give support

Origin: Werpa is the reversed order of syllables of the word "power"

In a sentence: More werpa mga erp! Kaya niyo yan!

Matsala

Meaning: To show gratitude

Origin: Matsala is the reversed order of syllables of the word "salamat"

In a sentence: Matsala sa lahat ng sumusuporta!

Sources: Social Variation Language, Filipiknow, and The Manila Millennial

This story originally appeared on Fhm.com.ph. Minor edits have been made by the SPOT.ph editors.