Maki- verbs often indicate to join into someone’s activity or to use someone’s resources by that person’s kindness or permission. I found these verbs quite useful and interesting, despite they firstly appeared so peculiar things.
| makikain | to join someone for a meal likely at their place |
| makisakay | to ride along with someone |
| makiligo | to take a shower at someone’s place |
| makitulog | to stay over at someone’s place |
| makiluto | to use someone’s kitchen |
| makicharge | to charge one’s phone using someone else’s electricity |
Nakikikain si Bob kila John.
Bob is joining John for a meal.
This means that Bob eats together with John, likely at John’s house. It implicitly involves John’s kindness or hospitality. As a result, Bob’s action is not symmetrical with John’s: John is the host and Bob is joining in, rather than the two acting on equal footing.
kila is a shortcut of kanila. Despite the fact it is not a legitimate expression, I hear it often in daily conversations. Languages evolve over time, whether they may prefer it or not. Using it or not is each person’s choice, but knowing it helps understand the conversations.
Makikisakay po.
Let me join you for the ride. Thank you.
This utterance was said at the moment the speaker was getting in, and it presupposes that permission has already been granted. Probably it shows both what the speaker would like to do, and a token of appreciation simultaneously.
Makikicharge po.
Let me charge my phone. Thank you.
Just like the previous example, this expression was used as the speaker was already plugging in the charger. So it largely presupposes consent rather than waiting for an explicit response such as “Go ahead.”
I like how a single prefix, maki-, can cover meanings like “joining in someone’s activity” or “asking to share something.”
That said, the semantics behind it seem quite complex. With verbs like makikain or makisakay, the idea is joining someone to do an activity together. In contrast, makiligo, makitulog, and makicharge are more about using something that belongs to someone else, without necessarily sharing the action itself.
From a broader point of view, maki- can be understood as “being admitted into someone else’s space or domain.” The exact picture, however, largely depends on the verb root (like kain or ligo). So these nuances really just have to be learned one by one, unless a clear logical reasoning exists and be well understood.
Even among scholars, semantic analysis of maki- verbs has shown significant variation over time when it comes to its usage and subtle nuances.
I may also talk about another subcategory of social verbs: the reciprocal verbs which are affixed with makipag-(an). Following is the grammar book I found quite clear in describing maki verbs and makipag-(an) verbs.
- Filipino – An Essential Grammar, Sheila Zamar
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