tiyani

Tagalog

Alternative forms

• chani, chane — colloquial
• tiani, tiane
• tiyane
• tsani, tsane
• tyani, tyane — superseded, pre-2007

Etymology

Borrowed from Hokkien 摘夾 / 摘夹 (tiah-ní / tiah-ngeeh, “pincers; nippers”). Compare Ilocano tiani. The slang sense refers to how careful and little a stingy person gets money from the wallet.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /tiˈaniʔ/ [ˈt͡ʃaː.n̪ɪʔ], (colloquial) /tiˈaneʔ/ [ˈt͡ʃaː.n̪ɛʔ]
  • IPA^(key): (no yod coalescence) /tiˈaniʔ/ [ˈt̪jaː.n̪ɪʔ], (colloquial, no yod coalescence) /tiˈaneʔ/ [ˈt̪jaː.n̪ɛʔ]
• Rhymes: -aniʔ
• Syllabification: ti‧ya‧ni

Noun

tiyanì (Baybayin spelling ᜆᜒᜌᜈᜒ)

1. tweezers; pincers (for plucking hair or handling little objects)

   Synonyms: sipit, panipit

2. (slang, derogatory) cheapskate

   Synonyms: kuripot, maramot

Derived terms

• tiyani-tiyani
• tiyaniin

Further reading

• “tiyani”, in KWF Diksiyonaryo ng Wikang Filipino, Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2024
• “tiyani”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
• Manuel, E. Arsenio (1948) Chinese elements in the Tagalog language: with some indication of Chinese influence on other Philippine languages and cultures and an excursion into Austronesian linguistics, Manila: Filipiniana Publications, page 64
• Macgowan, John (1883) “Pincers”, in English and Chinese Dictionary of the Amoy Dialect (overall work in English and Hokkien), Amoy, China: A. A. Marcal, page 381
• Douglas, Carstairs (1873) “tiah”, in Chinese-English Dictionary of the Vernacular or Spoken Language of Amoy, With the Principal Variations of the Chang-chew and Chin-chew Dialects. (overall work in Hokkien and English), London: Trübner & Co., page 495; New Edition, With Corrections by the Author., Thomas Barclay, Lîm Iàn-sîn 林燕臣, London: Publishing Office of the Presbyterian Church of England, 1899, page 495
• Douglas, Carstairs (1873) “níⁿ”, in Chinese-English Dictionary of the Vernacular or Spoken Language of Amoy, With the Principal Variations of the Chang-chew and Chin-chew Dialects. (overall work in Hokkien and English), London: Trübner & Co., page 336; New Edition, With Corrections by the Author., Thomas Barclay, Lîm Iàn-sîn 林燕臣, London: Publishing Office of the Presbyterian Church of England, 1899, page 336