isang kahig, isang tuka

Tagalog

Etymology

Literally, “one scratch, one peck”, referring to how chickens scratch the ground in search of seeds and peck at them to eat.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ʔiˌsaŋ ˌkahiɡ | ʔiˌsaŋ tuˈkaʔ/ [ʔɪˌsaŋ ˌkaː.hɪɡ̚ | ʔɪˌsan̪ t̪ʊˈxaʔ]
• Rhymes: -aʔ
• Syllabification: i‧sang ka‧hig, i‧sang tu‧ka

Proverb

isáng kahig, isáng tukâ (Baybayin spelling ᜁᜐᜅ᜔ ᜃᜑᜒᜄ᜔ ᜵ ᜁᜐᜅ᜔ ᜆᜓᜃ)

1. said of poor people: if one cannot work, one cannot eat; one's daily wage is enough just for food