The root sindi concerns ignition and the state produced by it. Magsindi selects a person who lights something, sindihan selects the candle, stove, lamp, or fuel deliberately ignited, sumindi presents something as catching or coming alight, and masindihan presents successful or possible ignition. Result-state nakasindi means that a flame, light, or device is on.
English light is unusually broad: it can mean ignite, illuminate, not heavy, or pale in color. Only the ignition and conventional “switched on” senses belong to this Filipino root network. Voice and event structure then determine the markers and the difference between “lit something” and “caught fire.”
Core forms and functions
All unmarked forms are (neutral). The aspect forms do not mechanically correspond to English past, present, and future tenses.
| Family | Basic | Completed | Incompleted | Contemplated | Typical pivot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| actor voice | magsindi | nagsindi | nagsisindi | magsisindi | person deliberately lighting; ignited item takes ng |
| patient/undergoer -han voice | sindihan | sinindihan | sinisindihan | sisindihan | selected candle, lamp, burner, fuel, or other thing ignited |
| inchoative -um- family | sumindi | sumindi | sumisindi | sisindi | thing that catches fire or comes on |
| potential/result -han family | masindihan | nasindihan | nasisindihan | masisindihan | thing whose ignition is possible or successfully achieved |
| causative actor voice | magpasindi | nagpasindi | nagpapasindi | magpapasindi | person asking or arranging for someone else to light something |
| result-state predicate | nakasindi | not a regular four-cell aspect paradigm here | flame, light, or device in the lit/on state | ||
The patient form adds -han, not bare -an, after the vowel-final root: sindi → sindihan. Its incompleted form is sinisindihan, and its contemplated form is sisindihan. These surface forms must be learned as a coherent family rather than rebuilt from English tense labels.
Magsindi and sindihan: lighter versus selected object
Actor-voice magsindi selects the person initiating a flame with ang/si. The thing ignited normally takes ng. Patient/undergoer-voice sindihan selects that identifiable thing with ang, while the lighter takes an ng-series form.
Nagsindi si Tessa ng lamparang de-gaas nang mawalan ng kuryente.
Tessa lit a kerosene lamp when the electricity went out. (completed actor voice; neutral)
Sinindihan ni Tessa ang lamparang de-gaas nang mawalan ng kuryente.
Tessa lit the kerosene lamp when the electricity went out. (completed patient voice; neutral)
The first clause follows si Tessa; the second follows ang lamparang de-gaas. The event can be identical, but si ... ng realigns as ni ... ang. This is the wider contrast between actor voice and patient voice. The nang before mawalan introduces the event that occurred at that time; it is not the ng phrase marker.
Nagsisindi ng mga ilawan sa pasilyo ang katiwala tuwing dapithapon.
The caretaker lights the lamps in the corridor every evening. (habitual incompleted actor voice; neutral)
Sisindihan ba natin ang kalan ngayon, o hihintayin muna natin sila?
Shall we light the stove now, or wait for them first? (interrogative contemplated patient voice; neutral)
The object can be a source of flame, such as kandila, lampara, or kalan, or combustible material such as uling and panggatong. The particular item determines whether English prefers light, ignite, or kindle.
Sumindi: catch fire or come on
Sumindi is inchoative: its pivot enters the lit or burning state. It does not by itself identify a deliberate lighter.
Sumindi ang tuyong damo nang tamaan ito ng baga mula sa siga.
The dry grass caught fire when an ember from the bonfire hit it. (completed inchoative; neutral)
Hindi sumisindi ang maliit na kalan kapag basa ang mitsa.
The small stove will not ignite when the wick is wet. (negative incompleted inchoative; neutral)
The second example reports a recurring failure to ignite. Colloquial ayaw sumindi “refuses to light” is also widespread with stoves and engines; it personifies no real intention. A more technical (formal) description may use hindi umaapoy or name the mechanical fault.
For an electric lamp, sumindi ang ilaw can mean “the light came on,” while namatay ang ilaw means it went out. Everyday speech extends ignition vocabulary to the visible on/off state even though no open flame is involved.
Masindihan and nakasindi: possibility versus current state
Potential/result masindihan selects something that can be or has successfully been lit. It is common under negation and in statements about damp fuel, broken igniters, or safety risks.
Hindi masindihan ang mga kahoy dahil nabasa ang mga iyon sa ulan.
The wood cannot be lit because it got wet in the rain. (negative potential; neutral)
Baka masindihan ng lumilipad na baga ang tuyong bubong.
A flying ember might ignite the dry roof. (possible result; neutral)
Nakasindi instead describes the resulting state and is not simply the completed form of magsindi.
Nakasindi pa ang kandila sa altar kahit bukas na ang mga bintana.
The candle on the altar is still lit even though the windows are open. (result-state predicate; neutral)
Magpasindi: ask someone else to light it
Magpasindi selects a person who requests or arranges ignition rather than necessarily doing it personally. The item to be lit takes ng, and the helper can follow sa or kay.
Nagpasindi si Lino ng kandila kay Mara dahil basa ang mga posporo niya.
Lino asked Mara to light a candle because his matches were wet. (completed causative actor voice; neutral)
This differs from Nagsindi si Lino ng kandila, which presents Lino himself as the lighter. In a brief request, Pasindi naman ng kandila is natural (informal) speech; the full magpasindi paradigm is clearer when identifying the requester.
Nouns, collocations, and lexical limits
Common combinations include magsindi ng kandila, sindihan ang uling, sumindi ang mitsa, and nakasinding lampara. Pansindi is something used to ignite a fire, such as a match or lighter; the transparent phrase gamit sa pagsindi is useful when the exact object matters.
—May pansindi ka ba? —May posporo sa ibabaw ng estante, pero ingatan mong hindi mabasa.
—Do you have something to light it with? —There are matches on top of the shelf, but keep them from getting wet. (neutral exchange)
For electric lights and appliances, buksan ang ilaw/radyo and paandarin ang makina are often more idiomatic than sindihan, although nakasindi ang ilaw is conventional. Context determines whether sindi evokes an actual flame or the broader on-state.
Do not translate unrelated English light senses with this root. “A light bag” is magaan na bag, “light blue” is mapusyaw na asul, and “light the room” in the sense of illuminate it is liwanagan ang silid. Likewise, figurative “light a fire under someone” requires a contextual expression such as udyukan or himukin, not a mechanical sindihan.
Common Mistakes
Giving an actor-voice item ang marking
❌ Nagsindi si Tessa ang lamparang de-gaas.
Incorrect — magsindi selects Tessa as pivot, so the lamp takes ng.
✅ Nagsindi si Tessa ng lamparang de-gaas.
Tessa lit a kerosene lamp. (actor voice; neutral)
Keeping the lighter as si with sinindihan
❌ Sinindihan si Tessa ang lamparang de-gaas.
Incorrect — sinindihan selects the lamp, so the personal-name lighter takes ni.
✅ Sinindihan ni Tessa ang lamparang de-gaas.
Tessa lit the kerosene lamp. (patient voice; neutral)
Using deliberate sinindihan for something that caught fire
❌ Sinindihan ang kurtina nang dumikit ito sa apoy.
Incorrect for accidental ignition — sinindihan implies that an actor deliberately lit the curtain.
✅ Sumindi ang kurtina nang dumikit ito sa apoy.
The curtain caught fire when it touched the flame. (completed inchoative; neutral)
Translating every English light with sindi
❌ Sinding bag lang ang dadalhin ko sa paglalakad.
Incorrect — sindi concerns ignition, not low weight.
✅ Magaan na bag lang ang dadalhin ko sa paglalakad.
I will bring only a light bag for the walk. (neutral)
Key Takeaways
- Magsindi ... ng selects the lighter; sindihan ... ang selects what is deliberately ignited.
- Sumindi means catch fire or come on without profiling a deliberate actor.
- Masindihan expresses possible or achieved ignition; nakasindi describes the resulting lit/on state.
- The patient paradigm is sindihan, sinindihan, sinisindihan, sisindihan.
- English light has several unrelated senses that require other Filipino roots.
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