Filipino netizens were surprised after discovering the etymology of the slang term “dedma,” which became one of the top discussions on the r/pinoy subreddit following a Threads post that garnered more than 10,000 likes.
The next time someone says “dedma,” remember that the familiar expression has an unexpectedly clever Filipino wordplay behind it. The slang term for ignoring someone or acting as though something went unnoticed is believed to have originated from “dead malice,” a playful English rendering of the Tagalog phrase “patay-malisya.”
The explanation has resurfaced online, renewing interest in the history of a word Filipinos have casually used in everyday conversations for decades.
Filipino writer Jessica Zafra discussed the expression in her essay Dedma 101, which Tom Sykes’s 2021 book Imagining Manila traces to 1994.
“Dedma is the attenuated form of the English words dead malice,” Zafra wrote, explaining how the familiar Filipino slang developed through translation and abbreviation.
The wordplay is simple. “Patay” means “dead,” while “malisya” translates to “malice.” Put together in English, they form “dead malice,” which was eventually shortened to the catchy, two-syllable term “dedma.”
In everyday Filipino speech, the word refers to intentionally ignoring someone, dismissing a comment, or pretending not to notice an uncomfortable situation. Someone who deliberately refuses to acknowledge something can simply be described as “nagde-dedma.”
The term’s history spans decades of Filipino writing. Wiktionary cites an instance of its use in a 2001 Filipino-language text, while a December 2003 Philippine Star feature revisited the same “dead malice” explanation. A 2017 BusinessMirror column likewise discussed the term and its link to “patay-malisya.”
The slang remains a recognizable part of Filipino vocabulary, illustrating how Filipinos creatively reshape expressions by blending Tagalog and English into distinct terms of their own.
