Most commonly used Filipino Words and phrases (most but not
ALL you can’t find in the dictionary because they are slang or street language):
Lay-out:
The Filipino word
(syllabication)
Pronunciation (exemplified
in English sounds and words to correctly read each term/phrase)
Meaning (English
equivalent/translation)
Example (sentence)
na
(read as ‘na’
in Narnia or as ‘nah’)
denotes at this very
moment; now.
tara na (ta-ra)
Read as ‘ta’
in taxi/ ‘ra’ in ramble
Literally means ‘let
us go now’
muna (mu-na)
Read like the English
words ‘moon-nah’
means ‘prior’ or ‘must
be done first’
sandali lang (san-da-li lang) / teka lang (te-ka
lang)
Read like the English
words ‘sun-doll-lee lung’
In English it means ‘wait
a minute’
sige (si-ge)
Read as ‘see-geh’
Means positive approval of
something or allowed.
ewan (e-wan)
Read as ‘e’
in elephant
and ‘-wan’
sounds like number ‘one’ (e-one)
‘I don’t know’
siguro (si-gu-ro)
Read as ‘si-’ in silk/ ‘gu’ like the English ‘goo-’ sound (see-goo-rho)
‘I suppose…’or ‘maybe’
mahal kita (ma-hal ki-ta) or Iniibig kita
Means 'I love you'
It is NOT ‘mey-hal kaytey’, it should be read as ‘ma’
in Math/’hal’
in the English adjective hallow/
‘ki-‘
as in the English noun key/ ‘ta-’ in tablet.
Mahal may also mean expensive, the opposite of cheap which is ‘mura’
(read as moo-rah)
TIP: Always
remember, we do not have the long vowel sounds of a, e, i, o or u in
the Filipino Language.
bilis na (bi-lis na)
Read like the English
words ‘bill-lease’ ‘nah’
Means ‘make it faster’
para (pa-ra)
Read as ‘pa-rah’
Means 'pull over' (ask the
jeepney/bus driver to stop)
That same word (as it is
spelled may also mean ‘for’ in the English language)
sukli (suk-li)
(sook-li NOT –‘lih’)
Change (sometimes loose coins)from something you paid for (referring to money NOT ‘alter’)
barya
Read as bar-yah
Loose coins or smaller
bill
paki-bigay
Read like the English
syllable and words pa-key-bee-guy
bawal (ba-wal)
read as ‘bah’
and ‘a’
in -wal
like in ‘part’
prohibited/ not allowed or
do not
mama (ma-ma)
Read as mah (in Masassachussettes) and the syllable second ‘-ma’
is uttered abruptly
like you’re tongue burned by a spoon hot rice.
Read with stress on the
second syllable means middle-aged man. If
your age is around mid-20’s up and you are a stranger to someone talking about
you, you will be called this way, mama.
Spells the same with ‘mama’
(mah-mah) as mother. Difference only in
how it is said or pronounced.
ingat ka (i-ngat ka)
(you) take care
tawad (also patawad)
naman po…
read as tah-wad
give me some discount
(bargaining on an item’s price)
po
read as abrupt 'po' not 'poh'
Is a polite
expression in Filipino. Used when talking to someone older
(mother/father) or higher ranks (boss/teacher). Usually added at the end of the
sentence or preceding a pronoun.
e.g.
“Pupunta po
ako (pronoun ‘I’ in English) diyan.”
Translated it means I will go there.
Omit ‘po’ when talking to your
peers or friend.
“Paki-kuha po
yung bag ko...” Translated “Please, get my bag...”
If you are asking favor
from an older person like an old house-helper to pay respect.
ulam (u-lam)
Read as ooh-lam
with ‘a’ in –lam as ‘a’
in ‘cam’
Means viand (main course in a
meal usually partnered with rice (Filipinos’ staple food)
merienda
Snacks usually after lunch
at 3pm
Read as in ‘mer-‘ as in ‘merchant’ / ‘-yen’
like Japanese Yen/ ‘-dah’
baon
Read as ‘bah-on’ ‘on’ in on and off
Snacks or packed
food/snacks for a trip or school recess
pasyal(pas-yal)/gala (gah-la)/libot (lih-bot)
Stroll or go for a leisure
walk or travel
Read as ‘pas-yal’
/ gala in ‘gah-la’/as ‘lee-bot’ in ‘both’ without the ‘h’
sound
bente (ben-te)
Read like the name Ben
and ‘-teh’
Means twenty pesos
sometimes used too in counting too but mostly in money and pricing matters.
singkuenta (sing-kuen-ta)
Read like (sing-quen (‘e’
in elephant-tah)
Means fifty pesos, like ‘bente’
it can also be used in counting people and objects but is mostly used in the
country to imply amount of money or price
isandaan (i-san-da-an)
a hundred peso-bill (two words ‘isang’
one and ‘daan’ , ‘g’ is
omitted on the 1st word )
Ninoy (Ni-noy)
Read like ‘neeh-noy’
People had been used to
calling five hundred pesos as ‘Ninoy’
being the person in it is ‘Ninoy Aquino’ the father of the current President
that is celebrated as a Filipino Hero.
manhid ka (man-hid ka)
Read like ‘man-‘
in the English Language and ‘-hid’ like past tense of hide and
‘ka’
in ‘karma’
.
you don’t feel anything, insensitive, cold,
hardhearted
ba
Read as ‘bah’
is an expression that is
used to ask a question. It does not have an English equivalent, it just denotes
question.
i. e.
Aalis ka ba?
(Are you leaving/going?)
Darating ka ba?
(Are you coming?)
Meron ba? (Is there?)
Hindi ba?
(‘Is it not?’)
It does not need 4W’s =
Ano (what), bakit (why), kailan (when), saan (where), and 1H (how) in asking
questions or ‘ba’ acts as substitute
for them.
teka lang (teka lang)
Read like teh-cah-lung
in the English language.
Wait in English. Restraining somebody
akyat ng ligaw (ak-yat ng li-gaw)
Read like ‘ak’
in ‘action’
‘-yat’ sounds like ‘yacht’
‘akyat’ means literally ‘climb’,
‘ligaw’
on the above phrase means ‘to woo’.
Means to visit and woo a girl
asikasuhin
Means 'to attend to someone’s need or fix
things or secure documents'
brunch (brunch)
Read like brunch, English
origin
Means breakfast + lunch in one
(if you eat around 10am, you can call that a ‘brunch’)
okay (o-kay)
Read like ‘oh-cay’
as in in decay
Is an expression that means
something is approved
aray (ko –optional to put) (a-ray ko)
means ‘ouch’ in English.
ikaw na (i-kaw na)
Read like the English
sounds of ‘ee-cow- nah’
This means you are asked
to do something that is supposed to be done by somebody else. May also mean ‘it
is your turn’
basta (bas-ta)
Read as is ‘bus-tah’
Expression that means
choosing something for a reason NOT willing to disclose or divulge or say. May
also mean ‘just’.
syempre (syem-pre)
read as ‘shem-pre’ as the both ‘e’ sounds like in elephant
‘of course’ is English
equivalent/translation. It implies a positive response to a question, similar
to a ‘yes’
but may mean more as if there is no reason not to favor that idea.
I hope to help improve
your Tagalog/Filipino language proficiency to communicate well with us and to
help you if you are studying or living here in my country. Just wait for my video uploads on speaking
the language.
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