Filipino For Beginners: The Must-Know for Basic Phrases and Pronunciation
Interesting Facts About the Filipino Language
- Tagalog (or Filipino) belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family. The name of the language is derived from taga-ilog, from taga (native) + ilog (river).
- Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, is named after a mangrove tree that has white flowers called nilad.
Also Read: 4 Reasons Why being Bilingual Rocks!
- Depending on the method of classification, there are 125 to 170 dialects in use in the Philippines, such as Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon, Bicolano, Waray, and Kapampangan.
- The word boondocks – used commonly in the English vocabulary – is actually a Tagalog loanword. In Tagalog it means mountain.
- Tagalog has a vocabulary enriched by its pre-colonial and colonial history. Spanish is the single largest contributor to the Filipino vocabulary and as such Filipino seems to the foreign ear to sound somewhat like Spanish.
- Tagalog used to be written with the Baybayin alphabet, which probably developed from the Kawi script of Java, Bali and Sumatra, which in turn descended from the Pallava script, one of the southern Indian scripts derived from Brahmi. Today the Baybayin alphabet is used mainly for decorative purposes and the Latin alphabet is used to write to Tagalog.
- Since English is widely spoken in the Philippines, it is common to hear Filipinos use a mixture English and Filipino words or phrases, known as Taglish (a mixture of English and Tagalog), in their everyday conversations.
- Filipino people are courteous. This can be seen by the Filipino tradition of using the words “po” and “opo”. These words are words of respect. They are used mostly in the Filipino families to show respect to the elders. The thing is that, even when not talking to family, as long as the Filipino people are talking to someone that is older than them, they use these words. There isn’t any translation of the words “po” and “opo” to other languages. Only the Filipino people use them.
Filipino for Beginners: Common Greetings and Phrases in Filipino
| English | Filipino | Pronunciation |
| Hello | Kamusta! | Ka-mus-ta |
| Good morning | Magandang umaga | Ma-gan-dang U-ma-ga |
| Good afternoon | Magandang tanghali | Ma-gan-dang tang-ha-li |
| Good evening | Magandang gabi | Ma-gan-dang ga-bee |
| Goodbye | Paalam | Pa-a-lam |
| How are you? | Kamusta? | Ka-mus-ta |
| I’m fine, thanks! | Mabuti naman, salamat! | Ma-boo-ti na-man, sa-la-mat |
| And you? | At ikaw? | At i-kaw |
| Please. | Paki | Pa-ki |
| Thank you. | Salamat | Sa-la-mat |
| Thank you very much. | Maraming salamat | Ma-ra-ming sa-la-mat |
| You’re welcome. | Walang anuman. | Wa-lang a-nu-man |
| See you later! | Samuling pagkikita! | Sa-moo-lung pag-ki-ki-ta |
| Yes | Opo(frm), Oo(Inf) | O-po, Oh oh |
| No | Hindi | Hin-di |
| What’s your name? | Anong pangalan mo? | A-nong pa-nga-lan mo |
| My name is… | Ang pangalan ko po ay … (frm) Ang pangalan ko ay … (inf) | Ang pa-nga-lan ko po ay |
| Where are you from? | Taga saan ka? | Ta-ga sa-an ka |
| I’m from … | Taga… ako | Ta-ga … a-ko |
| Pleased to meet you | Kinagagalak kong makilala ka | Ki-na-ga-ga-lak kong ma-ki-la-la ka |
| Have a nice day | Magandang araw sa’yo! | Ma-gan-dang a-raw sa-yo |
| I understand | Naiintinidihan ko | Na-i-in-tin-di-han ko |
| I don’t understand | Hindi ko naiintindihan | Hin-di ko na-i-in-tin-di-han |
| Please speak more slowly | Pwede mo bang bagalan ang iyong pagsasalita? | Pu-we-de mo bang ba-ga-lan ang i-yong pag-sa-sa-li-ta |
| Please say that again | Paki úlit mo yon | pa-ki u-lit mo yon |
| Please write it down | Paki sulat mo naman | Pa-ki soo-lat mo na-man |
| Do you speak Tagalog? | Nagsasalita ho/po ba kayo ng Tagalog? (frm) Nagta-Tagalog kaba? (inf) | Nag-sa-sa-li-ta ho/po ba ka-yo ng Ta-ga-log? Nag-Ta-ta-ga-log ka-ba? |
| I miss you | Ikaw ay hanap-hanap ko(frm- old fashioned) | I-kaw ay ha-nap ha-nap ko |
| I love you | Iniibig kita Mahal kita Minamahal kita | I-ni-i-big ki-ta Ma-hal ki-ta Mi-na-ma-hal ki-ta |
| Get well soon | Magpagaling ka na, ha | Mag-pa-ga-ling ka na, ha |
| Help! | Saklolo! Tulong! | Sak-lo-lo! Too-long |
| Stop! | Tigil! Para! (to tell vehicle to stop) | Tee-gil! Pa-ra! |
| Christmas and New Year greetings | Maligayang Pasko (Merry Christmas) Manigong bagong taon (Happy New Year) | Ma-li-ga-yang Pas-ko Ma-ni-gong ba-gong ta-on |
| Happy Birthday! | Maligayang kaarawan! | Ma-li-ga-yang ka-a-ra-wan |
Filipino for Beginners: Days of the Week in Filipino
| English | Filipino | Pronunciation |
| Monday | Lunes | Loo-nes |
| Tuesday | Martes | Mar-tes |
| Wednesdy | Miyerkules | mi-yer-ku-les |
| Thursday | Huwebes | Hoo-we-bes |
| Friday | Biyernes | Bee-yer-nes |
| Saturday | Sabado | Sa-ba-do |
| Sunday | Lingo | Ling-go |
Filipino for Beginners: Months of the Year in Filipino
| English | Filipino | Pronunciation |
| January | Enero | E-ne-ro |
| February | Pebrero | Peb-re-ro |
| March | Marso | Mar-so |
| April | Abril | A-breel |
| May | Mayo | Mah-yo |
| June | Hunyo | Hoon-yo |
| July | Hulyo | Hool-yo |
| August | Agosto | A-gos-to |
| September | Setyembre | Set-yem-bre |
| October | Oktubre | Ok-too-bre |
| November | Nobyembre | Nob-yem-bre |
| December | Disyembre | Dis-yem-bre |
I hope you find the list helpful. Until then, paalam!
I have never been to the Philippines but would love to! It is important to understand the language of the place you are visiting!