Basics of Tagalog

Part 3

Everyday Vocabulary

Chapters 3.1 – 3.10 · Core everyday lexicon

• 3.1

  Numbers 1–1000 & Currency

  Counting, prices, and Philippine peso transactions

• 3.2

  Days, Months, Telling Time & Dates

  Calendar vocabulary and scheduling phrases

• 3.3

  Family Members & Kinship Terms

  Immediate family, extended relatives, and honorific titles

• 3.4

  Colors, Shapes, & Descriptions

  Basic descriptive vocabulary for objects and people

• 3.5

  Food, Drinks & Filipino Culinary Terms

  Market, kitchen, and restaurant vocabulary

• 3.6

  Clothes, Shopping & Sizes

  Garments, measurements, and fitting room language

• 3.7

  Parts of the Body & Health

  Body parts, symptoms, and pharmacy vocabulary

• 3.8

  Places Around Town & Navigation

  Establishments, landmarks, and locational words

• 3.9

  Weather, Seasons & Nature

  Climate, natural phenomena, and small talk

• 3.10

  Common Adjectives & Modifiers

  Descriptive roots and their intensifiers

Chapter 3.1

Numbers 1–1000 & Currency

Two Number Systems

Tagalog has two parallel systems. The native system (isa, dalawa, tatlo…) is used for counting objects. The Spanish-derived system (uno, dos, tres…) is used for money, time, ages, and dates — a legacy of more than three centuries of colonial rule.

Teens use -labing-: labing-isa (11), labindalawa (12), labintatlo (13), labing-apat (14)… Tens use -pu: dalawampu (20), tatlumpu (30), apatnapu (40), limampu (50), animnapu (60), pitumpu (70), walumpu (80), siyamnapu (90), isandaan (100). Compounds join with ’t: dalawampu’t isa (21). Thousands: libo.

Ordinals use ika-: una (first, irregular), ikalawa, ikatlo, ika-apat, ikalima.

Currency — Philippine Peso

• pera — money
• piso — peso
• sentimo — centavo
• Magkano? — How much?
• Mahal / Mura — Expensive / Cheap
• Sukli / Bayad — Change / Payment

Chapter 3.2

Days, Months, Telling Time & Dates

Days & Months

Both are Spanish loans, fully naturalized. Days: Lunes, Martes, Miyerkules, Huwebes, Biyernes, Sabado, Linggo. Months: Enero, Pebrero, Marso, Abril, Mayo, Hunyo, Hulyo, Agosto, Setyembre, Oktubre, Nobyembre, Disyembre.

Telling Time

Ask: Anong oras na? Answer with ala-/alas- + Spanish number: Ala-una (1:00), Alas-dos (2:00), Alas-tres (3:00), Alas-kuwatro, Alas-singko, Alas-sais, Alas-diyes. Add y medya for half-past, kinse for quarter-past: Alas-dos y medya (2:30).

Time-of-day words: madaling araw (dawn), umaga (morning), tanghali (noon), hapon (afternoon), gabi (evening), hatinggabi (midnight).

Dates & Schedule

Dates use ika- + number + ng + month: ika-apat ng Hulyo (July 4). Ask: Anong petsa ngayon? (What date?) and Anong araw ngayon? (What day?). Related: araw (day), buwan (month), taon (year), ngayon (today), bukas (tomorrow), kahapon (yesterday).

Chapter 3.3

Family Members & Kinship Terms

Family is the center of Filipino life, and Tagalog kinship terms are unusually specific — there are different words for older brother vs. younger brother, and honorifics for every generation.

Honorifics

• Aling — Auntie / Mrs. (older woman)
• Mang — Uncle / Mr. (older man)
• Manong / Manang — Older brother / sister (strangers)
• Ginoo / Ginang / Binibini — Mr. / Mrs. / Miss (formal)
• Ma’am / Sir — Borrowed from English; extremely common

Chapter 3.4

Colors, Shapes, & Descriptions

Colors

Several colors are Spanish loans (berde, asul, kahel, lila, rosas); others are native (pula, puti, itim, dilaw).

• pula — red
• puti — white
• itim — black
• dilaw — yellow
• berde — green
• asul — blue
• kahel — orange
• lila — purple
• rosas — pink
• kayumanggi — brown
• abo — gray
• ginto — gold

Say kulay [color] for “[color]-colored.” Duplicated forms add intensity: pulapula (reddish).

Shapes

• bilog — circle / round
• parisukat — square
• parihaba — rectangle
• tatsulok — triangle
• habilog — oval
• bituin — star

Descriptive Adjectives

• malaki / maliit — big / small
• mahaba / maikli — long / short
• makapal / manipis — thick / thin
• mabigat / magaan — heavy / light
• mainit / malamig — hot / cold
• maganda / pangit — beautiful / ugly
• mabuti / masama — good / bad
• bago / luma — new / old (objects)

Chapter 3.5

Food, Drinks & Filipino Culinary Terms

Filipino food culture is built on rice. A full meal is kanin (cooked rice) plus ulam (the viand or dish that accompanies it).

Proteins, Produce & Iconic Dishes

Meats: baboy (pork), manok (chicken), baka (beef), isda (fish), hipon (shrimp), alimango (crab). Vegetables: talong (eggplant), kamatis (tomato), sibuyas (onion), bawang (garlic). Fruits: saging (banana), mangga (mango). Also useful: itlog (egg).

Iconic dishes: Adobo (braised pork/chicken in vinegar, soy, garlic), Sinigang (sour tamarind soup), Lechon (roasted pig), Pancit (noodles), Lumpia (spring rolls), Halo-halo (shaved ice dessert), Kare-kare (oxtail in peanut sauce), Pandesal (soft rolls).

Ordering & Tasting

• Magkano ang isang kilo? — How much per kilo?
• Isang order ng adobo, please. — One order of adobo, please.
• Masarap! — Delicious!
• Maanghang / Matamis / Maasim / Pait — Spicy / Sweet / Sour / Bitter
• Pabili ng… — I’d like to buy…

Chapter 3.6

Clothes, Shopping & Sizes

Clothing & Sizes

• damit — clothes / dress
• kamisa / shirt — shirt
• pantalon / palda — pants / skirt
• sapatos / tsinelas — shoes / slippers
• medyas / sombrero — socks / hat
• bag / relo / singsing — bag / watch / ring

Sizes: maliit (S), katamtaman/medium (M), malaki (L), sobrang laki (XL). Fitting: kasya (fits), masikip (tight), maluwag (loose).

Shopping Phrases

• Magkano ito? — How much is this?
• Puwede bang tingnan? — May I see it?
• May ibang kulay? — Do you have another color?
• Puwede bang subukan? — May I try it on?
• Puwede bang tawaran? — Can I haggle?
• Ang mahal naman! — That’s too expensive!
• Sige, kunin ko na. — Okay, I’ll take it.

Chapter 3.7

Parts of the Body & Health

Body Parts

• ulo — head; buhok — hair
• mata — eye; ilong — nose; tainga — ear
• bibig — mouth; ngipin — tooth
• leeg — neck; balikat — shoulder
• kamay — hand/arm; daliri — finger
• tiyan — stomach; paa — foot/leg
• puso — heart; dugo — blood; buto — bone

Symptoms & Health Phrases

• Masakit ang ulo ko. — My head hurts.
• Masakit ang tiyan ko. — My stomach hurts.
• May lagnat ako. — I have a fever.
• May ubo / sipon ako. — I have a cough / cold.
• Nahihilo ako. — I feel dizzy.
• Pagod / Gutom / Uhaw ako. — I’m tired / hungry / thirsty.

Medicine & Pharmacy

• gamot — medicine
• botika / parmasya — pharmacy
• doktor / nars — doctor / nurse
• ospital — hospital
• reseta — prescription
• sakit — pain / illness

Chapter 3.8

Places Around Town & Navigation

Places

• bahay — house
• paaralan / eskuwelahan — school
• simbahan — church
• palengke — market
• tindahan — store / shop
• ospital — hospital
• bangko — bank
• istasyon ng pulis — police station
• paliparan — airport
• pantalan — pier / port
• restoran — restaurant
• CR / palikuran — restroom

Positional Words

• dito — here; diyan — there (near you); doon — over there (far)
• kanan — right; kaliwa — left; diretso — straight
• harap — front; likod — back; tabi — beside
• loob — inside; labas — outside
• itaas — upstairs / above; ibaba — downstairs / below

Transportation

• dyip / jeepney — iconic Philippine minibus
• traysikel — tricycle
• bus / tren / taksi — bus / train / taxi
• bangka — boat
• pamasahe — fare
• paradahan / terminal — stop / terminal

Chapter 3.9

Weather, Seasons & Nature

The Philippines has two main seasons: the wet season (tag-ulan, roughly June to November) and the dry season (tag-init/tag-araw, roughly December to May). No winter, no snow, no four-season cycle.

Weather Vocabulary

• panahon — weather / time / season
• tag-ulan / tag-init — rainy / dry season
• taglamig — cool season (Dec–Feb)
• ulan — rain; bagyo — typhoon
• hangin — wind; araw — sun
• ulap — cloud; kidlat — lightning; kulog — thunder
• bahâ — flood; lindol — earthquake

Weather Expressions

• Mainit ngayon. — It’s hot today.
• Malamig ngayon. — It’s cold today.
• Umuulan. — It’s raining.
• Maaraw ngayon. — It’s sunny today.
• Anong panahon ngayon? — What’s the weather like?

Nature

• dagat — sea / ocean
• ilog — river
• bundok — mountain
• bulkan — volcano
• pulo — island
• gubat — forest
• bulaklak — flower
• langit — sky
• buwan / bituin — moon / star
• hayop — animal; aso / pusa / ibon — dog / cat / bird

Chapter 3.10

Common Adjectives & Modifiers

The ma- Adjective Pattern

Adding the prefix ma- turns a root into a descriptive word. Recognizing this pattern lets you form new adjectives as soon as you learn a root.

Intensifiers & Modifiers

• napaka- — very, extremely: napakaganda (very beautiful)
• sobrang / masyadong — too much: sobrang mahal (too expensive)
• medyo — somewhat: medyo mainit (a bit hot)
• lalo na — especially
• kulang — lacking

Comparatives & Superlatives

• Comparative: mas + adjective + kaysa — Mas mataas ako kaysa sa kanya. (“I’m taller than him.”)
• Equality: kasing- + root — kasingganda (as beautiful as)
• Superlative: pinaka- + root — pinakamaganda (the most beautiful)

Emotions & States

• masaya / malungkot — happy / sad
• galit / takot — angry / afraid
• pagod / antok — tired / sleepy
• gutom / uhaw — hungry / thirsty
• sabik / kinakabahan — eager / nervous
• naiinip / nalilito — bored / confused