When visiting a new place, especially a foreign country, it pays to know some of the local words. But the Philippines is one of those countries where the majority of the citizens can speak English. This means that the English-speaking tourist will not have a difficult time getting around the country.
However, knowing some Tagalog phrases is still a great idea so that the tourist can endear himself to the locals. When locals are impressed, they go out of their way and they bend backwards just to please their visitor.
Here are basic Tagalog terms that will be quite useful for the tourist:
A. Greetings:
The word “maganda” means “good” or “beautiful”. And “po” is a syllable that radiates “respect”·
Good morning – Magandang umaga po (pronounced: Ma-gan-dang u-ma-ga po)·
Good noon – Magandang tanghali po (Ma-gan-dang tang-ha-li po)·
Good afternoon – Magandang hapon po (Ma-gan-dang ha-pon po)·
Good evening – Magandang gabi po (Ma-gan-dang ga-bi po)
B. Meeting a new person:
What is your name? – Ano po ang pangalan nila? (A-no po ang pa-nga-lan ni-la)
I am John – Ako po si John (A-ko po si)
How are you? – Kumusta po kayo? (Ku-mus-ta po ka-yo)
I’m fine – Mabuti naman (Ma-bu-ti na-man)
Thank you – Salamat po (Sa-la-mat po)
Thank you very much – Maraming salamat po (ma-ra-ming sa-la-mat po)
You are welcome – Walang anuman (Wa-lang a-nu-man)
C. Conversational phrases:
How old are you? – Ilang taon ka na? (I-lang ta-on ka na?)
Where do you live? – Saan ka nakatira? (Sa-an ka na-ka-ti-ra)
Where are you from? – Taga-saan ka? (Ta-ga-sa-an ka?)
Have you eaten yet? – Kumain ka na ba? (Ku-ma-in ka na ba)
What time is it? – Anong oras na po? (A-nong o-ras na po)
Where are you going? – Saan ka pupunta? (Sa-an ka pu-pun-ta)
Where are we going? – Saan tayo pupunta? (Sa-an ta-yo pu-pun-ta)
D. Questions:
What – Ano (A-no)
Who – Sino (Si-no)
When – Kailan (Ka-i-lan)
Where – Saan (Sa-an)
Which – Alin (A-lin)
Why – Bakit (Ba-kit)
How – Paano (Pa-a-no)
How much – Magkano (Mag-ka-no)
E. Directions:
Straight ahead – Diretso (Di-ret-so)
On the right – Sa kanan (Ka-nan)
On the left – Sa kaliwa (Ka-li-wa)
Turn around – Umikot (U-mi-kot)
Return – Balik (Ba-lik)
In front – Sa harap (Ha-rap) or Sa tapat (Ta-pat)
Beside – Sa tabi (Ta-bi)
At the back/behind – Sa likod (Li-kod)
North – Hilaga (Hi-la-ga)
South – Timog (Ti-mog)
East – Silangan (Si-la-ngan)
West – Kanluran (Kan-lu-ran)
On top – Sa itaas (I-ta-as)
Below – Sa ibaba (I-ba-ba)
Under – Sa ilalim (I-la-lim)
Inside – Sa loob (Lo-ob)
Outside – Sa labas (La-bas)
F. Other useful Tagalog phrases:
Yes – Opo (o-po)
No – Hindi (hin-di)
I don’t know – Hindi ko alam (hin-di ko a-lam)
Sure/Okay – Sige (si-ge)
Really? – Talaga (ta-la-ga)
No, please – Huwag na lang po (hu-wag na lang po)
It doesn’t matter – Di bale (di ba-le)
November 17th, 2006 at 3:21 pm
i want to now some love phrases in tagalog.
can you send me some?
April 29th, 2007 at 6:53 am
The tips are great. But how do you simply say, “Please!”
June 7th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
[…] About the Author Visit TourismJunction.com, which is a travel & vacation articles and websites portal. You can also find travel news there. Here’s an article about Tagalog phrases for tourists. […]
September 9th, 2007 at 6:41 am
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October 24th, 2007 at 3:38 am
I have travelled to most tourist destinations in the Visayas and Mindanao region. Of course, their dialect is cebuano or “bisaya”. Language barrier has posted me some problems during my stay, though its really manageable (Hey, we’re still Filipinos). I’d like to learn some basic “bisaya” words or phrases which I will likely use. So far, I have learned to say “Lugar Lang” when getting off the bus or jeep or cab or trike. Also, I would say “Magkano ‘ni?” when asking about the price of something I intend to buy. (Did I just say it right? … I hope).
January 6th, 2008 at 4:41 am
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May 5th, 2008 at 5:59 am
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May 31st, 2008 at 11:05 am
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August 14th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
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August 16th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
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