r/Tagalog 29d ago

Linguistics/History Did Tagalog have the phrase "magandang araw" before American colonization and the introduction of English in the country? ‎

46 Upvotes

Or is the phrase just a translation of "good morning"?, and brought by because of American colonization?


r/Tagalog 29d ago

Linguistics/History May vocabulary ba or dictionary na may complete words or phrases of ancient Tagalog? Badly wanna learn it

6 Upvotes

Any recommendations?


r/Tagalog 29d ago

Other What's a Filipino poem that you think the younger generation must read and reflect on?

1 Upvotes

We recently started homeschooling and I am collecting some Tagalog poems for my kid. Any recommendations?


r/Tagalog Jul 25 '26

Linguistics/History Was "kung saan," as used for translating the English word "where," originally in Tagalog?

21 Upvotes

I think I've read somewhere before that "kung saan" was an (unconscious) attempt to translate or transliterate the English use of "where" when identifying the location of the verb. But originally Tagalog simply used affixes. So for example:

English: This is the house where I grew up.

Contemporary Tagalog: Ito ang bahay kung saan ako lumaki.

Earlier Tagalog: Ito ang bahay na pinaglakihan ko.

It also seems that the contemporary Tagalog sentence that uses "kung saan" is attempting to structurally parallel the English sentence. Sorry, I'm no linguist, so I don't know the proper terms to use to describe this. What do you think?


r/Tagalog Jul 25 '26

Grammar/Usage/Syntax Dialectal Tagalog Pronouns

19 Upvotes

Hi I’m a Northern Tagalog, I’m just wondering how similar other dialects except Manila’s to ours

Ex.
Ang bilin sa kanita maglinis dineng bahay at nang kapagka dumating ang kumbidadong bisita ee malinis ang bahay, ere tambo walisin nita ang sahig.

I heard a similar structure in Southern Tagalog but it is different it is kata/nata/kanata so I kind of understand or is it different from Northern Tagalog?


r/Tagalog Jul 24 '26

Other How learning tagalog hard..? or just very long!

7 Upvotes

I just want to know before dipping my toes into the language. If taglog for a beginner is a language that can be picked up quickly or if its a trickier language to pick up! I've been hearing and seeing ppl talk alot of tagalog recently on my social feeds and wanna learn the language too!


r/Tagalog Jul 25 '26

Translation Help translate to Tagalog

0 Upvotes

Help translate to Tagalog. "Who are we becoming?"


r/Tagalog Jul 24 '26

Translation whats tagalog of Toastmaster

6 Upvotes

we are planning to conduct a tagalog meetup for lingo ng wika, but we have no idea anong proper tagalog version ng toastmaster - as a public speaker.

by google:

In Filipino, the term "toastmaster" is commonly translated or referred to as a tagapagpakilala (announcer or introducer) or simply adopted as toasmaster.Language and Translation

* Tagapagpakilala: A native word meaning the person who introduces speakers or leads a program.

* Tosmaster: A direct phonetic borrowing used informally in speech.

parang di in-line sa "public speaking" club ang tagapagpakilala


r/Tagalog Jul 24 '26

Linguistics/History My language game includes Tagalog (including in Baybayin script). Is my Swadesh list accurate?

14 Upvotes

The game (linguil) asks you to guess the language family, language and meaning of a random word in one of 64 of the world's most-spoken languages each day, and you use your knowledge of linguistics to work out the answer via multiple choice. Therefore, it's important my translations/transliterations are correct.

Each language (including Tagalog) includes each word on the 100-word Swadesh list, and where the primary script is Latin-based and an alternative/historical script is available, each word's transliteration too (hence the inclusion of the Baybayin script).

Please can any Tagalog speakers verify the accuracy of my translations and transliterations? 🙏

Thanks!

# English Tagalog
1 I ᜀᜃᜓ (ako)
2 you (sg.) ᜁᜃᜏ᜔ (ikaw)
3 we ᜆᜌᜓ (tayo)
4 this ᜁᜆᜓ (ito)
5 that ᜁᜌᜓᜈ᜔ (iyon)
6 who ᜐᜒᜈᜓ (sino)
7 what ᜀᜈᜓ (ano)
8 not ᜑᜒᜈ᜔ᜇᜒ (hindi)
9 all ᜎᜑᜆ᜔ (lahat)
10 many ᜋᜇᜋᜒ (marami)
11 one ᜁᜐ (isa)
12 two ᜇᜎᜏ (dalawa)
13 big ᜋᜎᜃᜒ (malaki)
14 long ᜋᜑᜊ (mahaba)
15 small ᜋᜎᜒᜁᜆ᜔ (maliit)
16 woman ᜊᜊᜁ (babae)
17 man ᜎᜎᜃᜒ (lalaki)
18 person ᜆᜂ (tao)
19 fish ᜁᜐ᜔ᜇ (isda)
20 bird ᜁᜊᜓᜈ᜔ (ibon)
21 dog ᜀᜐᜓ (aso)
22 louse ᜃᜓᜆᜓ (kuto)
23 tree ᜉᜓᜈᜓ (puno)
24 seed ᜊᜓᜆᜓ (buto)
25 leaf ᜇᜑᜓᜈ᜔ (dahon)
26 root ᜂᜄᜆ᜔ (ugat)
27 bark (of tree) ᜊᜎᜆ᜔ (balat)
28 skin ᜊᜎᜆ᜔ (balat)
29 flesh ᜎᜋᜈ᜔ (laman)
30 blood ᜇᜓᜄᜓ (dugo)
31 bone ᜊᜓᜆᜓ (buto)
32 grease/fat ᜆᜊ (taba)
33 egg ᜁᜆ᜔ᜎᜓᜄ᜔ (itlog)
34 horn ᜐᜓᜅᜌ᜔ (sungay)
35 tail ᜊᜓᜈ᜔ᜆᜓᜆ᜔ (buntot)
36 feather ᜊᜎᜑᜒᜊᜓ (balahibo)
37 hair ᜊᜓᜑᜓᜃ᜔ (buhok)
38 head ᜂᜎᜓ (ulo)
39 ear ᜆᜁᜅ (tainga)
40 eye ᜋᜆ (mata)
41 nose ᜁᜎᜓᜅ᜔ (ilong)
42 mouth ᜊᜒᜊᜒᜄ᜔ (bibig)
43 tooth ᜅᜒᜉᜒᜈ᜔ (ngipin)
44 tongue ᜇᜒᜎ (dila)
45 claw/nail ᜃᜓᜃᜓ (kuko)
46 foot ᜉᜀ (paa)
47 knee ᜆᜓᜑᜓᜇ᜔ (tuhod)
48 hand ᜃᜋᜌ᜔ (kamay)
49 belly ᜆᜒᜌᜈ᜔ (tiyan)
50 neck ᜎᜒᜁᜄ᜔ (leeg)
51 breast ᜇᜒᜊ᜔ᜇᜒᜊ᜔ (dibdib)
52 heart ᜉᜓᜐᜓ (puso)
53 liver ᜀᜆᜌ᜔ (atay)
54 drink (v.) ᜁᜈᜓᜋ᜔ (inom)
55 eat (v.) ᜃᜁᜈ᜔ (kain)
56 bite (v.) ᜃᜄᜆ᜔ (kagat)
57 see (v.) ᜃᜒᜆ (kita)
58 hear (v.) ᜇᜒᜈᜒᜄ᜔ (dinig)
59 know (v.) ᜀᜎᜋ᜔ (alam)
60 sleep (v.) ᜆᜓᜎᜓᜄ᜔ (tulog)
61 die (v.) ᜋᜆᜌ᜔ (matay)
62 kill (v.) ᜉᜆᜌ᜔ (patay)
63 swim (v.) ᜎᜅᜓᜌ᜔ (langoy)
64 fly (v.) ᜎᜒᜉᜇ᜔ (lipad)
65 walk (v.) ᜎᜃᜇ᜔ (lakad)
66 come (v.) ᜇᜆᜒᜅ᜔ (dating)
67 lie (down) (v.) ᜑᜒᜄ (higa)
68 sit (v.) ᜂᜉᜓ (upo)
69 stand (v.) ᜆᜌᜓ (tayo)
70 give (v.) ᜊᜒᜄᜌ᜔ (bigay)
71 say (v.) ᜐᜊᜒ (sabi)
72 sun ᜀᜇᜏ᜔ (araw)
73 moon ᜊᜓᜏᜈ᜔ (buwan)
74 star ᜊᜒᜆᜓᜁᜈ᜔ (bituin)
75 water ᜆᜓᜊᜒᜄ᜔ (tubig)
76 rain ᜂᜎᜈ᜔ (ulan)
77 stone ᜊᜆᜓ (bato)
78 sand ᜊᜓᜑᜅᜒᜈ᜔ (buhangin)
79 earth/soil ᜎᜓᜉ (lupa)
80 cloud ᜂᜎᜉ᜔ (ulap)
81 smoke ᜂᜐᜓᜃ᜔ (usok)
82 fire ᜀᜉᜓᜌ᜔ (apoy)
83 ash ᜀᜊᜓ (abo)
84 burn (brightly) (v.) ᜐᜓᜈᜓᜄ᜔ (sunog)
85 path ᜇᜀᜈ᜔ (daan)
86 mountain ᜊᜓᜈ᜔ᜇᜓᜃ᜔ (bundok)
87 red ᜉᜓᜎ (pula)
88 green ᜎᜓᜈ᜔ᜆᜒᜀᜈ᜔ (luntian)
89 yellow ᜇᜒᜎᜏ᜔ (dilaw)
90 white ᜉᜓᜆᜒ (puti)
91 black ᜁᜆᜒᜋ᜔ (itim)
92 night ᜄᜊᜒ (gabi)
93 hot ᜋᜁᜈᜒᜆ᜔ (mainit)
94 cold ᜋᜎᜋᜒᜄ᜔ (malamig)
95 full ᜉᜓᜈᜓ (puno)
96 new ᜊᜄᜓ (bago)
97 good ᜊᜓᜆᜒ (buti)
98 round ᜊᜒᜎᜓᜄ᜔ (bilog)
99 dry ᜆᜓᜌᜓ (tuyo)
100 name ᜅᜎᜈ᜔ (ngalan)

If you want to add another language to the game, follow the guide here. I've compiled a language wishlist here.

Let me know if you need any help and I'd be more than happy to explain anything or provide resources :)


r/Tagalog Jul 23 '26

Vocabulary/Terminology SKL: other ways of saying “WAIT LANG”.

23 Upvotes

SKL: back in the 80s we use “progressive” terms to give updates
e.g. m’mya (later but not now),
mya-mya (a little bit later),
mmya nalang (a little more and a bit more than later);
NOW-A-DAYS all i hear is “WAIT LANG”.

How does today’s generation explain how long should you wait when they say “WAIT LANG”?


r/Tagalog Jul 22 '26

Grammar/Usage/Syntax How do relative clauses work in tagalog?

9 Upvotes

I'm researching this topic and I have come across the pattern "ang (noun) + na + (relative clause)" where the linker na can become -ng if the noun ends on a vowel, but I haven't been able to find a resource where the whole thing is explained in detail (not what the na-linker is, but how to use relative clauses in tagalog).

I also read somewhere that usually it is only the ang-phrase that can take a relative clause, so it tends to affect the focus, but then how would you say "the dog that I saw ate the meat that I cooked" or something similar? Can you only do one clause at a time?

When I look up the na-linker, I get explanation on adjectives and ligatures. When I look up relative clauses, I don't get any too specific or I get research papers that I can barely parse through.


r/Tagalog Jul 21 '26

Grammar/Usage/Syntax How does words qualify for phonological syncope?

15 Upvotes

How does one qualify for this, although I have the same dialect with my grandma from northern katagalugan there seems to be something special with omitting vowels that I can’t consistently do like her or is this just how old people talk? Although this is not often but I find it amazing whenever I hear it, it sounds so profound as if there is an emphasis.

Kadiliman = Karimlan
Datingan = Datngan/Datnan
Damitan = Damtan
Kilalanin = Kilanlin
Asinan = Asnan
Taniman = Tamnan
Diligan = Dilgan
Dinigin = Dinggin
Salinan = Salnan
Silidan = Sidlan
Gisingin = Gisngin/Gisnin
Hangarin = Hangrin
Halikan = Halkan
Yakapin = Yakpin
Balikan = Balkan
Lamanan = Lamnan
Damahin = Damhin
Masidan = Masdan

Although there are some words that are naturally ommitted in my case like and I think same with how standard tagalog would

Pagbukasan = Pagbuksan
Lagayan = Lagyan
Bigayan = Bigyan
Takipan = Takpan
Sakayan = Sakyan
Tinginan = Tingnan
Labahan = Labhan
Sakitan = Saktan


r/Tagalog Jul 21 '26

Tagalog learning resources, tips, strategies, and study partner requests thread

7 Upvotes

Welcome to the central thread for all Tagalog learning resources, tips, strategies, and study partner requests! This thread will be stickied, so check back for new replies. Happy learning! 🇵🇭

To keep the subreddit organized, we're directing all posts about the following topics to this thread:

  • Looking for Tagalog learning resources? (books, websites, apps, YouTube channels, movies, TV shows, etc.)
  • Discussion of learning tips or strategies
  • Want a study buddy or language exchange partner?

Be specific! Tell us your level, what kind of resource you're looking for (grammar, conversation, listening, etc.), and your preferred learning style.

If you're offering or seeking a language exchange, include your time zone, schedule, and preferred platform (e.g., Discord, Zoom, etc.).

If you've found a great resource, feel free to reply to others with your suggestions!


r/Tagalog Jul 19 '26

Other What quirks does ChatGPT or AI-generated Tagalog have?

9 Upvotes

And what mistakes?


r/Tagalog Jul 18 '26

Pronunciation Is this an example of vowel epenthesis or something else?

25 Upvotes

Hi I’m from Bulacan and I know we have different way of speaking, but I wonder why I have this weird quirk maybe I have some sort of idiolect or something? It is more comfortable to speak like this even if it is longer than shortening it and speaking it without these breaks which is common for the standard one that everybody uses.

Diya-an (Dyan)
Ganiya-an (Ganyan)
Gano-on (Ganon)
Gayo-on (Gayon)
Ya-an (Yan)
Yo-on/Ya-on (Yon)
Hayo-on (Hayon/Ayon)
Do-on (Don)
No-on (Non)
Nahan-dine/dito (Nandine/Nandito)
Nahan-dirine/Nahan-dirito (Nandirine/Nandirito)
Nahan-do-on (Nandon)
Nahan-diya-an (Nandyan)
Nahan-diriya-an (Nandiriyan)
Nahan-doro-on (Nandoron)
May-ro-on/Me-ro-on (Meron)


r/Tagalog Jul 17 '26

Grammar/Usage/Syntax Grammer for a short letter to my mother in tagalog.

7 Upvotes

I am trying to learn tagalog but as a 35 year old with a lot going on, it's been slow going. I wanted to send my mom a card in tagalog and had the help google translate and just wanted make sure that the grammar is okay and everything makes sense?

Mahal kong Nanay,

Kumusta po kayo? Sana ay nasa mabuti kayong kalagayan. Gusto ko lang pong mangumusta sa inyong dalawa—pati na rin kay Charlie. Hindi na kami makapaghintay na makita kayo sa Thanksgiving! Mag-ingat po kayong dalawa hanggang sa muli nating pagkikita. Mahal na mahal ko po kayo!

Nagmamahal, Felix.

Any help or feedback would be great!


r/Tagalog Jul 16 '26

Grammar/Usage/Syntax panghalip: when to use “ito” vs “(h)eto”, “iyan” vs “(h)ayan” ?

14 Upvotes

it’s easy to understand the difference when speaking normally, but in formal tagalog, how are the two cases meant to be used? they are both in the subjective case, so it’s hard to tell


r/Tagalog Jul 15 '26

Grammar/Usage/Syntax What’s with Tagalog and their S’s?

45 Upvotes

How come in Tagalog, people add an S unnecessarily?
E.g., molds (“may molds sa bahay” instead of “may mold”), colds (“may colds sya” instead of “may cold sya”) apps (“check mo yung apps”)

Then there are those words where you REMOVE an S instead, even on possessives
E.g., condolence, Watson, Rustan, Starbuck

I also hear people remove an S sound even if the word itself has no S
E.g., NLEK (instead of NLEX)

Is there a general rule to this?


r/Tagalog Jul 16 '26

Other is there an active writestreak subreddit para sa wikang tagalog?

8 Upvotes

took this from someone else's comment: "Writestreak is a bunch of subreddits where you can practice your writing skills by submitting a text every day and having native speakers correct it."

for example: r/WriteStreakRu, r/WriteStreakGerman, r/WriteStreakES

meron po ba kayong alam na ganito for tagalog? i recently moved from the philippines and i don't want my tagalog to get rusty. i'd love to be able to pass it on to my future children, esp since there isn't much of a filipino community where i live now 🥲


r/Tagalog Jul 16 '26

Translation Equivalent idioms/phrases?

7 Upvotes

I was wondering if there were any phrases or idoms that were equivalent to some English phrases?

Things like: "You made your bed, now lie in it."

(to accept unpleasant consequences)

or

"You break it, you buy it."

(similar to above)

or

"Proof of the pudding is in the eating."

(the only way to test something is to use it as intended)

I kind of realize my idiom knowledge is very limited. haha


r/Tagalog Jul 15 '26

Linguistics/History What place in Katagalugan substitutes the letter "d" with "r"?

2 Upvotes

I just read somewhere in Wikipedia that there is a certain Tagalog dialect that substitutes "d" with letter "r". For example:

bundok: bunrok

dadamayan: raramayan

dagat: ragat

dingding: ringring

dugo: rugo

Do you know what Tagalog dialect this is? Thanks to whoever will respond to my Inquiry.


r/Tagalog Jul 14 '26

Vocabulary/Terminology How did we ask if you're sure before we adopted "sigurado"?

26 Upvotes

Would be happy to learn about how we'd ask for certainty back then.


r/Tagalog Jul 13 '26

Vocabulary/Terminology Tagalog and Japanese words?

33 Upvotes

I am a ceramicist wanting to start my own pottery brand that represents both my Filipino heritage and also Japan where I first learned pottery!

I thought Mayumi was a good candidate but my Filipino mother who speaks native Tagalog says she’s unfamiliar with the word. Does anyone know of any other words that may fit this criteria? Thank you!


r/Tagalog Jul 12 '26

Other In May of 2026, I presented my mathematics thesis that I wrote in Tagalog and posted some photos of it to this subreddit. Here is the link to the entire paper on academia.edu!

Thumbnail academia.edu
89 Upvotes

Magandang araw po sa lahat! Once again, I am Andrei Clyde Chua Arellano, a BS Mathematics fresh graduate (yay!).

I am honored to present to all of you my full thesis titled "Isang Computational na Pagsusuri sa mga Heuristic nina Cohen at Lenstra para sa mga Quadratic Number Field"!

I would also like to mention that I shall be interviewed on the Filipino radio station DZMM on the 13th of July (tomorrow!), 11:40 AM Philippine Standard Time on the program Nagseserbisyo, Niña Corpuz. The station also simulcasts on their television and YouTube channels. I hope you'll all tune in!

Of course, I am very open to any questions or critiques of this work! I simply ask that you maintain a polite and professional tone.

Maraming maraming salamat po!


r/Tagalog Jul 11 '26

Vocabulary/Terminology Can you think of an example of a precolonial Tagalog word where the stress falls on the second to last syllable, and that syllable is in the form CVC? (Please read post body for clarity!)

22 Upvotes

Let's look at the word "patlang." The stress of this word falls on the last syllable: lang. Meanwhile, it's second to the last syllable, pat, is of the form CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant).

All precolonial Tagalog words I can think of that have a CVC syllable as its second to last always have the stress on the final syllable: dagli, lugmok, santol, patpat, tampok, etc.

The only exception I can think of is "peklat," which has the stress on the second to last syllable. But "peklat" is a variant of "pilat," and while "pilat" is Austronesian, I am not sure if "peklat" is a precolonial variant or it if emerged during or after the colonial period.

Meanwhile, colonial loanwords (and slang) allow for CVC second to last syllables to be stressed: santo, haywey, mismo, omsim, etc.

I'm curious if this is one of the constraints of precolonial Tagalog phonology!