Filipino Phrases

Filipino or Tagalog is the official national language of the the Philippines.  Filipino developed from Tagalog, the main dialect spoken in metropolitan Manila, the national capital and centre of commerce, and its neighbouring provinces in Luzon.

Filipino is a member of the Indonesian branch of the Malayo-Polynesian family of languages.  As with any language, it is constantly evolving and now incorporates words from other dialects as well as English and Spanish.  It is also often used as the lingua franca in social and political gatherings even in non-Tagalog provinces.

Pronunciation

A: as in 'far

E: as in 'get

I: as the 'ee' in 'beef'

O: as in 'more'

U: as in 'June'

Ay: as the 'uy' in 'buy'

Aw: as in the 'ou' in 'mount'

Ey: as in 'they'

Iw: produced by making the sound 'ee' and continuing it to 'oo'

Oy: as the 'oi' in 'noise'

Uy: produced by making the sound 'oo' and continuing it to 'ee'

G: always hard, as in 'good'; never as in 'gentle'

H: as in 'haste', always aspirated

Ng: as in 'sing'; it can occur at the beginning of a word, eg. Ngayon (now)

R: rolled to produce a faint trill

S: as in 'sun', never as in 'his'

 

Basics

Good morning: Magandáng umaga hô. (formal)

                       Magandáng umaga. (informal)

Good morning (response): Magandang umaga naman ho.

Good afternoon: Magandáng hapon hô.

Good evening: Magandáng gabi hô.

Hello: Kumusta hô.

Goodbye: Paalam na hô.

Yes: Ohô/Opô.

No: Hindi hô.

Excuse me: Mawaláng-galang na nga hô

Sorry: Iskyua/Sori hô

Thank you (very much): (Maráming) salamat hô

You're welcome: Waláa hong anuman.

What's your name?: Anóng pangalan ninyó?

My name is.: Akó si.

 

Language Difficulties

Do you speak English?: Marunong ba kayong mag-Ingglés?

Do you understand?: Naiintindihan ba ninyo?

I understand: Naiintindihan ko hô.

I don't understand: Hindi ko hô naiintindihan.

 

Getting Around

Where is the.?: Nasaan hô ang.?

What time does the . arrive/leave?: Anóng oras hô áalis/darating ang.? 

Boat: bapór

Bus: bus

Plane: eroplno

Train: tren

I'd like a . ticket: . tiket nga hô.

One-way: isáng one-way

Return: isáng round-trip

1st class: 1st class

2nd class: 2nd class

Go straight ahead: Tuloy-tuloy lang hô

Turn.:  Liko hô .

To the right: kanan hô

To the left: kaliwá hô

Behind.: sa likod ng. 

In front of.: sa harap ng.

Opposite: katapát ng

North: norte/hilagà

South: sud/timog

East: silangun

West: kanluran

 

Accommodation

Bathroom: banyo

Bottle of water: bote ng tubig

Key: susi

Shower:dutsa

Toilet: kubeta/CR/toilet

Towel: tuwalya

Water (cold/hot): (malamig/mainit na) tubig

 

Food

Pork: baboy

Beef: carne

Vegetables: gulay

Chicken: manok

Bread: tinapay

Butter: mantikilya

Cheese: keso

Eggs: itlóg

Milk: gatas

Yoghurt: yoghurt

Banana: saging

Orange: dalandan

Pineapple: pinyá

 

Numbers

One: isá

Two: dalawá

Three: tatló

Four: apát

Five: limá

Six: ánim

Seven: pitó

Eight: waló

Nine: siyám

Ten: sampû

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