Tagalog

Austronesian

FamilyAustronesian Speakers~83M (total) ScriptLatin CountriesPhilippines Official inPhilippines (as Filipino) Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3tgl Glottocodetaga1270

Also known as: Tagalog, Filipino, Pilipino

Tagalog is the basis for Filipino, the Philippine national language, with ~28M L1 + ~55M L2 (~83M total). It is a Central Philippine Austronesian language, sister to Bikol, Cebuano, and Hiligaynon. Famous for its complex verb-focus system: rather than agent/patient roles being marked by case, the verb itself selects which argument is in focus (Actor, Object, Locative, Benefactive, Instrument), creating ~16 verbal voice combinations through prefix/infix/suffix combinations like mag-/-um-/-in-/-an. Pre-colonial writing used Baybayin (a Brahmic abugida) preserved in religious contexts; modern Latin orthography (post-1937 ABAKADA, refined 1987) is universal. Spanish colonization (333 years) left ~5,000 loanwords; English (post-1898) provides modern technical vocabulary.

Where it is spoken

20 core words in Tagalog

Water

tubig

/tubiɡ/

Fire

apoy

/ʔaˈpoj/

Sun

araw

/ˈʔaɾaw/

Moon

buwan

/buwan/

Mother

ina

/ʔiˈna/

Father

ama

/ʔaˈma/

Eat

kumain

/kumaˈʔin/

Drink

uminom

/ʔumiˈnom/

Love

pag-ibig

/paɡʔibiɡ/

Heart

puso

/puˈsoʔ/

Tree

puno

/puno/

House

bahay

/bahaj/

Dog

aso

/ˈʔaso/

Cat

pusa

/pusa/

Hand

kamay

/kamaj/

Eye

mata

/mata/

Hello

kamusta

/kamusta/

Thank you

salamat

/salamat/

One

isa

/ʔiˈsa/

Good

mabuti

/mabuti/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Austronesian languages

Meaning TagalogOld TagalogCentral Cagayan AgtaIlocanoWarayMaranaoHiligaynon
Water tubig /tubiɡ/ ᜆᜓᜊᜒᜄ᜔ /tubiɡ/ danum /danum/ danum /danum/ tubig /tubiɡ/ ig /iɡ/ tubig /tubiɡ/
Fire apoy /ʔaˈpoj/ ᜀᜉᜓᜌ᜔ /apuj/ apuy /ʔaˈpuj/ apoy /ʔaˈpoj/ kalayo /kalajɔ/ apoy /apoj/ kalayo /kalajɔ/
Sun araw /ˈʔaɾaw/ ᜀᜇᜏ᜔ /araw/ agew /ˈʔaɡew/ init /ʔinit/ adlaw /ʔadlaw/ alongan /aloŋan/ adlaw /ʔadlaw/
Moon buwan /buwan/ ᜊᜓᜏᜈ᜔ /buwan/ bulan /bulan/ bulan /bulan/ bulan /bulan/ bolan /bolan/ bulan /bulan/
Mother ina /ʔiˈna/ ᜁᜈ /ina/ ina /ʔiˈna/ ina /ʔiˈna/ nanay /nanaj/ ina /ina/ nanay /nanaj/
Father ama /ʔaˈma/ ᜀᜋ /ama/ ama /ʔaˈma/ ama /ʔaˈma/ tatay /tataj/ ama /ama/ tatay /tataj/
Eat kumain /kumaˈʔin/ ᜃᜁᜈ᜔ /kain/ mangan /maŋan/ mangan /maŋan/ kaon /kaʔon/ mangan /maŋan/ kaon /kaʔɔn/
Drink uminom /ʔumiˈnom/ ᜁᜈᜓᜋ᜔ /inom/ uminom /ʔumiˈnom/ uminom /ʔumiˈnom/ inom /ʔinɔm/ minom /minom/ inom /ʔinɔm/
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Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Tagalog
Gusto ko subukan ang suit na nakita ko sa tindahan sa harap ng hotel
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 看到的 那套西装
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with closely-related languages

Gusto nako sulayan ang suit nga nakita nako sa tindahan atbang sa hotel
Au via vakatovolei e dua na ivakatagedegede ka au raica e na sitoa e na otela
Makemake au e hoʻāʻo i kahi kamaʻa aʻu i ʻike ai ma kahi hale kūʻai ma mua o ka hōkele
Kayatko a padasan ti suit a nakitak iti tiendaan sangbay ti hotel
Tagalog
Gusto ko subukan ang suit na nakita ko sa tindahan sa harap ng hotel

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