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

31 core words in Tagalog

Water

tubig

/tubiɡ/

Fire

apoy

/ʔaˈpoj/

Sun

araw

/ˈʔaɾaw/

Moon

buwan

/buwan/

Star

bituin

/bɪtuˈʔin/

Mother

ina

/ʔiˈna/

Father

ama

/ʔaˈma/

I

ako

/ʔaˈko/

You

ikaw

/ʔiˈkaw/

Name

pangalan

/paˈŋalan/

Eye

mata

/mata/

Hand

kamay

/kamaj/

Heart

puso

/puˈsoʔ/

Love

pag-ibig

/paɡʔibiɡ/

Tree

puno

/puno/

House

bahay

/bahaj/

Dog

aso

/ˈʔaso/

Cat

pusa

/pusa/

Eat

kumain

/kumaˈʔin/

Drink

uminom

/ʔumiˈnom/

One

isa

/ʔiˈsa/

Two

dalawa

/dalaˈwa/

Hello

kamusta

/kamusta/

Thank you

salamat

/salamat/

Good

mabuti

/mabuti/

Cuckoo

kakok

/kaˈkok/

Woof

aw aw

/ʔaw ʔaw/

Computer

kompiyuter

/kompiˈjuteɾ/

Sushi

sushi

/ˈsuʃi/

Dopamine

dopamino

/dopaˈmino/

At sign (@)

at

/ɐt/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Austronesian languages

Meaning TagalogOld TagalogCentral Cagayan AgtaIlocanoHiligaynonCebuanoWaray
Water tubig /tubiɡ/ ᜆᜓᜊᜒᜄ᜔ /tubiɡ/ danum /danum/ danum /danum/ tubig /tubiɡ/ tubig /tubiɡ/ tubig /tubiɡ/
Fire apoy /ʔaˈpoj/ ᜀᜉᜓᜌ᜔ /apuj/ apuy /ʔaˈpuj/ apoy /ʔaˈpoj/ kalayo /kalajɔ/ kalayo /kalajo/ kalayo /kalajɔ/
Sun araw /ˈʔaɾaw/ ᜀᜇᜏ᜔ /araw/ agew /ˈʔaɡew/ init /ʔinit/ adlaw /ʔadlaw/ adlaw /adlaw/ adlaw /ʔadlaw/
Moon buwan /buwan/ ᜊᜓᜏᜈ᜔ /buwan/ bulan /bulan/ bulan /bulan/ bulan /bulan/ bulan /bulan/ bulan /bulan/
Star bituin /bɪtuˈʔin/ ᜊᜒᜆᜓᜁᜈ᜔ /bituʔin/ bituen /biˈtuʔen/ bituen /bituˈen/ bituon /bituˈʔon/ bituon /bituˈʔon/ bitoon /bituʔon/
Mother ina /ʔiˈna/ ᜁᜈ /ina/ ina /ʔiˈna/ ina /ʔiˈna/ nanay /nanaj/ inahan /inahan/ nanay /nanaj/
Father ama /ʔaˈma/ ᜀᜋ /ama/ ama /ʔaˈma/ ama /ʔaˈma/ tatay /tataj/ amahan /amahan/ tatay /tataj/
I ako /ʔaˈko/ ᜀᜃᜓ /ako/ sikán /siˈkan/ siak /siˈak/ ako /ʔaˈko/ ako /ʔaˈko/ ako /ʔako/
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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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