Page 435 - Tagalog for Beginners: An Introduction to Filipino, the National Language of the Philippines

EXAMPLES: Pupunta siya sa unibersidad.

He/she will go to the university.
(Literally, Will go he/she marker university.)

Kakain ako mamaya.
I am going to eat later.

(Literally, Will eat I later.)

Also, in Filipino, there is a specific word for going home, uwi: Uuwi ako. (I am
going home.)
5. Culture-specific and “experience-specific” words
Some of the Filipino words are culture-specific and therefore have no equivalent
in the English language. Moreover, there are words in English which have
changed meaning, in their usage in Filipino. Here are some examples:
- Pakikipag-kapwa-tao, establishing and maintaining good personal relations
with other people, by acts of kindness and service;
- Ate and Kuya, Elder sister and Elder brother; also, Manang, Manong (Elder
sister/brother). There are many other words that connote relationships. For
example, Tiyo and Tiya can mean not only one’s uncle and aunt but also elderly
people in the community;

- Lambing; malambing. A person described to be malambing is someone who
shows his/her affection. However, one can describe the act of asking for a favor,
or even occasional crankiness, as paglalambing (noun form).
- Bayan, a word that refers to all of the following: town, country, and people.
- Sinalvage, the word “salvage” used in the past form with the suffix -in,
referring to a person summarily executed by the military.
- Kasama meaning “companion,” used in the past few decades to mean
“comrade,” true especially for activist subculture.
- Pagyao. In Filipino, yao means both “to leave” and “to pass on,” thus
indicating an indigenous belief in the afterlife.

Improving Your Vocabulary
How can a learner improve his/her vocabulary? Here are a few helpful tips in
improving your vocabulary:
1. Always try to know the root word. Remember that Filipino has a complex system

of affixes. If you know for example the word sayaw (dance) you can guess that
sumasayaw is a verb and that sayawan is a “dance” (an event of dancing).
2. It helps to know the Spanish and English influences in the language. For example,
awit (song) is an indigenous term, but most people use kanta (from the Spanish
word). Most technological devices and appliances retain their original word in