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Eileen Ramos – Learning More Tagalog with Eileen Ramos
Derek is joined by Eileen Ramos again. Eileen taught Derek some conversational Tagalog words which can be quite handy should you plan to visit the Philippines.
Summary
- Tagalog is the main language in the Philippines and it’s a beautiful and emotive language.
- Eileen and Derek discussed a few conversational Tagalog words;
- “Walang anuman” (proper), no problem (improper) – Thank you
- “Derecho” – Straight
- “Kanan” – Right
- “Kaliwa” – Left
- “Sa kanto” – At the corner
- “Para” – Stop
- “Tabi” – Side
- “Pasok” – Enter
- “Dito” – Here
- “Kuya” – older brother
- “Ate” – older sister
- “Pa” – Yet
- “Isa” – One
- “Dalawa” – Two
- “Tatlo” – Three
- “Apat” – Four
- “Lima” – Five
- “Una” – First
- “Pangalawa” – Second
- “Pangatlo” – Third
- “Pang-apat” – Fourth
- “Pang-lima” – Fifth
- “Salamat” – Thank you
- “Humingi” – Ask
- “Maganda” – Beautiful
- “Pangit” – Ugly
- “Matapang” – Brave
- “Tapos na” – Finished
- According to Eileen, Tagalog uses a lot of syllables in each word.
Key Points
- The Filipino Language is a very emotive but interesting language
- Filipinos are very good English speakers which makes it quite difficult to learn their language since they can switch from English to Tagalog very quickly.
- Learning the Tagalog can be an advantage and can be quite handy should you plan to visit or do business in the Philippines.
Resources
Transcript
Expand transcriptDerek: Hi and welcome to another episode of Outsource Accelerator. My name is Derek Gallimore and today we’re joined again with Eileen Ramos. Now we are having a little informal and it’s very informal chat about Tagalog. Tagalog is the main language here in the Philippines and it’s a beautiful language and I think like all languages you see the essence of the people and the nature of the people come out in the language. And because of that beautiful kind of emotive language. If you haven’t already heard our earlier podcast, I recommend you go and listen to it that is episode 10 where we introduce 10 or 12 kind of a hack sheet, 10 or 12 words that you can use. In this episode, we go a little bit more into very superficial conversational Tagalog. And look, even if you’re never gonna come to the Philippines, you might get a bit of insight on how things work here. And I think it’s a fun and enjoyable podcast. If you want any of the podcast notes, transcript, if you want to see any of the spelling of the words, go to our website for the show notes, and that is at outsourceaccelerator.com/podcast/episode21 for this episode. Enjoy!
Eileen: Some foreigners, they try to show up saying “walang anuman”, nobody fucking uses “walang anuman”. It is basically, thank you and you say you’re welcome. Instead of saying you’re welcome, some foreigners say “walang anuman”, nobody fucking uses that one.
Derek: What is “walang”?
Eileen: No problem, it’s like saying no problem. “Walang anuman”. “Wala” and then you concise it “wala ang”. “Ano” is whatever.
Derek: It’s None, “walang” is none.
Eileen: “Anuman”, “anuman” is “ano”, “ano” is what. doesn’t matter. So, “parang” no problem. It’s like no.
Derek: So, what is the street version of no problem? “Walang”?
Eileen: “Walang anu”, no that’s not street, that’s the proper. “Walang anuman” is proper but nobody uses that.
Derek: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, what do people normally use?
Eileen: No problem
Derek: Ah, as in English.
Eileen: Yeah
Derek: Ah, okay
Eileen: it’s like it’s okay
Derek: It’s a problem, like me learning Tagalog. I don’t know when I’m meant to flick into English because
Eileen: Yeah. Like, you say is like thank you.
Derek: Because most people speak in Tagalog
Eileen: You’re welcome, yeah, it’s like
Derek: Speak a hybrid of English and thing. So, we need scenarios for driving in a taxi. So, what are we talking about with a taxi? We need straight, left, right, stop.
Eileen: Okay, “derecho”.
Derek: “Derecho” is straight,
Eileen: Straight.
Derek: Which is weird because in Spanish that means actually right or “derecho”
Eileen: “Kanan”, right
Derek: “Kanan” is right, “derecho” is straight, “kanan” is right
Eileen: Yes. Left, “kaliwa”
Derek: “Kaliwa”, so we’ve got “derecho”, just straight, “kanan” which is right, “kaliwa” which is left. Cool.
Eileen: And then corner, corner, at the corner. “sa kanto”
Derek: “Sa kanto, sa kanto kaliwa”
Eileen: Yes
Derek: “Sa kanto, kaliwa”
Eileen: Correct
Derek: What does “sa kanto” mean? At the corner?
Eileen: “Sa” is a word, “kanto” is another word. At the corner, left.
Derek: What is “sa”? At?
Eileen: Huh?
Derek: What is “sa”?
Eileen: “Sa” is there, at the, yeah, it’s a preposition.
Derek: “Sa kanto”, that’s good. That’s useful. How do you say stop at the corner?
Eileen: “Para sa tabi”, “para sa kanto”, sorry. “Para sa kanto”, stop at the corner.
Derek: “Para” is like Spanish which means stop
Eileen: Yeah, “para sa kanto” and then, “para sa tabi” is stop at the side.
Derek: Ah, cause. Okay. So, stop at the side, “para sa tabi”.
Eileen: “Tabi” is side
Derek: “Tabi”
Eileen: So, it’s “I” but short “I”, “sa tabi”, “para sa tabi”
Derek: Short “I”. So, if you wanna say pull in here, it’s probably “para sa tabi”, that’s the best. Does that mean now or does that mean coming up?
Eileen: “Para sa tabi”, it means just “tabi sa kanto”, yeah, just now. And then driveway, if you’re gonna go into the driveway
Derek: Lobby, “para sa tabi” lobby.
Eileen: No, you like “kaliwa ka, pasok” means enter
Derek: “Paso”
Eileen: “Pasok”
Derek: “Pasok”
Eileen: “Pasok” is enter.
Derek: Like “pasar” in Spanish?
Eileen: “Pasok”, P-A-S-O-K
Derek: Is there a “pasar”?
Eileen: No.
Derek: “Pasok”
Eileen: “Pasok”
Derek: What does that mean? Enter?
Eileen: Enter at the corner. So, it means enter at the corner. “Pasok sa kaliwa”, means enter the left or enter the right, “pasok sa kanan”.
Derek: So, what does “sa” mean in that?
Eileen: It’s just a
Derek: Prefix?
Eileen: Yeah, it’s just like to, “sa” is to. Go to the right, it’s like that.
Derek: And then, so if you wanna say stop here? “Para”
Eileen: “Sa tabi”
Derek: “Sa tabi”
Eileen: “Para dito”, “dito” is here
Derek: Yeah, “dito” that’s a common word
Eileen: “Dito”
Derek: “Dito”
Eileen: “Yan”
Derek: “Para dito, para dito”
Eileen: “Para dito sa tabi”. So, you say stop here at the side because otherwise you know taxi drivers they just stop. You say “para dito sa tabi”.
Derek: “Sa tabi”
Eileen: So, they will put it aside, right?
Derek: Don’t leave anything to chance.
Eileen: Exactly!
Derek: Okay.
Eileen: They just stop at the middle of the road, “para dito”
Derek: Yeah, so
Eileen: Or “para po dito sa tabi”, if you wanna be respectful.
Derek: “Po” meaning “sa, Stop sa”.
Eileen: Yeah, “po” is just, it’s just a respectful word yeah.
Derek: And then, so we’re in a restaurant. How do you call over someone? This is what always gets me.
Eileen: Excuse me.
Derek: Yeah, that’s the problem there but in a lot of, there’s like excuse me,
Eileen: Miss.
Derek: In a lot of, so there’s
Eileen: Sir
Derek: There’s kind of
Eileen: “Kuya”
Derek: “Kuya” which is like younger brother
Eileen: Yeah, brother, no, no, no older
Derek: Older brother
Eileen: Yeah
Derek: Which is respectful term
Eileen: Yeah
Derek: And then there’s “ate” which is older sister
Eileen: Older sister
Derek: But what if they’re younger than you?
Eileen: They say “kuya parin”
Derek: “Parin”
Eileen: You say “kuya”, still. Because otherwise. It’s just like “kuya”, it doesn’t matter if older or younger. It’s like yo bro what’s, bro like, bro I need to be served. You know, it’s
Derek: Yeah, but if it’s in a formal place is that too casual?
Eileen: For, you just say excuse me, you just say excuse me
Derek: Is there a Tagalog for that?
Eileen: No
Derek: And you wouldn’t use “po”
Eileen: Excuse me “Po, pwede”. I can, we use. We can use it.
Derek: So, you’re saying excuse me “po”. And in terms of “po”.
Eileen: You can use it as often as you want.
Derek: But is there a feminine? I’ve heard some people say “pa” for a girl.
Eileen: No.
Derek: “po” for a boy or a girl
Eileen: Yes, “pa is Hindi pa”
Derek: “Hindi pa”
Eileen: “Hindi pa”
Derek: What is “hindi pa”?
Eileen: Not yet, it’s yet
Derek: Oh, it’s crazy.
Eileen: “Pa” is
Derek: So “po” means Sir, Madame, “pa” means yet.
Eileen: Yeah
Derek: Okay and what else are we doing? What are some key things?
Eileen: Numbers.
Derek: Yeah
Eileen: Yes.
Derek: They don’t use English?
Eileen: No, this is important. One, “isa”
Derek: “Isa”
Eileen: Two, “dalawa”.
Derek: “Dalawa, dalawa”. I hear that a lot.
Eileen: Three, “tatlo”
Derek: “Tatlo”
Eileen: “Tatlo”
Derek: “Tatlo”
Eileen: Yes, T-A-T-L-O, four, “apat”
Derek: “Apat” You look like you’re trying to remember that.
Eileen: I know, Five, “lima”
Derek: “Lima”, okay, I think we’ll stop there. Do people use?
Eileen: No, you have to know the ten.
Derek: Okay, but everyone knows English 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10.
Eileen: Yes, first is “una”
Derek: “Una”
Eileen: Second, “pangalawa”
Derek: “Pangalawa”
Eileen: So, it’s easy from there. “Pangalawa so dalawa, pangalawa” “dalawa” is two, “pangalawa is second”. “Pangatlo”, third, “tatlo”, three. “Apat, pang-apat”. So, it’s easy now, do you understand? “Pang-lima”
Derek: “Pang-lima”
Eileen: Yeah, so that’s fifth. Okay, stop in five for now.
Derek: And then, what about anything else, thank you.
Eileen: “Salamat”
Derek: “Salamat”, significantly that is.
Eileen: “Salamat” is basically Malay.
Derek: The emphasis is on the second syllable.
Eileen: “Salamat”, doesn’t matter. “Salamat”, that’s just how you say it.
Derek: “Salamat”
Eileen: “Salamat” is nonchalant
Derek: I would say, if I was saying on a normal accent I would say “Salamat”.
Eileen: Yeah, that’s good.
Derek: But that’s not good.
Eileen: No, but if you want to be like really, really heartfelt “Salamat”.
Derek: Ooh.
Eileen: because we’re very emotional.
Derek: Okay. What about can I have or get? I mean, can I have?
Eileen: “Pwede ba”?
Derek: Ah, really? Can I have a beer or can I have a coffee?
Eileen: “Isang beer”
Derek: What is “sang”?
Eileen: “Isa”, one beer. “Pwede ba”, can I have a beer, “pwede bang”, but no, nobody uses that. “Isang beer”.
Derek: “Isang beer”.
Eileen: “Kuya”
Derek: So, what does that mean? One?
Eileen: One beer.
Derek: What about two beers? You just way two beers.
Eileen: Two beers, “dalawang beer”. Isang beer.
Derek: What about can you get me this, can you.
Eileen: “Pwede ba”
Derek: “Pwede ba”, what does that mean?
Eileen: “Pwede bang humingi ng”.
Derek: So “ba’ is a shortening of.
Eileen: Yeah, Can I, it’s more of a question mark. So, it’s like “pwede bang humingi”?
Derek: What is “Humingi”?
Eileen: Ask
Derek: Ooh, So, but, so if I want a beer, no if I want a chair you say ‘pwede ba” chair?
Eileen: “Silya”
Derek: What is “silya?”
Eileen: Chair
Derek: Okay, but if you go “pwede ba”?
Eileen: “Pwede bang humingi ng silya”?
Derek: Okay.
Eileen: That’s too long for you.
Derek: Yeah, yeah, but if I go “pwede ba”, chair.
Eileen: No, that’s too wrong.
Derek: Really?
Eileen: “Pahinging chair”
Derek: “Pahinging”
Eileen: Chair, “Pahingi” is can I have.
Derek: Yeah, yeah.
Eileen: “Pahinging chair”
Derek: “Pahining”
Eileen: “Pahingi”
Derek: “Pahingi”
Eileen: You’ll have a hard time with NG man.
Derek: So, how many words is in “pahingi”?
Eileen: “Pahingi”, “hingi” is ask, base form, “Pahingi” “paki” is another word and then you concise it “pahingi”, that’s one word.
Derek: I think we’re done. Are there any other significant words?
Eileen: No.
Derek: Conversational.
Eileen: “Maganda”
Derek: What is “maganda”?
Eileen: Beautiful. Very beautiful.
Derek: Beautiful, “Maganda”
Eileen: “Maganda”
Derek: So, how do you say you are beautiful?
Eileen: “Maganda ka”.
Derek: Ah, so it a.
Eileen: “Maganda ka”.
Derek: Hmmm. That’s complicated.
Eileen: “Pangit ka”. You’re ugly. “pangit”.
Derek: So, what does.
Eileen: “Pangit”.
Derek: “Pangit”.
Eileen: Yes, very
Derek: “Ka” means you.
Eileen: You, “pangit”, it’s like.
Derek: Is that a conjugation and like “ka” is you?
Eileen: Yeah, “ka”, because you is “ikaw”. So the short term of the I and the W is “pangit ka”. “Pangit ikaw” doesn’ say it, “pangit ka”.
Derek: Okay, so “pangit ka”, which you don’t wanna say too often but you are beautiful is.
Eileen: “Maganda ka”.
Derek: “Maganda ka”.
Eileen: Because very beautiful is.
Derek: Ah “ma”.
Eileen: “Ma’ is to emphasize, to pluralizing, that’s very. “Maganda ka”.
Derek: So, what is beautiful? the “Ganda ka”
Eileen: “Ganda”
Derek: And then you is the “ka”.
Eileen: Yes.
Derek: “Ma”, very, “ganda”, beautiful, “ka”, you.
Eileen: Brave is “tapang”
Derek: “tapa”, like “beef tapa”?
Eileen: “Tapang”, “Tapang” with an NG.
Derek: “Tapang”, So “matapang ka”
Eileen: Very Brave
Derek: “Matapang ka”
Eileen: “Matapang”
Derek: “Matapang”
Eileen: “ka”
Derek: “ka”, there’s a lot of conjugation ah.
Eileen: Yeah.
Derek: So, that’s a problem.
Eileen: It’s more of a “syllabilical” The language is based on syllables.
Derek: Rhythm
Eileen: And how you say it, you write it. That’s why some people they tend to write “galing” with an E because our language is cool. How do you say it in Tagalog? “Kung anong baybay siyang sulat”. So how do you pronounce is how you write it. That’s why some people mistake short I’s with E.
Derek: Perfect. Finished. How do you say we’re finished?
Eileen: “tapos na”
Derek: “Pos na”
Eileen: “tapos na”
Derek: “tapos na”
Eileen: “Ta-pos”, “Ta-pos”
Derek: “Ta-pos”, “na”. Ah “na”, so “na” means now. Ah “na” that’s a common thing.
Eileen: Yeah, “tapos na”, “kain na”, it’s like more of. Yeah, I think it’s now. I’m not sure but “tapos na”, I don’t know if it’s a now.
Derek: “tapos na”.
Eileen: It’s just to emphasize. A lot of our words is to emphasize because our word, our language is very emotional not like the English.
Derek: It’s okay, we’ll end that here
Okay I hope you enjoyed that. If you ever come to the Philippines and find yourself in a taxi and wanna pull over then this episode is no doubt invaluable. If you wanna have a look at any of the show notes, any of the spelling, if you wanna get our hack sheet for the spelling, go to our website the show notes and that is at outsourceaccelerator.com/podcast/episode21.
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