Basic Tagalog Vocabulary

Page 1 – Core Vocabulary & Functional Particles (Tagalog ↔ English)

• ang
  • Primary subject-marker/article; highlights the grammatical focus (topic) of the clause.
  • Often placed before common & proper nouns, pronouns, infinitives, or adjectives acting as predicates.
  • Example: Ang bahay ay malaki. — “The house is big.”

• ano
  • Interrogative pronoun “what.”
  • Also used as a discourse filler (similar to “uh/um”).
  • Example: Ano ang pangalan mo? — “What’s your name?”

• sa
  • Multifunctional preposition; usually translated “to, at, in, on, into, for.”
  • Marks indirect objects, locations, time expressions, or beneficiary.
  • Example (location): Nasa bahay siya. — “He/She is at home.”

• at / or / in
  • From the raw transcript; likely meant to contrast English connectors with Tagalog.
  • at (Tagalog) = “and.”
  • or / in = English glosses for examples above.

• Parang
  • Adverb/particle meaning “like,” “as if,” or “seems.”
  • Conveys approximation or comparison.
  • Example: Parang pagod ka. — “You seem tired.”

• ibig
  • Root word meaning “desire,” “wish,” or “meaning,” depending on context.
  • Common collocation: ibig sabihin = “meaning” / “that is to say.”
  • Example: Ano ang ibig mong sabihin? — “What do you mean?”

• na
  • Highly productive enclitic particle. Two major uses captured in transcript:

  1. Aspectual: indicates completion or change of state (“already,” “now”).
     • Example: Tapos na ako. — “I’m finished already.”
  2. Connector: links clauses or words (similar to “that,” “so,” or “and then”).
     • Example: Sabi ko na. — “I told you so.”

• yan / iyan
  • Demonstrative pronoun “that” (near listener).
  • Example (identificational): Ano yan? — “What is that?”

• mo
  • 2ᵈ person singular genitive pronoun; “your” (possessive) or “you” (object).
  • Example (possessive): Aklat mo ito. — “This is your book.”
  • Example (object): Makikita kita mamaya. — “I’ll see you later.”

• maintindihan
  • Verb “to understand” in infinitive/neutral focus form.
  • Example: Hindi ko maintindihan. — “I can’t understand (it).”

• nangangahulugang
  • Present/progressive form of mangahulugan (“to mean”).
  • Often appears as explanatory phrase “… nangangahulugang …” = “… which means …”
  • Example: Lumindol, nangangahulugang gumagalaw ang lupa. — “It quaked, meaning the ground is moving.”

• Sabihin
  • Verb “to say / to tell,” imperative or infinitive.
  • Example (command): Sabihin mo sa kanya. — “Tell him/her.”

• ikaw
  • 2ᵈ person singular nominative pronoun “you.”
  • Frequently fronted for emphasis or used in contrasts ("How about you?").
  • Example: Ikaw ba ang guru? — “Are you the teacher?”

Miscellaneous / Transcript Noise

• "119" appears in the original page; likely a page or list number — not semantically relevant.

Connections & Practical Notes

• Many of these items (ang, sa, na, mo, ikaw) are among the most frequent function words in Tagalog; mastering them dramatically boosts comprehension.
• Particles such as na and parang carry pragmatic nuances (e.g., politeness, hesitation, approximation).
• Combining ibig + sabihin yields the invaluable phrase ibig sabihin (“meaning/that is”).
• Demonstratives (yan) and pronouns (mo, ikaw) interact with focus markers (ang) and case markers (sa) to build well-formed sentences.

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