It takes 200 hours of studying basic Filipino grammar and vocabulary for students to reach the intermediate level. So, if you’re reading this right now, you deserve a round of applause—it means you’re ready to take things to the next level!

By the end of this lesson, you’ll find it a lot easier to comprehend everyday words and expressions about people and work. You’ll also learn new words in a variety of categories that you can use to describe people, things, your emotions, and even the weather. 

We’re talking about around 300 intermediate Tagalog words and phrases, which is a lot. A great way to master these words is to use them in context. It’s also ideal to study them by theme, which is why we’ve categorized them this way throughout the article. 

Now, we have a lot of words to learn and get down pat. Let’s get started!

A great way to master intermediate Filipino words is to use them in context.

Table of Contents

1. Mga Bilang (Numbers)
2. Mga Pangngalan (Nouns)
3. Verbs
4. Adjectives
5. Pang-abay (Adverbs)
6. Pang-Ukol (Prepositions)
7. Mga Pangatnig (Conjunctions)
8. Auxiliary Words and Particles
9. Refine your Tagalog vocabulary skills with FilipinoPod101!

1. Mga Bilang (Numbers)

Now that you’ve mastered the basic numbers from 1 to 10 in Filipino, it’s time to learn the teens and the numbers beyond them. When counting from 11 to 19 in Filipino, just add the prefix labing to the numbers 1-9. Labing is a contraction of labi (“excess”) and ng (“of”), and it refers to the excess of ten. For instance, the number 11 is one unit in excess of ten, so that would be labing + isa (“one”), or “one more than ten.”

1 – From 11 to 19

11	labing-isa
12	labindalawa
13	labintatlo
14	labing-apat
15	labinlima
16	labing-anim
17	labimpito
18	labingwalo
19	labinsiyam

2 – From 20 to 90

Counting beyond the teen numbers is not difficult in Filipino. The formula is to add the suffix -pu, which is short for sampu (“ten”), to the numbers in the tens place. For instance, the number 20 is dalawampu, which basically means “two tens” or “two multiplied by ten.” Keep in mind that some numbers need the linker na.

30	tatlumpu
40	apatnapu
50	limampu
60	animnapu
70	pitumpu
80	walumpu
90	siyamnapu

3 – Counting to the Thousands (and Beyond)

“Hundred” is daan in Tagalog, so counting in hundreds simply means adding this word to the numbers in the hundreds place. Keep in mind that we use the linker ng in number words that end in vowels. Moreover, the d in daan changes to r when the linker used is na, which is placed after words that end in consonants. 

100	isang daan
200	dalawang daan
300	tatlong daan
400	apat na raan
500	limang daan
600	anim na raan
700	pitong daan
800	walong daan
900	siyam na raan

Counting in thousands and millions is just as easy. For thousands, you just use the word libo (“thousand”), and for millions, you use the word milyon (“million”).

1,000	isang libo
2,000	dalawang libo
5,000	limang libo
7,000	pitong libo
10,000	sampung libo
100,000	isang daang libo
1,000,000	isang milyon

Ang Pilipinas ay may mahigit pitong libong mga isla! (“The Philippines is made up of over 7,000 islands!”)

→ Need a refresher on the basic Filipino numbers? We’ve got you covered!

2. Mga Pangngalan (Nouns)

Here’s a list of intermediate-level nouns, or pangngalan, to add to your vocabulary.

1 – Time

Filipino	English
dekada	decade
siglo	century
milenyo	millenium
semestre	semester
panahon	period
hating-gabi	midnight
madaling-araw	wee hours

2 – People

Filipino	English
pangalan	name
apelyido	family name
palayaw	nickname
magulang	parent
balae	parent of one’s son- or daughter-in-law
biyenan	father- or mother-in-law
manugang	son- or daughter-in-law
bayaw	brother-in-law
hipag	sister-in-law
amain	stepfather
inain	stepmother
dalaga	single woman
binata	single man
kasintahan	lover
nobyo	boyfriend
nobya	girlfriend
kamag-anak	relative
kaibigan	friend
barkada	gang
kalaro	playmate
kapamilya	family member
kapitbahay	neighbor
ninong	godfather
ninang	godmother
bilas	brother-in-law’s wife or sister-in-law’s husband
kaklase	classmate
mama	man
ale	woman
bata	child
tao	person
kakilala	acquaintance
katrabaho	coworker
amo	boss / employer
katulong	maid
tauhan	staff

3 – Professions

Filipino	English
basurero	garbage collector
guwardiya	security guard
tsuper	driver
tindero	male merchant / salesman
tindera	female merchant / saleslady
barbero	barber
manikurista	manicurist
bumbero	fireman
artista	actor / actress
abugado	lawyer
karpintero	carpenter
magsasaka	farmer
tubero	plumber
mekaniko	mechanic
magnanakaw	burglar
kusinero	cook
tagalinis	janitor
piloto	pilot
manggagawa	worker
mangingisda	fisherfolk
dentista	dentist
pari	priest

4 – Various Nouns

Filipino	English
awtoridad	authority
batas	law
alaga	pet
halaman	plants
puno	trees
pananim	crops
kotse	car
bahay	house
telepono	telephone
bisikleta	bicycle
motor	motorbike
dyip	jeepney
sasakyan	vehicle
pitaka	wallet
damit	clothing
pantalon	pants
sapatos	shoes
tsinelas	flip-flops

Paki-iwan ng madumi mong tsinelas sa may pintuan. (“Please leave your dirty flip-flops by the door.”)

→ Remember to check out this page, too, for more practical Filipino nouns.

3. Verbs

At the beginner level, you learned a number of commonly used action words and auxiliaries. But what if you want to express a more nuanced idea or add flair to your writing? Below, you’ll find several intermediate Tagalog verbs you can start practicing right away! 

The great thing about Filipino verbs is that the rules for conjugation remain the same, no matter the verb’s level of difficulty. Filipino verbs are grouped according to how they’re conjugated. You’ll observe that most of the verbs we used in this list are -UM verbs. We’re not going to go into detail regarding what -UM verbs are, but you can always visit our blog entry on Filipino verb conjugation to learn more about them. 

Filipino	English
magtalaga	to assign
magpakabait	to behave
manatili	to remain
magpaiwan	to stay
huminga	to breathe
sumabog	to burst / to explode
kumbinsihin	to convince
maniwala	to believe
gumuhit	to draw
magpintura	to paint
mag-alaga	to take care
magdesisyon	to decide
tumuklas	to discover
magsaya	to enjoy
magbura	to erase
matakot	to be afraid
lumipad	to fly
umurong	to shrink / to move back
sumuko	to surrender / to give up
sumuka	to vomit
magbiro	to joke; to pull a prank
humalik	to kiss
magpaalam	to ask permission / to say goodbye
umorder	to give an order
umutos	to give a command
magtipon	to gather
kumulekta	to collect
maglagay	to put
magtanggal	to eliminate / to get rid of
mag-alis	to remove
sumuntok	to punch
magdagdag	to add
magbawas	to subtract
mag-ayos	to fix / to arrange
umikot	to rotate
lumingon	to look back
baliin	to break
sirain	to destroy
ayusin	to fix
kumanta	to sing
sumayaw	to dance
sumunod	to follow
pumusta	to place a bet
maglaro	to play
maglinis	to clean
umasikaso	to attend to
gumamot	to mend
pumatay	to kill
gumanti	to take revenge
magpatawad	to forgive
magmahal	to love
magsanay	to train
manganak	to have a child
manalo	to win
matalo	to lose
mamalengke	to go to the market
mag-igib	to fetch some water

Mabuti at umulan. Hindi ko na kailangang mag-igib. (“Thank goodness it rained. There’s no need for me to fetch some water.”)

→ Our Comprehensive Guide to Filipino Verbs will surely give you a leg-up on your journey to mastering Filipino!

4. Adjectives

We’ve already introduced you to a few basic Filipino adjectives in our previous articles. For the intermediate level, we’ve doubled the number of items on our list. And if this is still not enough, you can always check out our list of the 50 most common Filipino adjectives with audio recordings. 

1 – Adjectives Describing Objects

Filipino	English
tumpak	accurate
sinauna	ancient
pangkaraniwan	ordinary / average
magkapareho	similar
kumplikado	complicated
napakalaki	huge / very large
napakaliit	tiny / very small
sapat	sufficient
bago	new
luma	old
malambot	soft
matigas	hard
magaspang	rough
makinis	smooth
maliwanag	bright
madilim	dark
sariwa	fresh
mabigat	heavy
magaan	light
mahal	expensive
mura	cheap
abot-kaya	affordable
malabo	blurry / hazy
makitid	narrow
tuyo	dry
basa	wet

2 – Adjectives Describing People

Filipino	English
magaling	awesome / great
matalino	intelligent
mahirap	poor
mayaman	rich
matapang	brave
duwag	cowardly
malakas	strong
madaldal	talkative
mabait	kind
mabuti	good
masama	bad
gastador	spender
matipid	thrifty
kuripot	stingy
singkit	with slanted eyes
kulot	with curly hair
malandi	flirty
bobo	dumb
mayabang	arrogant / humbug
mapagpakumbaba	humble
kalbo	bald
bata	young
matanda	old

3 – Adjectives Describing Emotions

Filipino	English
natatakot	afraid
nag-aalala	worried
naiinggit	envious
kalmado	calm
naiinis	annoyed
nababagot	bored
nandidiri	loathsome / grossed out
nagulat	shocked / surprised
natatawa	amused
naaaliw	entertained
sabik	excited
mapayapa	peaceful
kabado	nervous
mahinahon	relaxed
kuntento	satisfied
nasasaktan	hurting
pagod	tired
naguguluhan	confused
naiirita	irritated
balisa	anxious

4 – Adjectives Describing the Weather

Filipino	English
mabagyo	stormy
napakainit	very hot
napakaginaw	very cold
napakalamig	very cool
presko	cool
mahamog	foggy
hindi maulap	cloudless

Hindi pa siya kuntento kaya nag-aral pa siya ng nag-aral. (“He wasn’t satisfied, so he studied more and more.”)

5. Pang-abay (Adverbs)

Adverbs are called pang-abay in Filipino. While there are only five types of adverbs in English, the Filipino language has up to twelve types. We have a separate article covering Filipino adverbs in more detail if you’d like to study the topic further. In the meantime, here’s a list of the most useful everyday Filipino adverbs for the intermediate level.

1 – Time & Frequency

Filipino	English
kadalasan	usually
tuwing	every time / whenever
kinabukasan	tomorrow / the day after
araw-araw	every day / daily
palagi	always
minsan	once in a while
bihira	rarely
isang beses	once
dalawang beses	twice
sa	on
kapag	when / whenever
hanggang	until
kahapon	yesterday
bukas	tomorrow
ngayon	now
ngayong araw	today
mamaya	later

2 – Manner

Filipino	English
mabilis	quickly
dahan-dahan	slowly
mahinahon	calmly
puwersahan	forcefully
kaagad-agad	immediately
mahigpit	tightly
malakas	loudly
tahimik	silently

3 – Place

Filipino	English
wala saanman	nowhere
kahit saan	anywhere
kung saan-saan	somewhere / everywhere
sa itaas	above
sa ibaba	below
sa ibabaw	over / on top
sa dulo	at the end
doon	there
dito	here

4 – Measure

Filipino	English
marami	many / plenty
kaunti	few / a little
sapat	enough
kalahati	half
halos	almost

Mahigpit niyang niyakap ang kanyang anak. (“He hugged his daughter tightly.”)

6. Pang-Ukol (Prepositions)

The next set of intermediate Tagalog words we’ll look at are prepositions, or pang-ukol in Filipino. They help expand the meaning of a sentence by stating where or when something is, what time something occurred, what caused an action to happen, and so on, in relation to another person or thing. Here’s a list of the most common Filipino prepositions.

Filipino	English
ng	of
sa	on
ni	of (non-focus marker)
kay	to (singular)
kina	to (plural)
ayon sa	according to
para sa	for
tungkol sa/kay	about

7. Mga Pangatnig (Conjunctions)

We already covered some of the most common Filipino conjunctions in our entry on Filipino beginner words. As mentioned, there are as many of them in Filipino as there are in English. Here are more words to add to your arsenal.

Filipino	English
saka, pati	and
o	or
ngunit	but
kapag	if
dahil	because

The thing about Filipino conjunctions is that their difficulty lies not in their function but in how often they’re used. For instance, the conjunction ngunit (“but”) means the same thing as kasi. However, between the two, the latter is more commonly used in everyday speech, while the former is often used in literature.

8. Auxiliary Words and Particles

The Filipino language has enclitic particles that convey important nuances in meaning. Some of them don’t have direct translations in English, and some are used in conjunction with other enclitic particles. The following is a short list of some of the most common and most important Filipino enclitic particles used in everyday speech. Learning how to incorporate these into your conversations is a great way to improve your Tagalog as you approach the intermediate level. 

Filipino	English
pa	still
nga	indeed
na	now / already
din/rin	too / also
daw/raw	it is said / I’m told
ba	interrogative marker

The meaning of each particle varies slightly depending on how it’s used in a sentence. Let’s take the particle pa, for example:

• Ayaw ko pa. (“I don’t want to yet.”)

In this example, pa is used to emphasize that the speaker is not yet ready to do something.

• Dagdagan mo pa. (“Please add more.”)

In this example, pa is used to emphasize that the speaker is requesting that a particular action be continued or that its intensity be increased.

Meanwhile, the particle ba is one of those untranslatable Tagalog words. It’s often found at the end (or near the end) of an interrogative sentence, particularly yes-no questions.

• Kumain ka na ba? (“Have you eaten yet?”)
• Nagluto ka ba? (“Did you cook?”)
• Naririnig mo ba ako? (“Can you hear me?”)

Bababa ba? (“Going down?”)

9. Refine your Tagalog vocabulary skills with FilipinoPod101!

Allow us to give you a pat on the back for reaching the end of this intermediate Tagalog vocabulary guide! If you believe there are more words that should have been on this list, let us know in the comments below.

Wait, don’t leave just yet! We know you’re excited to use your newly acquired knowledge, but what if we told you that you can learn even more? That’s right! With FilipinoPod101, you can learn more than just vocabulary. We can help you refine your grammar skills and broaden your cultural knowledge, so that you can reach the advanced level soon and become a fluent Tagalog communicator!

Yes, that is possible with all the free resources available here on our website—not to mention all of our audio and video lessons, our list of over 2000 Filipino vocabulary words, and our Filipino-English dictionary! And if you sign up, you’ll gain access to one of our most sought-after features—MyTeacher. MyTeacher is a Premium PLUS service that allows learners like you to enjoy 1-on-1 lessons with a professional Filipino teacher. It’s designed to tailor lessons according to the needs of our students, so you can enjoy learning at your own pace and in your own style. 

We can’t wait to see you become part of the FilipinoPod101 community!