FilipinoPod101.com Blog

The fact that you’re here to master advanced Tagalog words is proof that you’re ready to be as fluent in Filipino as you are in your mother tongue. It also means you’ve been studying Filipino for about a thousand hours already! Yes, according to the Foreign Service Institute, a language like Filipino takes approximately 1100 hours to learn. What does this step forward mean for you? It means that you’ll be more comfortable producing well-structured sentences regardless of the subject matter. You’ll also have an easier time understanding texts with implicit meaning. Most importantly, you’ll be more confident expressing your ideas spontaneously because you won’t have to grasp for the right words anymore. In this article, we’ve prepared... Show more

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... Show more

The Philippines is home to over 50,000 different animal species, many of which are endemic to the archipelago. In the last decade, sixteen new species of mammals have been discovered in the country, and the rate of endemism is likely to rise. Because of this, it's only natural for Tagalog learners to study the names of animals in Filipino—especially those animals that are native to the Philippines.  Filipinos are animal lovers by nature. Because the Philippines is primarily an agricultural country, a large portion of the population lives in rural areas where animals (both domesticated and wild) roam free. In this guide, you’ll learn the names of over 80 animals in Filipino, from common housepets (and pests) to farm animals...and from... Show more

Hearing the phone ring can be exciting, especially when we’re expecting to receive some good news. However, for people in a foreign country who are still learning the language, the experience might not be so thrilling.  This is especially true in professional settings. Imagine being the only one in the room when the phone suddenly rings, and you’re not even sure how to say "hello" in Tagalog—let alone put together any useful Filipino phone call phrases! How terrifying would that be? I know. I’m just exaggerating. But you get my point. Not knowing what to say when answering the phone can be stressful (not to mention awkward). But you can rest your worries here. In this post, you’ll learn the essential Tagalog phone call phrases for a... Show more

Having a commendable vocabulary list to study is imperative when you’re learning a new language. That said, mastering core Filipino words is crucial if you want to become fluent in the language of the Philippines.  Tagalog beginner words are simple everyday words that form the foundation of a much larger vocabulary. Learning and mastering them will help you if you’re going to pursue a career or education in the Philippines or if you simply want to move to the country. The good news about Filipino vocabulary is that most of the words have an equivalent in English. And if you commit to studying for at least an hour every day, you’ll be able to master all the basic Filipino words and apply them in daily conversations after only 200... Show more

Remember the last time you had to say something important, but you ended up forgetting the exact words you were planning to say? How about the time you were going to comment about something, but somehow, you just couldn’t utter the right words? What saved you from embarrassment during those moments? Let me guess—uhm—filler words! Yes, we’re talking about those short meaningless sounds that help you collect your thoughts or fill in the little pauses between your sentences. While fillers are a common point of disagreement in the world of public speaking, there’s not a language in the world that makes do without them. It makes sense, then, to become familiar with Filipino filler words when learning Tagalog. Fillers make up a huge part of... Show more

Filipinos are known to be very romantic. In fact, Filipinos are ranked as the fourth most romantic lovers in the Asia-Pacific, despite the reality that the Filipino culture of courtship has significantly evolved over the past several decades.  Before, a young Filipino man would serenade the love of his life to express his feelings for her in a gesture called harana. Courtship slowly shifted from the traditional serenading to phone calls and love letters. The grand arrival of the internet and the mobile phone eventually gave way to online dating.  So, in modern times, how does one say "I love you," in Tagalog? Despite the gradual changes to courtship and dating in the Philippines, what remains are the utterances used in expressing... Show more

Filipinos have a reputation for not being able to refuse or say no to a request. Some see this as a negative trait, but one reason Filipinos generally avoid saying no is because they view it as rude. Others attribute this habit to the Filipino culture of hiya (sense of shame) or the avoidance of losing face. But it’s also probably because Filipinos are just that amicable. Despite that, Filipinos do have a word for "no," and yes, they know how to use it and make a refusal if they feel like they’re being taken advantage of. In relation to that, this article is all about Filipino negation and how to say no in Tagalog.  You’ll learn… ...the most common words used in Filipino negation....how to formulate a negative response to a... Show more

Why learn Tagalog or Filipino when there are other languages to choose from? If you’re studying Tagalog as a second language, there’s a chance that you’ve been asked this question once or twice. But even if you’re still in the process of deciding whether to study Tagalog or not, this is a valid question to ask yourself. Is the Filipino language so significant that you should spend more than 1000 hours to learn and master it? As a Filipino, I would say that our language may not be too sophisticated, but there are more reasons to study it than you could think of. From widening your professional network to making new friends or finding more opportunities for romance, there are just so many reasons for you to consider it. In this blog... Show more

Grammatical tense is an important tool that helps us express time as it relates to actions or states of being. As such, mastering the different tenses in Filipino will help you establish effective communication in both written and oral forms.  The challenge when it comes to Filipino grammar, though, is that the tenses are quite dissimilar from those found in English. As you might imagine, learning Filipino verb conjugation can be quite a formidable task!  The good news is that there’s a systematic way to study and master the different verb tenses in Filipino. We already have a post about Tagalog verb conjugation that you might want to go through, but we’re going to touch on that a bit here, as well.  First, let’s give you a brief... Show more