Learn all you need to know about greetings in Filipino
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Intro |
|---|
| Alisha: How do you greet someone at different times of the day? |
| Danilo: And are there any alternatives? |
| Alisha: At FilipinoPod101.com, we hear these questions often. In the following scenario, Ben Lee is greeting his friend, but he hasn't noticed how late it has become. Ben says, "Good morning!" |
| Ben Lee: Magandang umaga! |
| Dialogue |
| Ben Lee: Magandang umaga! |
| Victoria Villanueva: Ala una na. Magandang hapon dapat. |
| Alisha: Once more with the English translation. |
| Ben Lee: Magandang umaga! |
| Alisha: "Good morning!" |
| Victoria Villanueva: Ala una na. Magandang hapon dapat. |
| Alisha: "It's already one o'clock. It should be ‘good afternoon'." |
Lesson focus |
| Alisha: In this lesson, we will talk about time-sensitive greetings in the Filipino language. Just like in English, Filipino greetings depend on the time or |
| Danilo: oras |
| Alisha: The three primary greetings in Filipino correspond to the three different times of the day, which are morning, afternoon, and evening. In the morning, we greet people by saying, |
| Danilo: Magandang umaga |
| Alisha: or "Good morning." This greeting is used in the morning, from the time the sun has come out until just before lunchtime at noon. In the afternoon, we say, |
| Danilo: Magandang hapon |
| Alisha: or "Good afternoon." This is the greeting used starting at one o'clock in the afternoon until the sun has set, usually around six o'clock. And, in the evening, we greet with, |
| Danilo: Magandang gabi |
| Alisha: or "Good evening." But what about noon time? In this case, we use the greeting, |
| Danilo: Magandang tanghali |
| Alisha: or "Good noon." This greeting is used specifically for noontime, which is between 12 o'clock, or noon, and 1 o'clock in the afternoon. |
| [Recall 1] |
| Alisha: Let's take a closer look at the dialogue. |
| Do you remember how Ben Lee says, "Good morning?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Danilo as Ben Lee: Magandang umaga! |
| Alisha: As we learned earlier, "Good morning" is used in the early morning hours. As a rule of thumb, we use this greeting from as early as 5:30 in the morning until noon. However, there's another way to greet someone in the morning, and that would be by saying, |
| Danilo: Kumusta? |
| Alisha: This means, "How are you?" And since Filipinos incorporate a lot of English words in their conversations, it's not uncommon to hear someone greet with a simple "Hi" or "Hello." |
| [Recall 2] |
| Alisha: Now, let's take a look at our second sentence. |
| Do you remember how Victoria Villanueva says, "It's already one o'clock. It should be ‘Good afternoon?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Danilo as Victoria Villanueva: Ala una na. Magandang hapon dapat. |
| Alisha: Here, Victoria reminds Ben that it's already one in the afternoon, which means "Good morning" is no longer applicable, and that the correct greeting should be |
| Danilo: Magandang hapon |
| Alisha: or "Good afternoon," since it's already one o'clock. |
| [Summary] |
| Alisha: In this lesson, we learned that Filipino has three major time-related greetings like English, and these are |
| Danilo: Magandang umaga |
| Alisha: or "Good morning," |
| Danilo: Magandang hapon |
| Alisha: or "Good afternoon," and |
| Danilo: Magandang gabi |
| Alisha: for "Good evening." We also learned that, at noon, the greeting used is |
| Danilo: Magandang tanghali |
| Alisha: or "Good noon." |
| Expansion |
| Alisha: There's another greeting used in Filipino as an alternative to "Good morning." It's |
| Danilo: Magandang araw |
| Alisha: This is equivalent to the English "Good day," and can be used from the early morning until early afternoon or around 3 pm. You've probably noticed that we begin all our greetings with |
| Danilo: maganda |
| Alisha: This could mean "good" or "beautiful." The word |
| Danilo: araw |
| Alisha: as you might have guessed, means "day." Meanwhile, |
| Danilo: umaga |
| Alisha: means "morning," |
| Danilo: hapon |
| Alisha: means "afternoon," |
| Danilo: gabi |
| Alisha: means "evening," and |
| Danilo: tanghali |
| Alisha: means "noon." |
| Cultural Insight |
| Alisha: A large percentage of the Filipino population speak English as a second language, with many in urban areas using English a lot in formal settings, such as work and school. As a result, you will seldom hear a Filipino greet a colleague in their native language. Even in informal settings, Filipinos would prefer to use English when greeting a friend or a neighbor. Perhaps the only place you will often hear Filipinos greeting using their native tongue are in rural areas and provinces, or |
| Danilo: probinsya |
| Alisha: This is not because people in these places are uneducated. You'll be amazed that many people coming from the rural areas are well-versed in the English language. It's just that people coming from these places are more comfortable using their own dialects and seldom incorporate English words when conversing. And one more thing—It's also not uncommon for Filipinos to use "Hi" or "Hello" even in formal settings. But, as a sign of respect to older people or those in authority, a participle is added at the end of the sentence. It's the word |
| Danilo: po |
| Alisha: So, when you meet your boss at work or your professor at any time of the day, it's normally okay to greet them with |
| Danilo: Hi po or Hello po. |
| Alisha: But don't forget to smile as you do! |
Outro |
| Alisha: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Danilo: Paalam. |
| Alisha: See you soon! |
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