Learn Tagalog - Lesson 2

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Hey, Steemers! This is Part 2 of my Tagalog (i.e., Filipino) language series.

In our last post, we learned basic greetings and introductions. Now we're going to build on what we've learned. @awesomenyl can be heard in the audio files below for pronunciation.

Do you remember how to ask, "How are you?" Kumusta ka? Good. This is how you say "I'm fine" or "quite good."

Mabuti naman.
Quite good. (informal)

Mabuti means "good" or "fine" and naman can be difficult to translate. In this phrase, it means something along the lines of "quite" so that the phrase means "quite good." You can also say mabuti naman ako, which means, "I'm quite good."

Remember that Tagalog makes use of honorifics, so when talking to someone significantly older or in a position of authority (e.g., a doctor), you say, Mabuti po naman or mabuti po.

Ikaw?
You? (informal)

In our last post, we learned that ka means "you." Ikaw also means "you," and it's generally used at the beginning of a sentence or by itself, as it is here.

Kayo po?
You? (formal)

The honorific term po is not compatible with ikaw, so we cannot ask, Ikaw po? Instead, we have to ask, Kayo po? Kayo is plural for "you," and it's used in formal speech even if we're only talking to one person.

Mabuti rin naman ako.
I'm also quite good. (informal)

The word rin means "also" or "too." As a general rule, when it's used after a word that ends in a vowel, it's rin, and when it's used after a word that ends in a consonant, it's din. To make the phrase short, you can say mabuti rin or mabuti rin naman. Formally, you can say, Mabuti rin po.

Welp, that's all for today. Keep practicing your pronunciations, and stay tuned for Lesson 3!