There are a lot of words in Tagalog that have the same spelling but have different

pronunciation and meaning. This poses a big problem to language learners as the

meaning can sometimes be hidden behind the context. In addition, Tagalog does not

use any marks in the written form to point out how the word should be pronounced.

Native speakers have intuitive understanding of the meaning of those words and without

thinking automatically catches the correct concept being pointed to. It pays to have some

realization of this fact so that you will not get lost in the conversation. So here are some

examples of words that are spelled the same but pronounced differently and consequently

have different meanings.

bagay - something
Nagkalat ang ang mga bagay sa kwarto. Things are scattered in the room.
bagay - suited to each other
Bagay kayo sa isa't-isa. You are suited to each other.

bukas - tomorrow
Itutuloy ko ang ginagawa ko bukas. I will continue what I'm doing tomorrow.
bukas - open
Naka bukas ang pinto nang ako ay dumating. The door was open when I arrived.

buhay - life
Masaya ang buhay kapag merong nagmamahal. Life is happy when somebody loves you.
buhay - alive
Buhay pa ba ang lolo at lola mo? Are your grandparents still alive?

dating - former
Siya ay dating boksingero. He is a former boxer.
dating - to arrive
Ang ate ko ay bagong dating. My older sister has just arrived.

basa - to read
Nagbabasa ako ng diyaryo paminsan-minsan. I read the papers once in a while.
basa - wet
Ang damit niya ay basang-basa. Her dress is totally wet.

banda - band
Nagtatayo kami ng isang banda. We are organizing a band.
banda - this or that side
Ang kotse ay tumama sa bandang hulihan ng truck. The car hit the rear side of the truck.

lamang - only
Ang mansanas ay tigsampung piso lamang. The apple sells for ten pesos only.
lamang - advantage
Ang aming pangkat ay may lamang na anim na puntos nang matapos ang laro.

Out team had a six points advantage when the game ended.